Sun Bear Concerts is a recording

Recording

Recording is the process of capturing data or translating information to a recording format stored on some storage medium, which is often referred to as a record or, if an auditory medium, a recording....

 released through ECM

ECM (record label)

ECM is a record label founded in Munich, Germany, in 1969 by Manfred Eicher. While ECM is best known for jazz music, the label has released a wide variety of recordings, and ECM's artists often refuse to acknowledge boundaries between genres...

 by jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 pianist

Pianist

A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...

 Keith Jarrett

Keith Jarrett

Keith Jarrett is an American pianist and composer who performs both jazz and classical music.Jarrett started his career with Art Blakey, moving on to play with Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis. Since the early 1970s he has enjoyed a great deal of success in jazz, jazz fusion, and classical music; as...

 performing solo improvisation

Improvisation

Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...

s recorded in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 in 1976. It was originally released as a ten-LP set and later as a six-CD box set.

Reception

The Allmusic review by Richard S. Ginell awarded the album 4 stars stating "While Sun Bear breaks little ground that his earlier solo piano albums had not already covered, it is nevertheless richly inventive within Jarrett's personal parameter of idioms. If price is not a barrier, the Jarrett devotee need not hesitate".

Track listing

All compositions by Keith Jarrett

CD 1

1. "Kyoto, November 5, 1976, Part 1" - 43:55
2. "Kyoto, November 5, 1976, Part 2" - 34:05

CD 2

1. "Osaka, November 8, 1976, Part 1" - 38:58
2. "Osaka, November 8, 1976, Part 2" - 31:09

CD 3

1. "Nagoya, November 12, 1976, Part 1" - 35:36
2. "Nagoya, November 12, 1976, Part 2" - 39:56

CD 4

1. "Tokyo, November 14, 1976, Part 1" - 40:22
2. "Tokyo, November 14, 1976, Part 2" - 35:22

CD 5

1. "Sapporo, November 18, 1976, Part 1" - 41:05
2. "Sapporo, November 18, 1976, Part 2" - 33:56

Bonus tracks on CD reissue:

CD 6

1. "Encores: Sapporo" - 10:56
2. "Encores: Tokyo" - 8:23
3. "Encores: Nagoya" - 4:03

Recorded in concert in Kyoto

Kyoto

is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...

, November 5; Osaka

Osaka

is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...

, November 8; Nagoya, November 12; Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

, November 14; and Sapporo, November 18, 1976.