A teenage jazz promoter and a masterpiece saved from oblivion

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Vera Brandes was 16 and still at school when she first started organising jazz concerts in her home town of Cologne, Germany. In her Mum's fur coat, big, colourful glasses and brimming with confidence she looked like she belonged on the scene. By the age of 18 she'd organised gigs for some of the great artists of the day and then she heard the acclaimed US jazz pianist Keith Jarrett was looking to perform in Cologne. Vera got the gig. It was to be a totally improvised, solo performance, just Keith and a piano. The venue was booked, the tickets were sold out and Keith had arrived, but when they got to the venue, what they found on stage was an old rehearsal piano with broken strings, sticky keys and malfunctioning pedals – it was unplayable. The story of how a musical masterpiece was created out of that seemingly impossible situation has become legendary. The recording of Keith Jarrett's performance that night, simply called the Köln Concert, became the biggest-selling solo piano album of all time. The story of the concert and Vera's part in it are the subject of a new film recently released in Germany called Köln 75. Presenter: Asya Fouks Producer: Andrea Kennedy Get in touch: [email protected] or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707 (Photo: A teenage Vera Brandes at her desk answering two phones at once. Credit: Brigitta Singer)