It's definitely down there.
― coco vide (pomenitul), Tuesday, 31 March 2020 02:26 (four years ago) link
tbf, I've picked up some ECM releases that were incredibly corny, only to find out their release date was '74 or whatever
― justice 4 CCR (Sparkle Motion), Tuesday, 31 March 2020 02:35 (four years ago) link
Theres a couple Michael mantler and Dob Preston releases that get a bit dungeon synth at times and which have "aged badly" and that shankar sounds shit but some of my favourite ecm is from the 80s (love all the 80s oregon albums for instance)
― COVID and the Gang (jim in vancouver), Tuesday, 31 March 2020 03:07 (four years ago) link
I bought this one when it first came out, after reading xgau's review:Jack DeJohnette's Special Edition: Album Album [ECM, 1984]Like so many of the best-liked new jazz albums, this one pays heartfelt respects to the carnivalesque--if you really wanted to, you could dance to it. But you'd probably rather listen, because at the same time it's highly composed, often dividing tunes into several distinct sections, and superbly played--John Purcell and Howard Johnson damn near keep up with master saxophonist David Murray. And beneath it all, tipping the balance between rowdy and civilized, is a Manfred Eicher mix that makes the record sit more like chamber music than DeJohnette could possibly have intended. A- He's right!
― dow, Tuesday, 31 March 2020 16:37 (four years ago) link
So turn it up, for me always on headphones, and no prob.
― dow, Tuesday, 31 March 2020 16:39 (four years ago) link
Excluding NS releases and without revisiting any of them, my 80s ECM faves look something like this:
Bengt Berger Band with Don Cherry – Bitter Funeral Beer (1982)Bill Connors – Swimming with a Hole in My Body (1980)Codona – Codona 2 (1981)Codona – Codona 3 (1983)David Darling – Cycles (1982)David Torn & Geoffrey Gordon – Best Laid Plans (1985)Hajo Weber, Ulrich Ingebold – Winterreise (1982)Jack DeJohnette – Special Edition (1980)Jon Hassell – Power Spot (1986)Keith Jarrett – Dark Intervals (1988)Keith Jarrett, Jan Garbarek, Palle Danielsson & Jon Christensen – Personal Mountains (1989)Masqualero – Bande à part (1986)Michael Galasso – Scenes (1983)Paul Bley, John Surman, Bill Frisell & Paul Motian – Fragments (1986)Paul Motian Band – Psalm (1982)Sam Rivers – Contrasts (1980)
So yeah, it does skew rather heavily towards the decade's first half.
― coco vide (pomenitul), Tuesday, 31 March 2020 18:54 (four years ago) link
Dino Saluzzi - Once Upon A Time Far Away In The South
features a devastatingly beautiful rendition of Silence a oh and the Paul Bley Quartet w/ John Surman, Bill Frisell, Paul Motian from '87 was classic as well imo
― calzino, Tuesday, 31 March 2020 19:02 (four years ago) link
I'm weird in that I prefer Saluzzi's later (00s and beyond) material. And yeah, I should've added that Bley Quartet to the list.
― coco vide (pomenitul), Tuesday, 31 March 2020 19:10 (four years ago) link
it probably is not as good as his later albums tbf but i wouldn't call it bad
― calzino, Tuesday, 31 March 2020 19:13 (four years ago) link
That Jack DeJohnette band was good, but I really don't like Paul Motian in almost any context. His style of drumming just hits my ear all wrong.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Tuesday, 31 March 2020 19:15 (four years ago) link
His 70s ECM albums are even better, obv., but I've got plenty of time for his drumming regardless of context.
― coco vide (pomenitul), Tuesday, 31 March 2020 19:20 (four years ago) link
My favorite Keith Jarrett record is 1986's Book Of Ways, the album of clavichord improvisations that taught me what bebung is. Also Eberhard Weber's Later That Evening from 1982 is gorgeous.
― J. Sam, Tuesday, 31 March 2020 19:26 (four years ago) link
bitter funeral beer is sublime
quite fond of alfred harth's this earth! from '84 with bley on piano & vocals from maggie nichols
― no lime tangier, Tuesday, 31 March 2020 19:37 (four years ago) link
New releases on ECM---won't let me paste, but some appealing copy re projects led by Avishai Cohen, Wolfgang Muthspiel, Carla Bley, Oded Tzur---press page here, with links to streaming sources and album trailers etc.:http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?m=1101632560908&ca=a58f0d68-50f1-46a9-aa74-a92a9f1efbe8
― dow, Tuesday, 31 March 2020 20:07 (four years ago) link
listened to the 3 codona albums today, still great!
― COVID and the Gang (jim in vancouver), Tuesday, 31 March 2020 21:42 (four years ago) link
Everything involving Don Cherry (the musician) and Collin Walcott is good by default. Beyond Codona, Naná Vasconcelos was more hit or miss, I'm afraid.
― coco vide (pomenitul), Tuesday, 31 March 2020 21:47 (four years ago) link
Pretty much everything Pat Metheny and Bill Frisell put out on ECM in the 80s is solid.
― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Tuesday, 31 March 2020 22:05 (four years ago) link
Hard disagree, but I'm in the minority here. Can't stand either except Frisell as a sideman and only on occasion.
― coco vide (pomenitul), Tuesday, 31 March 2020 22:06 (four years ago) link
I mean, yes, you probably have to like what they are doing in the first place to enjoy those albums. But I'd say for Pat Metheny in particular, a bunch of his best work is on those ECM albums, and I like what Bill Frisell was doing at the time more than most of his output from the mid 90s onward.
― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Tuesday, 31 March 2020 22:31 (four years ago) link
Pat Metheny’s last ECM release was 1984. I think that means he just barely missed the period that seems to be regarded as a nadir.
― Melomane, Tuesday, 31 March 2020 23:32 (four years ago) link
Figured this thread is a good place to post that I'm enjoying this IG account that's taking a look at all ECM albums in chronological order: https://www.instagram.com/ecm_listening/
It's a simple premise but fun to follow. Some of these early releases are blowing my mind. I particularly love the albums from Terje Rypdal, Marion Brown and Stanley Cowell Trio covered so far.
― cooldix, Friday, 13 March 2020 08:37 (two we
Nice!
― ncxkd, Wednesday, 1 April 2020 00:01 (four years ago) link
listened to the 3 codona albums today, still great!Dang did you catch a codonavirus or something?
― valet doberman (Jon not Jon), Wednesday, 1 April 2020 01:32 (four years ago) link
A couple of '80s albums not mentioned in the revive that I like a lot: Don Cherry / Ed Blackwell – 'El Corazón' (1982) and Jack DeJohnette - 'Inflation Blues' (1983). I haven't heard that many ECM records from the era, but I gather these don't really represent the stereotypical sound. 'El Corazón' is a really rich and varied duet album with some intriguing instrumentation (I probably listen to it more than the more-heralded 'Mu'), while 'Inflation Blues' also has lots of world music influences (DeJohnette even sings on the title track, which is almost political reggae). I love the cover art too. His solo stuff is pretty underrated, I reckon.
― cooldix, Wednesday, 1 April 2020 02:56 (four years ago) link
Xp. I made this pun today
― COVID and the Gang (jim in vancouver), Wednesday, 1 April 2020 02:57 (four years ago) link
I probably listen to it more than the more-heralded ‘Mu’
i’m not quite there, tho i spin it a lot. it’s a truly amazing record and i often feel like it transcends the normal human musical capacities of two people. a lot of don’s stuff is like that tho.
― budo jeru, Wednesday, 1 April 2020 03:32 (four years ago) link
also y’all should check out the bitter funeral band live footage in the don cherry thread if you haven’t already
― budo jeru, Wednesday, 1 April 2020 03:34 (four years ago) link
Yes, I'm heading over there. That's the thread that keeps giving!
― cooldix, Wednesday, 1 April 2020 03:40 (four years ago) link
im listening to all the ECM albums on Spotify chronologically as a little covid project
― COVID and the Gang (jim in vancouver), Friday, 3 April 2020 18:19 (four years ago) link
I did this in 2015-2016 (if memory serves). 10/10, I wholeheartedly recommend it to all.
― Publius Covidius Naso (pomenitul), Friday, 3 April 2020 18:23 (four years ago) link
Paul Bley, John Surman, Bill Frisell & Paul Motian – Fragments (1986)
This is about as good of a record as ECM ever put out. There is a bit of a sequel to this by a related band -- a bit freer but a similar vibe:
John Surman, Paul Bley, Tony Oxley, Gary Peacock, Adventure Playground (1991)
― Naive Teen Idol, Friday, 3 April 2020 19:31 (four years ago) link
That's a lot of albums to listen too! Alright, putting on some Mal Waldron piano jams.
― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Friday, 3 April 2020 21:24 (four years ago) link
was surprised by the one-two of Mal Waldron Trio free at last and Paul Bley with Gary Peacock as they're both pretty standard contemporary jazz of the time, good records no doubt, but just in the hard-bop/post-bop veins (a lot of Paul Bley stuff of this era is way out there obv, like the synth stuff with Annette Peacock).
then Afternoon of A Georgia Faun by Marlon Brown and Music Improvisation Company is a one-two of free jazz and non-idiomatic free improv!
wonder when the first "ecm sound" (misnomer -there are many sounds on ecm records - but you know what I mean) type record will rear its head. I see "Janny G" himself with ECM1007 Afric Pepperbird coming up, maybe he could be the culprit (wrong word, I love "ecm sound" and Jan) but I seem to remember he was more avant grade for a stage in his early career
― COVID and the Gang (jim in vancouver), Friday, 3 April 2020 21:30 (four years ago) link
Early Garbarek is some of the best ECM shit, full stop.
― Publius Covidius Naso (pomenitul), Friday, 3 April 2020 21:34 (four years ago) link
Not ECM, but don't sleep on the Esoteric Circle LP, which features all the future ECM vets and gets way skronky
― Paul Ponzi, Friday, 3 April 2020 21:50 (four years ago) link
About a month ago, I bought the 2012 Dansere box set, which contains 1971's Sart with Terje Rypdal on guitar, Bobo Stenson on piano, Arild Andersen on bass and John Christensen on drums; 1973's Witchi-Tai-To, with Stenson, Palle Danielsson on bass, and Christensen; and 1975's Dansere, with the same band as Witchi-Tai-To. I was shocked by how loud and skronky Sart is; there are passages that sound like David S. Ware and Keiji Haino going at it. I love it.
― but also fuck you (unperson), Friday, 3 April 2020 21:54 (four years ago) link
spinning garbarek’s “officium” rn. it’s an interesting idea but i’m guessing this will wind up in my sell / give away pile.
― budo jeru, Friday, 3 April 2020 22:47 (four years ago) link
im listening to Afric pepperbird right now and jan is cooking skronkily, especially on beast of kommodo and the title track. ayler-esque at times
some very nifty bass from arild andersen also
― COVID and the Gang (jim in vancouver), Friday, 3 April 2020 22:51 (four years ago) link
Beast of Kommodo has been burned into my brain for the better part of 2 decades, such a killer tune
― justice 4 CCR (Sparkle Motion), Saturday, 4 April 2020 04:02 (four years ago) link
David Darling's Cycles – one of the most beautiful albums ever recorded imo – features some of Garbarek's finest post-skronk contributions, but they're the exception that confirms the rule, alas.
― Publius Covidius Naso (pomenitul), Saturday, 4 April 2020 13:09 (four years ago) link
like many others i have used the current state of things as an excuse to go on a deep ecm journey and it's been fuckin great
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Saturday, 4 April 2020 18:06 (four years ago) link
Speaking of David Darling, it's always puzzling when an artist who has recorded for ECM for decades, stops recording for ECM and puts out work solely on other labels. One starts to wonder if Eicher felt Darling's work in the new millennium to have become too New Agey even for his label.
― Melomane, Saturday, 4 April 2020 19:43 (four years ago) link
If that's the actual reason, Manfred Eicher otm.
― Publius Covidius Naso (pomenitul), Saturday, 4 April 2020 19:46 (four years ago) link
eberhard weber is the shit
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Sunday, 5 April 2020 22:23 (four years ago) link
yeah!
― calzino, Sunday, 5 April 2020 22:23 (four years ago) link
I’m fond of his debut. The rest... not so much.
― Publius Covidius Naso (pomenitul), Sunday, 5 April 2020 22:25 (four years ago) link
He has his moments.
― Did somebody just say eat? (Tom D.), Sunday, 5 April 2020 22:27 (four years ago) link
― Publius Covidius Naso (pomenitul), Sunday, April 5, 2020 3:25 PM (four minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink
the colours of chloë inspired my post! but also i have been digging into the colours box and already disagree
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Sunday, 5 April 2020 22:31 (four years ago) link
anyone listen to the re-master of ECM001, the immortal Mal Waldron Free At Last album? I'm not much of an audiophile but thought it sounded better in some unknown way.
― calzino, Sunday, 5 April 2020 22:34 (four years ago) link
I listened to whatever is on spotify and it sounded more muscular than most ECM albums.
― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Sunday, 5 April 2020 22:44 (four years ago) link
yeah I don't think he did anything else on ecm, but I think he went through labels like jumpers.
― calzino, Sunday, 5 April 2020 22:55 (four years ago) link