ECM: C/D, S&D

also y’all should check out the bitter funeral band live footage in the don cherry thread if you haven’t already

Yes, I'm heading over there. That's the thread that keeps giving!

im listening to all the ECM albums on Spotify chronologically as a little covid project

I did this in 2015-2016 (if memory serves). 10/10, I wholeheartedly recommend it to all.

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)

That's a lot of albums to listen too! Alright, putting on some Mal Waldron piano jams.

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

Early Garbarek is some of the best ECM shit, full stop.

Not ECM, but don't sleep on the Esoteric Circle LP, which features all the future ECM vets and gets way skronky

Early Garbarek is some of the best ECM shit, full stop.

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.

spinning garbarek’s “officium” rn. it’s an interesting idea but i’m guessing this will wind up in my sell / give away pile.

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

Beast of Kommodo has been burned into my brain for the better part of 2 decades, such a killer tune

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.

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

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.

If that's the actual reason, Manfred Eicher otm.

eberhard weber is the shit

yeah!

I’m fond of his debut. The rest... not so much.

He has his moments.

I’m fond of his debut. The rest... not so much.

― 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

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.

I listened to whatever is on spotify and it sounded more muscular than most ECM albums.

yeah I don't think he did anything else on ecm, but I think he went through labels like jumpers.

It's a pretty solid album and not all that uncharacteristic for early ECM. I haven't heard the remaster, though – will rectify that soon.

yeah I don't think he did anything else on ecm, but I think he went through labels like jumpers.

He did the one where he plays electric organ for JAPO which is ECM by proxy. Total one-off in a pretty amazing way.

The Call is amazing. I think that is his only turn on electric organ and he should have done it more often

wow @ “the call”

Echo the love for 'The Call.' Krauty goodness. Unfortunately so hard to come across.

Back on the Garbarek chat, I'm no expert on his stuff but I love, love, love the demented squawk he introduces himself with halfway through the first song from Terje Rypdal's s/t album. That whole album is killer and that song/moment especially.

Getting big Bitches Brew/Jack Johnson vibes from this Rypdal album.

i love eberhard weber. amazing krautrock jazz fusion. he's a pioneer imo. i started an unsuccessful topic about him some time back.

The first Rypdal/Vitous/DeJohnette album sounds like a strong precursor to 80s Frisell, especially the Power Tools band.

anybody have any thoughts on this album? i am currently of the opinion that the lineup promises more than the music delivers, but perhaps i need to spend some more time with it.

Recommend Barre Phillips' Call When You Get There (1984) and also Adelhard Roidinger's Schattseite (1982), particularly the second track "Lufti", for some great double-bass vibes.

This earlier Eberhard Weber is amazing, I'd only ever heard Later That Evening before.

I'm on the ECM is perfect right now bus - listening to lots of Weber and Metheny. For Rypdal I've always gone towards Odyssey and After the Rain but the self-titled is classic, too.

For other recommendations, I really like Coruscating by John Surman (from 2000) and the first Azimuth from 1977, which is on Spotify as a threefer with Touchstone and Depart which are a bit meh.

I haven't heard that New Directions album, but did have similar thoughts about Dejohnette's 'Untitled,' which I think is pretty much the same lineup. Still good, and maybe need to spend more time with it. I'm a big fan of his 'Sorcery' album also with Abercrombie (not on ECM, but feels like it could be).

Currently quite enjoying an album by Contact Trio called 'Muzik.' I don't know too much about them, but they're on JAPO - rather rocky and moody stuff! Was there a specific line in the sand for deciding what was released on JAPO?

the steve tibbetts stuff i've heard is pretty incredibly sick (thanks deej) and that's '80s ecm

uhhh chick corea - return to forever (ecm 1022) anyone?

it slaps!

Chick Corea reminds a total blind spot in my exploration of ECM's output. But knowing that the man has recorded at least one entire tribute album to L. Ron Hubbard, it is hard to pull the trigger on buying or downloading his releases.

That first Return To Forever album is interesting. Kind of a more chilled out version of the band, in contrast with Romantic Warrior, which is 100% dedicated to L. Ron, has completely bonkers over the top energy, and is totally worth listening to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTKBKzlelKc

Really dig "Sand-Glass" from Yellow Fields, especially the way the electric piano keeps coloring that hypnotic ostinato in all kinds of alien ways.

I always love it when this thread pops back, so suitably inspired I dug out my ECM folder and randomly chose Art Lande's Desert Marauders (with Mark Isham) from 1978 and it's sounding pretty great this morning.

steve tibbetts is the jon hassell of guitar. total goat.

yes the thing i'm getting from the few records i've sampled is that he's a total godlike genius

I was very pleased to learn that Julia Holter is a fan of his.

Back on topic, the first two Return to Forever albums are at least genre classics in my opinion; silly ideological baggage or no. The first one has often struck me as kind of a Latin-tinged distant relative of (dare I say it) In A Silent Way.

lol at this thread coming up so perfect.
first day of panic i loaded up a bunch of ecm on shuffle.
thanks. i need to listen more closely.

and i dig Tibbetts