ECM: C/D, S&D

It's been a long time, I think I'm more amenable to the elevator-esque facets of that style than I was ten-odd years ago when I went on an exhaustive ECM binge.

Roy Haynes is the real star of Like Minds, I actually had to check to see if it was his name on the cover.

Gonna check this out. Looks like an expansion of Question and Answer featuring Metheny/Holland/Haynes, which is just a straight up sick jazz album

Speaking of similar allstar lineups The Song Is You (not ECM) featuring Braxton, Corea, Metheny, DeJohnette, Konitz, Vitous, is worth checking out. Think it was recorded in the early 80s, but released more recently.

Those with any interest in Burton should check his original Quartet, meaning the one with Larry Coryell, Steve Swallow and Bob Moses: youthful, groovy, even barefoot, even shroomy at tymes, yet not too noodley--just jazz, shaded w rock, Latin, folk, country, and whatever else they absorbed and recombined, growing up and getting out of the house in the 60s.
Also, probably his Tennessee Firebird, judging by what I've heard of it, hard to find the whole thing, although I haven't looked in a while.
Also the one Carla Bley wrote and arranged for him, A Genuine Tong Funeral,
Never heard much of his early records w Metheny, but got my girl their Reunion, and it became her soundtrack for many after-midnight Windows 95 treks, business and recreational.
I like Metheny better as a costar than outright leader--though his designated debut as the latter, Bright Size Life I hear more as the former, mainly because Bob Moses (and Jaco, ok), and yeah Question and Answer, and the ones w/incl. Charlie Haden, and omg Song X w Ornette (must get expanded reissue), But I liked his RIP pianist Lyle Mays, did like Mays' own Pictionary better than what he got to do with Metheny.
Would like to hear his Steve Reich projects.

he Song Is You (not ECM) featuring Braxton, Corea, Metheny, DeJohnette, Konitz, Vitous, is worth checking out. No Doubt!!!

I agree, I have a hard time getting into Metheny albums, but I love hearing him as a side man and being like 'oh yeah that guy is fucking sick'. #1 on that list is the Kenny Garrett Coltrane tribute, Pursuance.

Y'all really should give Offramp a second try. The guitar synth heroics on the first couple tracks are the best.

The first side of when Witchita Falls is really something... love bright size life and watercolors is nice... I need to spend more time with offramp, most definitely

there’s some badass metheny live shows on YouTube, btw

Please share

American Garage in places is like his lost city pop album, it's amazing

Throwing American Garage on ye olde record player. Nice pre-dinner combo with equally smooth Manhattan.

burton quartet records on rca victor are fucking great.
haven’t heard much of his ecm output so far

― sknybrg, Friday, May 1, 2020 5:19 PM

ring
ring
RING

Seriously I have not been this hooked on a particular album for a long time. S1 is proggy and jammy, S2 is spacey and dreamy. I can't get enough!

I just bought a copy of Ring off ebay a couple weeks ago, inspired by this thread of course. I can't say I'm a huge Gary Burton fan, but that album is nice!

ring
ring
RING

Seriously I have not been this hooked on a particular album for a long time. S1 is proggy and jammy, S2 is spacey and dreamy. I can't get enough!

Well said, the A and B side indeed have quite distinctive vibes!

Okay, fine! I've just ordered a copy of Ring from discogs. Will check back in after I've had a chance to listen.

I’m looking for the ecm stuff that’s more on the electronic / “world music” / genre blending side of stuff if anyone had any good recommends .. love Steve tibbetts, egberto, dino s “kultrum,” nils petter molvaer... I do love a lot of the more purely jazz records described here from the 70s, and any of the really exceptional stuff in that vein I’m always into, but I kinda feel like a lot of what grabs my attention from the label is the stuff they put out that feels almost .. cheesy

Eberhard Weber is your new best friend

Jon Hassell's Power Spot came out via ECM.

windham hill is your new best friend

Rainer Bruninghaus' two records for ECM, check those out also.

iirc Gary Burton played vibes on Tim Hardin's "Misty Roses" in 1966: among his finest two minutes' work.

Some nice ECM references in this massive Jim O'Rourke interview from this week.

Mark Isham & Art Lande's We Begin is a big favourite here in the sort of ambient-electronic ECM space. Mainly for the open track, with its amazing drum machine work.

windham hill is your new best friend

― ANU (sisilafami), Thursday, May 7, 2020 2:30 AM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

Kind of ... I think I want the windham hill side of ecm but windham is its own thing

I feel like Stephan Micus is probably what you're looking for then. His stuff embodies the windham wing of ECM (even if a lot of his best stuff was technically on JAPO).

Interesting ACL footage from the early days of the Pat Metheny Group. I've never completely warmed up to the first Group album, but it's neat to see them still kind of figuring it out. Lyle Mays (RIP) gets some particularly nice showcases here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UweiNBl3TLQ&t=1096s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UweiNBl3TLQ

Hmmmm

I'd like to pause for a moment to rep for Pat Metheny's eternally spectacular head of hair

It always looks like a bit more than his neck can sustain

I watched this just a few days ago, and yes mad props to PM's barnet.

Not on ECM, but Like Minds is Burton, Corea, Metheny, Holland, Haynes--here's the one I heard last night on Jazz For The New Millenium (Rick Mitchell's KBOO show, nationally distributed, named for his book): "Country Roads," a Burton original---incl. Metheny at his bluesiest...it's cool, Pops:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOpEPs3P-IM
Album has some variety, 3 or 4 shades anyway, and I think the whole thing's on the 'Tube.

so i got ring in the mail yesterday. the first half is pretty solid, but if you really dig the second half and have never heard any of eberhard weber's albums. . .well friend, you are in for a treat. overall, good album.

related: anyone know this album? i thought i had it on vinyl, but checking my shelves reveals no such luck. i know i've listened to it ay some point in my life, but i don't recall much about it. a lot of the same band as on ring.

I believe Ring is also the first recorded appearance of Pat Metheny.

In related news, I got my copy of Chick Corea - Return to Forever in the mail yesterday.

Passengers is solid. Dreams So Real (The Music of Carla Bley) is also worth checking out. It features the Ring band minus Eberhard Weber, and the selection of Bley tunes is terrific - that's always been one of my favorites.

Didn't realize that was all Bley, will check. I've seen Passengers, which also has some early Metheny playing and writing, it sez here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passengers_(Gary_Burton_album)#cite_note-RSJRG-3

continuing my Jarrett gripes: staircase. another inessential Jarrett record on ecm in the 70s

Not a huge Burton fan, but I'm enjoying Dreams So Real. I'm guessing Carla Bley was a big influence for Metheny's more composition-heavy recordings that came later.

https://instagram.com/ecm_listening

found this account just now. seems relevant.

Lol, my entire Instagram feed is going to be ECM content

Haha, I posted that ECM Listening IG a bit further up. It's great!

Currently obsessing over the Edward Vesala album mentioned in the Jim O'rourke interview upthread - kind of dark spiritual jazz with awesome drummming and drone-y sections. This label keeps giving.

Poor description, great album.

Appealing description. Although drone-y can be overdone (ILX minority report, yes). Will check, thanks.

Satu is the 2nd album I've heard with Terje Rypdal where his playing sounds extremely similar to 80s Bill Frisell circa Power Tools (other was the first trio album with Vitous and DeJohnette). I have to imagine Frisell was studying these very closely.

Satu is the 2nd album I've heard with Terje Rypdal where his playing sounds extremely similar to 80s Bill Frisell circa Power Tools (other was the first trio album with Vitous and DeJohnette). I have to imagine Frisell was studying these very closely.

I think he did, as he's on this Rypdal-tribute that should appeal to ECM fans.

This is a beauty : https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ukrdo696vBc

Satu rules but Nan Madol is one of the best ECM albums, full stop.

That Sky Music tribute-to-Rypdal set is fantastic. I visited the Rune Grammofon offices in Oslo a couple of years ago and bought a copy of the ultra-limited edition version (white vinyl, an extra CD).

How are those 2 extra tracks that aren't on the regular cd release, unperson? I still haven't heard those.