The Kempen Concert is the fifth solo piano album of Norwegian, Trondheim-based pianist Espen Berg. It follows his composed Noctilucent (atterklang, 2012), and the free improvised The Trondheim Concert, The Nidaros Concert, and The Hamar Concert, the town where Berg was born (NXN Recordings, 2022 and 2023). The double album was recorded at Paterskirche in Kempen, Germany, in November 2024. Berg played on a Steinway D grand piano (Berg is now a Steinway artist). The album was released digitally in October 2025 as the first album in Berg’s newly founded label, Kite, mixed and mastered by Berg. Now, finally, it receives a vinyl version.
Obviously, The Kempen Concert, like Berg’s previous solo albums, drew immediate, complementary comparisons to Keith Jarrett’s seminal The Köln Concert (ECM, 1975). Berg’s solo albums, like Jarrett’s solo album, are titled after the towns and cities where they were performed. Both Berg and Jarrett tend to sketch beautiful, poetic, and lyrical melodies and infectious grooves; both play instant, long-form compositions when they are totally possessed by the moment; and both pianists like to end their live concerts with a familiar standard.
But fifty years after The Köln Concert, now celebrated with the lovely film Köln 75 by Ido Fluk, free improvised solo piano albums are no longer a novelty. Jarrett opened the door, and many pianists passed through this door and chose their distinct paths. Clearly, Berg is well-versed in Jarrett’s massive legacy, but he has a personal voice and his own musical universe, less urgent and more calm and introspective, or more ‘in’ the jazz legacy, even modest and concise, with subtle references to Nordic folk music. His music radiates immediate, emotional impact and is performed with arresting beauty and elegance. The encore, a contemplative and sober version of Bob Thiele and George David Weiss iconic «What a Wonderful World», is guaranteed to put a smile on your face, even in such horrific, wartime days.
Berg himself describes the performance experience at Paterskirche with its spacious and reverberant hall: «I could easily fill the room with just a few notes and let myself immerse in the sound. It was the perfect set-up for a colorful, lyrical, playful, and magnificent performance».
Eyal Hareuveni
Espen Berg (piano)
