ECM: C/D, S&D

My pleasure! I wish Collin Walcott was still around and making music.

One of my great "digger" joys was a stop in Konstanz, Germany some years ago. I hit up the local (old, pretty well stocked) record store and came away with pretty much pristine first pressings of all of Eberhard Weber's mid '70s to early '80s ECM run on vinyl for ... €7 a pop?― SQUIRREL MEAT!! (Capitaine Jay Vee), Thursday, April 9, 2020 8:48 AM (seven hours ago)

big time mood. you did p well i'd reckon.

Dawn dance reminds me of the diablo soundtrack but better

The Chick Corea/Gary Burton - Crystal Silence album is amazing. "Crystal" nails the sound. Vibes+piano and it sounds like a glass of ice water. Just a fantastic record, and I've been playing it a lot lately.

Gonna check it out now. Love all the suggestions coming up on here. There's a ton of great stuff I've missed out on.

John surman - upon reflection is a dope album

dimly recall walcott's obit from one of the very very early issues of wire (single figures, might actually be the first one): i had no idea who he was and only a very vague grasp what ECM was at the time but somehow filed it away anyway as an important moment

Just stuck on Keith Jarrett’s ‘My Song’...just lovely...RIP Jon Christensen

man, Bennie Maupin "the jewel in the lotus" slays. just one of the best spiritual, definitely out-there but not free jazzy albums I've heard in years

It's absolutely stellar, yeah. Ricardo Villalobos and Max Loderbauer's repurposed version of 'Ensenada' on Re: ECM is also worth your time, if you haven't heard it.

Weirdly haven't heard it considering how fanboyish ive previously been wrt sweet ricardo, will give it a go

This seems like a good time to hunt down vinyl copies of their 70s/80s albums. They haven't quite gotten to the point where they are considered collectible, so there are lots of good deals to be had. Currently stalking a copy of Burton/Weber - Ring on Ebay, and will probably try to snap up the Return To Forever debut too.

i love 'reshadub' off the villalobos ecm

It's not directly ECM-related, but last year's The Clouds Know as Vilod (Villalobos/Loderbauer) was excellent. And speaking of 'Reshadub', Paul Giger deserves more plaudits too, especially for Chartres.

Burton's 'Ring' is fantastic. I picked it up for about $5 a couple of months ago and it's been near the turntable ever since. There are lots of good ECM bargains out there. Speaking of which I pulled 'My Song' from my Discogs inventory and gave it a spin this morning. What a surprisingly good album- usually Garbarek gets too corny for me but he was terrific on this.

Another unsuccessful ECM topic I made: Keith Jarrett — "The European Quartet" (i.e. Keith Jarrett, Jan Garbarek, Palle Danielsson, Jon Christensen) albums

john surman "within the halls of neptune" is the best thing i've ever heard

what a title! I’ll need to check it out.

the rest of the record the amazing adventures of simon and simon is also really great

getting really into dino saluzzi's "kultrum" LP

v cool stuff

Oho, just unearthed a 1994 Downbeat, incl. appealing review of Gary Peacock & Ralph Towner's Oracle--ECM 78118-21490-2 (50:12) Personnel: Peacock, double bass, Towner, classical and 12-string guitars
...Versatility is essential if one works with both Bill Evans and Albert Ayler, as Peacock did in the mid-60s...
Oracle reinforces the perception that Peacock is a guitarist at heart, who happens to play bass violin. He is recorded beautifully and prominently. "Inside Inside" tricks your ear...as Peacock and Towner reverse roles and registers. The filigrees and pensive moods of "Flutter Step" and "Empty Carousel" fit Tower's strengths and mannerisms so closely, it's a surprise to discover that Peacock wrote those tunes. Towner('s)...interplay with Peacock recalls collaborations with John Abercrombie and Glen Moore. It's hard to recall a bassist other than Moore who's shown such empathy for the guitarist. Working with Peacock reinvigorates Towner, and a reunion with Towner on piano would be intriguing.
Reviewer Jon Anderson also says that (despite the light touch, intricacy and sensitivity that pervades the session), it "isn't a stretch for either of them," then gives it 4 1/2 stars---y'all heard it??

I am still working my way through the Touchstone series. The one I keep coming back to is "The Pilgrim and The Stars" from Enrico Rava. Clearly influenced by Miles Davis around Bitches Brew but Rava plays very melodic lines on top of the music which gives it a very European touch. My introduction to Jon Christensen too.

All the Kenny Wheeler albums on ECM are worth investigating too. The last one I purchases was "Music for Small and Large Ensembles" and I wish I got earlier as it's a gorgeous album, starting in a somewhat Metheny/Mays-vein (without the Brasilian influences) but then moving to the usual very strong writing (and orchestratino) that Wheeler was known for. The interplay between Mike Brecker and Wheeler on "Double, Double You" is also amazing. And I haven't even heard his output on CamJazz..

the mark isham and rainer brüninghaus records referenced upthread are incredible

All the Kenny Wheeler albums on ECM are worth investigating too.

I only have ever heard Gnu High, but it's got the Peacock / Jarrett / Dejohnette trio backing him and it's really good.

Angel Song - Kenny Wheeler's album with Lee Konitz, Bill Frissell and Dave Holland is gorgeous.

Reminds me: just came across an old Downbeat Blindfold Test where Dave Liebman raves about Wheeler's playing on the title track of Jane Ira Bloom's Art and Aviation (Arabesque, 1992), and gives the whole thing 4 1/2 stars.

deer wan by wheeler is great

(w/holland, DeJohnette, garbarek, Abercrombie)

Edward Vesala's Nan Madol really hit the spot this morning.

I am still working my way through the Touchstone series. The one I keep coming back to is "The Pilgrim and The Stars" from Enrico Rava. Clearly influenced by Miles Davis around Bitches Brew but Rava plays very melodic lines on top of the music which gives it a very European touch. My introduction to Jon Christensen too.

just played this this morning, very good.

listened to the koln concerts today and now listening to yellow fields by eberhard weber, probably my favorite of the 3 albums mentioned.

Angel Song - Kenny Wheeler's album with Lee Konitz, Bill Frissell and Dave Holland is gorgeous.

Seconded, and it also has great comping by Bill Frisell. I wish "It should've happened a long time ago" on which he also plays was available as a single disc. It's only available as part of a 6cd box of all Paul Motian's work for ECM.

Tord Gustavsen Trio - The Ground, is transporting me very efficiently through some boring work admin duties this morning.

"It Should Have Happened..." is a high point (among many others) here---Frisell w The Bad Plus, mostly playing Motian compositions, at Newport in 2012---stream/download: https://www.npr.org/2012/08/08/158004697/the-bad-plus-with-bill-frisell-live-in-concert-newport-jazz-2012

Hey all, so I was a bit bored this afternoon and made this ECM mix for fun.

It's a collage of about 50/60 different songs, just short little slivers of each, overlaid and crossfaded to make up this weird little hour-long patchwork quilt, often two or three tracks at once.

I went for beatless or interstitial sections, originally I was going to try to make it much more ambient but I used a lot of the earlier records so the first 20 mins came out more gnarly and 'free' sounding in places, but it gets pretty ambient towards the end.

I even managed to get the bass solo from the first track on The Mal Waldron Trio's 'Free At Last' in there (ECM 1001!)

All your faves are present - Jan, Keith, Terje, Gary, Rainer, various Steve's and David's and even Arvo and Meredith.

Hope you like -

https://we.tl/t-kvHasMjdRy

i'm so in love with john surman i can hardly stand it

Surman's Rain On the Window with Howard Moody on church organ is probably not one of his high rated albums but I love it!

There's a Marcin Wasilewski Trio album with Joe Lovano coming. That could be interesting.

Thimar w/ surman, dave holland and anouar brahem that's a classic.

was trying to find the Surman album I haven't heard for ages, it was Upon Reflection I was looking for, Edges of Illusion is a reet track!

Very much agree x2.

Maresn3st, I dig.

ty!

I'm glad I started this thread 19 years ago, even though I never had anything to say further on the topic.

I was prompted by an IG post by a former member of this parish to dig out Surman's Road to St Ives. It's terrific and ghostly and sort of damp and chilly. Though that was my experience of Cornwall three summers ago, so may be projection. Nice smiley, sunny photo of JS in (presumably) Oslo in the CD booklet.

Within the halls of Neptune was on my Spotify daily mix today! I’ve been listening to a ton of Don Cherry recently and want to rep for this one

https://shop.new-art.nl/assets/image.php?width=800&image=/content/img/new_products_queue/1432888623.jpg

ecm complaint: keith jarrett is given waaaay too much leeway to explore his yen for semi-classical improvisation. I do not need 90 minutes of Keith Jarrett improvising on an organ in an abbey!

Jarrett on an off-day is still more interesting than Garbarek, Metheny or (God forbid) Gary Burton at their worst.

inclusion of metheny there baffles me

jarrett’s worst affectation is his singing, but his solo concerts are so powerful that yeah sure i’ll have 90 minutes of him on an organ, why not, his instincts are that sharp

I’m that rare beast, an ECM stan who doesn’t really get Metheny, so take my shortlist of overprolific awfulness with a grain of salt.

Jarrett on an off-day is still more interesting than Garbarek, Metheny or (God forbid) Gary Burton at their worst.

― pomenitul, Friday, May 1, 2020 3:58 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

this is insane

I enjoy Jarrett's quartets, and his solo piano - although at times he moves into territory which is like a melange of denatured spiritual jazz with Ludovico Einaudi - but I've not gotten any enjoyment from in the light, arbour zena, and hymns/spheres.