For those unaware, Roma is the fifth and final concert recording from Keith Jarrett’s highly acclaimed last European solo tour of 2016, captured at the Santa Cecilia Hall in Rome on July 12th.

It brings the chapter to a close with music that stands apart even within this remarkable series. As the Italian daily paper La Repubblica summarily stated at the time of the concert: “Ultimately, Jarrett celebrates a timeless ritual—one that, in some respects, is as old as humanity itself. He pays tribute to the act of creation, to spontaneous composition, and he does so in front of an audience, sharing with listeners the excitement of discovery.”

The procedure on this evening, familiar yet separate, unfolded according to its own inner logic: the canvas is cleared, abound with chromaticism, before familiar touch and lyricism give way to unexpected counterpoint, moments of crystalline lyricism and passages of rhythmic insistence, forming one great architectural structure.

If the concerts from Budapest, Bordeaux, Munich and Vienna each revealed a distinct musical landscape, Roma offers another, unmistakably its own.

1. Roma, Part I [10:49]
2. Roma, Part II [05:35]
3. Roma, Part III [05:57]
4. Roma, Part IV [06:06]
5. Roma, Part V [04:53]
6. Roma, Part VI [05:59]
7. Roma, Part VII [06:03]
8. Roma, Part VIII [05:37]
9. Roma, Part IX [04:15]
10. Roma, Part X [07:06]
11. Somewhere Over The Rainbow [07:26]
12. It’s A Lonesome Old Town [05:48]

Unlike Jarrett’s solo piano works of the ‘70s, which favored lengthy pieces, during this period, here he opted for shorter, distinctly composed pieces that resulted in a suite-like quality, and which are immediately showcased within the spirited, yet ultimately disciplined opening track Roma, Part I and the prowling, cagey fare of Roma, Part II, the more sedately refined Roma, Part III, the sheer elegance within Roma, Part IV, and both the joyful roustabout showcased within the diligently hued Roma, Part V and the resplendent Roma, Part VI.

Along next is the ambiently decadent Roma, Part VII and the veritably glistening Roma, Part VIII and they are in turn backed seamlessly by the free-flowing musical majesties brought to the fore within Roma, Part IX, the artfully sonorous, yet grounded and at times vicariously emphatic Roma, Part X, the set rounding out on an absolutely beautiful rendition of Somewhere Over The Rainbow, coming to a close on the evocatively impassioned It’s A Lonesome Old Town.

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