‘Köln 75’ Director Ido Fluk on 18-Year-Old Vera Brandes Who Organized Keith Jarrett’s ‘The Koln Concert’ – Clip (EXCLUSIVE)

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1975 saw Vera Brandes, who was an 18-year-old student and also worked part-time as a promoter, arranging a concert for Keith Jarrett in Cologne. The performance was later recorded and released as “The Köln Concert,” which went on to become the best-selling solo jazz album of all time.

Fifty years on, director Ido Fluk is unveiling “Köln 75” in Berlin, a movie focusing on the woman who made a groundbreaking mark in jazz history. Surprisingly, Keith Jarrett isn’t keen on revisiting this moment. Fluk discusses the enjoyable film with EbMaster, featuring John Magaro from “September 5” as Keith Jarrett and Mala Emde, a rising German talent, as Vera Brandes. He explains why it was crucial to highlight Vera’s achievements, providing her with the recognition and spotlight she truly deserves.

How did the project germinate?

I came across a tale featuring Vera, which piqued my curiosity: “She managed to pull off something remarkable yet isn’t receiving much recognition for it.” I thought it would make an intriguing movie. I shared some excerpts with the esteemed screenwriter, director, and Emmy Award-winning producer-filmmaker, Oren Moverman, who has been my mentor, having produced my previous film “The Ticket”. He found it somewhat appealing. Notably, Oren has experience in creating music films like the Beach Boys movie and the Cate Blanchett, Bob Dylan project [Todd Haynes-directed “I’m Not There”]. He then passed it along to Sol Bondy in Germany. Later, Sol tracked down Vera on a beach in Greece. It seemed she had been waiting for someone to share her story. We recognized that it was an ideal underdog narrative about this woman who significantly impacted music but has never received proper recognition.

Have you been in touch with Keith Jarrett and his camp on this project?

In the script we contacted them about, they chose not to participate and refused to acknowledge Vera’s contributions. However, Keith has a brother named Chris Jarrett who was involved in translating Keith’s previous biography. He read the script and confirmed that it accurately reflected Keith’s words. I said, “Okay, great.” We continued to work on the project without receiving any feedback. I can sympathize with how Keith feels, given that ‘Creep’ is his signature song and he’s grown tired of playing it. Nevertheless, I believe they should be more open to giving Vera the recognition she deserves, which is our aim here.

How did you deal with the fact that you did not have the rights to Jarrett’s music?

This movie takes place during an exciting musical era in Cologne during the 70’s, marked by bands like Can, Neu!, Kraftwerk, and more. The city was a melting pot of political activism and artistic growth. For me, that scene embodied the spirit of the times. Vera Brandes, a jazz promoter, found herself immersed in new music styles. To highlight Keith’s music, we included a piece composed by Gurdžiev, a mystical philosopher who also wrote music. Interestingly, Keith released an album with these songs. In the film, we can only play 20 seconds of any one song, but I hope that after watching, you’ll want to listen to “The Köln Concert” in its entirety, just as Keith might have wished.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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2025-02-15 13:46