ECM (Edition of Contemporary Music) is a
record labelIn the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
founded in
MunichMunich is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. It is located on the River Isar north of the Bavarian Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg...
,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
, in 1969 by
Manfred EicherManfred Eicher is a German record producer and the founder of the ECM record label and its subsidiaries.Eicher studied music at the Academy of Music in Berlin. He is a fan of jazz music and a bass guitar player. In 1969 he founded a new record label in Munich called ECM - Edition of Contemporary...
. ECM is best known for
jazzJazz is a musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
music, but has released a wide variety of recordings, the artists associated with it often refusing to acknowledge boundaries between genres. ECM's motto is the Most Beautiful Sound Next to Silence, a phrase taken from a 1971 review of ECM releases in
CODACODA is a Canadian magazine devoted to covering all things related to jazz. The magazine produces 6 publications a year on a bi-monthly basis. Founded in 1962 by publisher and record producer John Norris, the magazine contains reviews and articles about current jazz artists on the international...
, a Canadian music magazine.
The label was distributed in the USA by
Warner Bros. RecordsWarner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label that operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Warner Music Group. It is also affectionately known as Warners or the Bunny, based on the Bugs Bunny cartoons released by Warner Bros. Pictures.-History:...
, PolyGram Records, and
BMGBertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...
—and since 1999 by Universal Music, the successor of PolyGram.
History
The first release on ECM was
Free at Last in 1969 by American pianist
Mal WaldronMalcolm Earl Waldron was an American jazz and world music pianist and composer, born in New York City.Like his contemporaries, Waldron's roots lie chiefly in the hard bop and post-bop genres of the New York club scene of the 1950s; but with time, he gravitated more towards free jazz and composition...
. Subsequently, the label initially concentrated on
jazzJazz is a musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
, releasing records by artists including
pianistsThe piano is a musical instrument which is played by means of a keyboard. Widely used in Western music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
Keith JarrettKeith Jarrett is an American pianist, composer, and jazz icon.His career started with Art Blakey, soon moving on to play with Charles Lloyd then Miles Davis. Since the early 1970s he has enjoyed a great deal of success in both classical music and jazz, as a group leader and a solo performer...
,
Chick CoreaArmando Anthony "Chick" Corea is a multiple Grammy Award winning American jazz pianist, keyboardist, drummer, and composer.He is known for his work during the 1970s in the genre of jazz fusion...
,
Paul BleyPaul Bley, CM is known for his contributions to the free jazz movement of the 1960s as well as his innovations and influence on trio playing.-Biography:...
, and
Art LandeArt Lande is a jazz pianist, drummer, composer and educator.Born in New York City, he began piano at age 4, studied at Williams College, and moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1969. He made the first record of his own compositions in 1973 for ECM Records, in a duo with saxophonist/flutist Jan...
;
saxophonistThe saxophone is a conical-bored transposing musical instrument considered a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and are played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by Adolphe Sax in 1841...
Jan GarbarekJan Garbarek is a Norwegian tenor and soprano saxophonist, active in the jazz, classical, and world music genres. Garbarek was the only child of a former Polish prisoner of war Czeslaw Garbarek and a Norwegian farmer's daughter...
,
vibraphonistNotable players of the vibraphone include:* Roy Ayers* Karl Berger* Jeff Berman* Austin Billings* Jack Brokensha* Larry Bunker* Rusty Burge* Gary Burton* Vivian Campbell of Def Leppard* Joe Chambers* Teddy Charles* John Cocuzzi* Monte Croft* Ed Saindon...
Gary BurtonGary Burton is an American jazz vibraphonist.A true original on the vibraphone, Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the usual two-mallets. This approach caused Burton to be heralded as an innovator and his sound and technique are widely imitated...
;
drumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of music instruments, technically classified as a membranophone.. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with parts of a player's body, or with some sort of...
mers
Jon ChristensenJon Christensen is a Norwegian jazz percussionist.In the late 1960s he played alongside Jan Garbarek on several recordings by the composer George Russell....
and
Paul MotianStephen Paul Motian , is an American jazz drummer, percussionist and composer of Armenian extraction....
;
guitarThe guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that adapts readily to a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six strings, but four-, seven-, eight-, ten-, eleven-, twelve-, thirteen- and eighteen-string guitars also exist. The size and shape of the neck and the base of the guitar...
ists
Pat MethenyPatrick Bruce Metheny is an American jazz guitarist and composer....
, John Abercrombie,
Ralph TownerRalph Towner is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger and bandleader. He plays the twelve-string guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, synthesizer, percussion and trumpet....
,
Bill ConnorsBill Connors is a jazz musician notable for being a legato technique master, adept at both the acoustic and electric guitar, and successfully played jazz-rock, free and fusion material in the '70s and '80s. His best early solos were in the jazz-rock genre, where his use of distortion and...
and
Terje RypdalTerje Rypdal is a Norwegian guitarist and composer. Most of his music has been released on several albums of the German record label ECM....
;
bassistsThe double bass, also called the upright bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra. The name, "double bass," derives from the early use of the instrument to double—an octave lower where possible—the bass part written...
Eberhard WeberEberhard Weber is a German double bassist and composer. As a bass player, Weber is known for his highly distinctive tone and phrasing...
,
Charlie HadenCharles Edward Haden is an American jazz musician. He is a double bassist, probably best known for his long association with saxophonist Ornette Coleman...
and
Dave HollandDave Holland is a British jazz bassist and composer who is a significant representative of avant-garde jazz.-Biography:...
; and the
Art Ensemble of ChicagoThe Art Ensemble of Chicago is an avant-garde jazz ensemble that grew out of Chicago's AACM in the late 1960s. The group continues to tour and record through 2006, despite the deaths of two of the founding members....
. Many of the label's early recordings shared a certain common aesthetic framework, including a crisply nuanced recording sound, repertoire consisting mostly of original compositions by the artists, most of which did not swing in the conventional sense, and often stark and minimalist photographic cover art. Some detractors characterized the sound as cold and the music, and presentation, as
EurocentricEurocentrism is a term coined during the period of decolonization in the later 20th century to refer to the practice of viewing the world from a European perspective, with an implied belief, either consciously or subconsciously, in the preeminence of European culture...
. Others have credited the label's early aesthetic approach as a precursor, for better or worse, of the
new-age musicNew Age music is music of various styles, which is intended to create inspiration, relaxation, and positive feelings, often used by listeners for yoga, massage, inspiration, relaxation, meditation, and reading as a method of stress management or to create a peaceful atmosphere in their home or...
movement.
There is a clear link between some ECM recordings and
World MusicWorld music is the traditional music or folk music of a culture that is created and played by indigenous musicians that is closely related to the music of the regions of their origin.-Terminology:...
, especially the folk recordings by Jan Garbarek and the work of
Steve TibbettsSteve Tibbetts is a Saint Paul-based American guitarist known for an original approach to both composing and sound-forming. Like artists such as Brian Eno, Tibbetts views the recording studio as a tool for creating sounds...
and
Stephan MicusStephan Micus is a German musician and composer, whose musical style is heavily influenced by his study of traditional instruments and musical techniques from Japan, India, South America, and other countries around the world...
. Other examples of ECM's world music are records by
CodonaCodona was a free jazz and world fusion group which released three self-titled albums for Polygram Records/ECM Records in 1978, 1980 and 1982. The trio consisted of Don Cherry, Collin Walcott, and Nana Vasconcelos....
,
TunisiaTunisia , officially the Tunisian Republic , is a country located in North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and Libya to the southeast. Tunisia is located southwest of the island of Sicily and south of Sardinia. Its size is almost 165,000 km² with an estimated population of just...
n
oudThe oud is a pear-shaped, stringed instrument, which is often seen as the predecessor of the western lute, distinguished primarily by being without frets, commonly used in Middle Eastern music.-Name:The words "lute" and "oud" are both suspected to be derived from the...
musician
Anouar BrahemAnouar Brahem was born on October 20, 1957 in the town of Halfouine in the Medina of Tunis, Tunisia. He is an oud player and composer, who is widely acclaimed as an innovator in his field...
,
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
n
violinThe violin is a bowed string instrument with four strings usually tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest and highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which also includes the viola and cello....
ist
L. ShankarLakshminarayanan Shankar , also known as L. Shankar, Shankar or Shenkar, is a violinist, vocalist and composer.-Early life:L. Shankar was born in Madras, Tamil Nadu. Growing up in Jaffna, Ceylon, where his father V...
, and
BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean...
ian percussionist
Nana VasconcelosNaná Vasconcelos is a Brazilian Latin jazz percussionist, vocalist and berimbau player, most notable for his works with Pat Metheny, Don Cherry, Egberto Gismonti, and Gato Barbieri....
.
The ECM New Series was created in the 1980s to concentrate on Western classical works—the first of these was the world-premiere recording of
Arvo PärtArvo Pärt is an Estonian classical composer. Pärt works in a minimalist style that employs tintinnabulation and hypnotic repetitions influenced by the intellectual counterpoint elements of European jazz, and is generally placed within European-American classical post-modernism.He was born in...
's “Tabula Rasa.” (ECM 1275/817 764/78118-21275). it has released work by various composers, from the early (such as
Thomas TallisThomas Tallis was an English composer. Tallis flourished as a church musician in 16th century England. He occupies a primary place in anthologies of English church music, and is considered among the best of England's early composers...
) to the contemporary (such as
John CageJohn Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, philosopher, poet, music theorist, artist, printmaker, and amateur mycologist and mushroom collector. A pioneer of chance music, electronic music and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war...
, Elliot Carter, and
Steve ReichStephen Michael Reich is an American composer who pioneered the style of minimalist music. His innovations include using tape loops to create phasing patterns , and the use of simple, audible processes to explore musical concepts...
). Keith Jarrett, better known as a jazz musician, has recorded several classical works by
BachJohann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and organist whose ecclesiastical and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
,
MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as...
,
ShostakovichDmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich was a Russian composer of the Soviet period and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century....
, and others for the New Series. Several works by the filmmaker
Jean-Luc GodardJean-Luc Godard is a French and Swiss filmmaker and one of the founding members of the Nouvelle Vague, or "French New Wave"....
are on the ECM New Series label.
On many releases, the jazz and classical sides of ECM are combined: for example, Garbarek's
Officium (1994) features him playing saxophone solos over the
Hilliard EnsembleThe Hilliard Ensemble is a British male vocal quartet devoted to the performance of early music. Founded in 1973 or 1974, the group is named after the Elizabethan miniaturist painter Nicholas Hilliard....
singing
Gregorian chantGregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic liturgical chant in Western Christianity that accompanied the celebration of Mass and other ritual services...
, early
polyphonyIn music, polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ....
and
Renaissance Renaissance music is European music written during the Renaissance. Defining the beginning of the musical era is difficult, given the gradually adopted "Renaissance" characteristics: musicologists have placed its beginnings from as early as 1300 to as late as the 1470s.- Style and trends :The...
works. Garbarek's work with guitarist Ralph Towner draws on, and is as apparently influenced by, 20th century chamber music as by any overtly "jazz" material.
John Potter (musician)John Potter is an English tenor and academic.-Life:John Potter's musical education began as a chorister at King's College Cambridge, after which he became a scholar at The King's School and exhibitioner at Gonville & Caius...
formerly of the Hilliard Ensemble has recorded works by
John DowlandJohn Dowland was an English composer, singer, and lutenist. He is best known today for his melancholy songs such as "Come, heavy sleep" , "Come again", "Flow my tears", "I saw my Lady weepe" and "In darkness let me dwell", but his instrumental music has undergone a major revival, and has been a...
with jazz saxophonist
John SurmanJohn Douglas Surman is an English jazz saxophone, bass clarinet and synthesizer player and composer of free jazz and modal jazz often using themes from folk music as a basis...
and others, and Surman's
Proverbs and Songs is a suite of choral settings of
Old TestamentIn Christianity, the Old Testament is the collection of books that form the first of the two-part Christian Biblical canon. These works correspond to the Hebrew Bible , with some variations and additions. In the Eastern Orthodox Church the comparable texts are known as the Septuagint, from the...
texts, recorded in
Salisbury CathedralSalisbury Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury, England, considered one of the leading examples of Early English architecture.The main body was completed in only 38 years....
. The label has also released unique works that fit into no obvious genre at all (like the records of composer
Meredith MonkMeredith Jane Monk is an American composer, performer, director, vocalist, film-maker, and choreographer...
).
In 2002 and 2004 ECM released a series of compilation CDs entitled
:rarum. Twenty of the label's artists were asked to compile a single CD of their work for the label (Garbarek and Jarrett's compilations are double CDs). Artists who contributed to this series are
Keith JarrettKeith Jarrett is an American pianist, composer, and jazz icon.His career started with Art Blakey, soon moving on to play with Charles Lloyd then Miles Davis. Since the early 1970s he has enjoyed a great deal of success in both classical music and jazz, as a group leader and a solo performer...
,
Jan GarbarekJan Garbarek is a Norwegian tenor and soprano saxophonist, active in the jazz, classical, and world music genres. Garbarek was the only child of a former Polish prisoner of war Czeslaw Garbarek and a Norwegian farmer's daughter...
,
Chick CoreaArmando Anthony "Chick" Corea is a multiple Grammy Award winning American jazz pianist, keyboardist, drummer, and composer.He is known for his work during the 1970s in the genre of jazz fusion...
,
Gary BurtonGary Burton is an American jazz vibraphonist.A true original on the vibraphone, Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the usual two-mallets. This approach caused Burton to be heralded as an innovator and his sound and technique are widely imitated...
,
Bill FrisellWilliam Richard "Bill" Frisell is an American guitarist and composer.One of the leading guitarists in jazz since the late '80s Frisell's eclectic music touches on progressive folk, classical music, country music, noise and more...
,
Art Ensemble of ChicagoThe Art Ensemble of Chicago is an avant-garde jazz ensemble that grew out of Chicago's AACM in the late 1960s. The group continues to tour and record through 2006, despite the deaths of two of the founding members....
,
Terje RypdalTerje Rypdal is a Norwegian guitarist and composer. Most of his music has been released on several albums of the German record label ECM....
,
Bobo StensonBo Gustav Stenson is a Swedish piano player and jazz musician. Stenson was noted as early as 1963, when he stepped up from the local scene in Västerås to start playing frequently in Stockholm, where he accompanied a long line of visiting American players including Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz and Gary...
,
Pat MethenyPatrick Bruce Metheny is an American jazz guitarist and composer....
,
Dave HollandDave Holland is a British jazz bassist and composer who is a significant representative of avant-garde jazz.-Biography:...
,
Egberto GismontiEgberto Gismonti Amin is a Brazilian composer, guitarist and pianist.-Biography:Gismonti began his formal music studies at the age of six on piano...
,
Jack DeJohnetteJack DeJohnette is an American jazz drummer, pianist, and composer. DeJohnette was born in Chicago, Illinois. Besides the drums, he studied the piano, which he plays on several recordings. He first became known as a member of Charles Lloyd's band, a group that pianist Keith Jarrett also was a part...
,
John SurmanJohn Douglas Surman is an English jazz saxophone, bass clarinet and synthesizer player and composer of free jazz and modal jazz often using themes from folk music as a basis...
, John Abercrombie,
Carla BleyCarla Bley, née Borg, is an American jazz composer, pianist, organist and band leader. An important figure in the Free Jazz movement of the 1960s, she is perhaps best known for her jazz opera Escalator Over The Hill , as well as a book of compositions that have been performed by many other...
,
Paul MotianStephen Paul Motian , is an American jazz drummer, percussionist and composer of Armenian extraction....
,
Tomasz StankoTomasz Stańko is a Polish trumpeter, composer and improviser. Often recording for ECM, Stańko is strongly associated with free jazz and the avant-garde....
,
Eberhard WeberEberhard Weber is a German double bassist and composer. As a bass player, Weber is known for his highly distinctive tone and phrasing...
,
Arild AndersenArild Andersen is a Norwegian bass player.Born in Lillestrøm, Norway, he started out as a member of the Jan Garbarek Quartet , with Terje Rypdal and Jon Christensen...
,
Jon ChristensenJon Christensen is a Norwegian jazz percussionist.In the late 1960s he played alongside Jan Garbarek on several recordings by the composer George Russell....
.
Manfred Eicher continues to take an active interest in the music released by the label, acting as
producerIn the music industry, a record producer has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes...
on most of its recordings. The typical ECM session is just three days—two days to record, one day to mix. Eicher in general dislikes overdubbing. Most of the records have been recorded with Jan Erik Kongshaug (of Talent Studios and later Rainbow Studios) in Oslo, Norway, as sound engineer. All ECM releases display a
SPARS codeSPARS is an acronym for the Society of Professional Audio Recording Services. The SPARS code is a three-letter code that appears on some Compact Disc recordings telling the consumer whether analog or digital equipment was used in producing the recording...
, denoting the type of recording technology used, even though it has fallen out of favor in the recording industry.
Design
The label is world-renowned for the design of its album covers. This was profiled in a 1996 book titled
Sleeves of Desire. It is interesting to note that while newer CD releases frequently use o-sleeves that cover the traditional jewel box, the inlay cards never use two-sided printing or clear trays.
Selected recordings
- 1972: Return to Forever
Return to Forever is a jazz fusion album by Chick Corea, simultaneously functioning as the debut album by the band of the same name. Unlike later albums by the group, it was released by the ECM label and produced by Manfred Eicher. The album was not released in the USA until 1975...
by Chick CoreaArmando Anthony "Chick" Corea is a multiple Grammy Award winning American jazz pianist, keyboardist, drummer, and composer.He is known for his work during the 1970s in the genre of jazz fusion...
- 1973: Solo Concerts: Bremen/Lausanne
Solo Concerts: Bremen/Lausanne is a recording released through ECM by jazz pianist Keith Jarrett performing solo improvisations recorded in Bremen and Lausanne in 1973...
by Keith JarrettKeith Jarrett is an American pianist, composer, and jazz icon.His career started with Art Blakey, soon moving on to play with Charles Lloyd then Miles Davis. Since the early 1970s he has enjoyed a great deal of success in both classical music and jazz, as a group leader and a solo performer...
- 1973: Conference of the Birds
Conference of the Birds is a 1973 album by the Dave Holland Quartet. It is jazz bassist Holland's second collaboration with composer and saxophonist Anthony Braxton, as well as his second album on ECM Records. The Penguin Guide to Jazz selected the album as part of its "Core Collection," and gave...
by Dave HollandDave Holland is a British jazz bassist and composer who is a significant representative of avant-garde jazz.-Biography:...
- 1974: Belonging
Belonging is an album by American pianist Keith Jarrett which was released on the ECM label in 1974. It is the first album by Jarrett's 'European Quartet' featuring Jan Garbarek, Palle Danielsson and Jon Christensen.-Track listing:...
by Keith Jarrett
- 1974: Ring
-Track listing:#"Mevlevia" - 6:01#"Unfinished Sympathy" - 3:03#"Tunnel Of Love" - 5:30#"Intrude" - 4:47#"Silent Spring" - 10:37#"The Colours Of Chloe" - 7:12-Personnel:...
by Gary Burton
- 1975: The Köln Concert
The Köln Concert is a recording released through ECM by the jazz pianist Keith Jarrett, who performed solo improvisations at the Cologne Opera House in Cologne in 1975.-The Köln concert:...
by Keith Jarrett
- 1975: Hotel Hello
-Track listing:#"Chelsea Bells " - 4:24#"Hotel Overture + Vamp" - 3:39#"Hotel Hello" - 5:20#"Inside In" - 2:43#"Domino Biscuit" - 1:56#"Vashkar" - 5:56...
by Gary Burton and Steve SwallowSteve Swallow is a jazz bass guitarist and composer born in Fair Lawn, New Jersey.One of the leading bassists in jazz, Swallow is noted for collaborations with Jimmy Giuffre, Gary Burton and Carla Bley...
- 1976: The Survivors' Suite
The Survivors' Suite is an album by American pianist Keith Jarrett which was released on the ECM label in 1976. It features performances by Jarrett's 'American Quartet' which included Dewey Redman, Charlie Haden, and Paul Motian.-Track listing:...
by Keith Jarrett
- 1976: Staircase
Staircase is the fourth solo album released on ECM by jazz pianist Keith Jarrett. It features Jarrett performing four solo piano pieces recorded in the studio.-Track listing:# "Staircase, Part 1" - 6:57# "Staircase, Part 2" - 7:58...
by Keith Jarrett
- 1977: Dança Das Cabeças
-Track listing:#"Part I" – 25:21#*Quarto Mundo no. 1 #*Danca Das Cabecas #*Aguas Luminosas #*Celebracao De Nupcias #*Porta Encantada #*Quarto Mundo no. 2 #"Part II" – 24:30...
by Egberto Gismonti
- 1977: Dance
Dance is the third album by Paul Motian to be released on the ECM label. It was released in 1977 and features performances by Motian with David Izenzon and Charles Brackeen.-Track listing:# "Waltz Song" - 7:06# "Dance" - 7:29# "Kalypso" - 4:17...
by Paul MotianStephen Paul Motian , is an American jazz drummer, percussionist and composer of Armenian extraction....
- 1978: Music for 18 Musicians
Music for 18 Musicians is a seminal work of musical minimalism composed by Steve Reich during 1974-1976. Its world premiere was on April 24, 1976 at Town Hall, New York. Following this, a recording of the piece was released by ECM New Series...
by Steve ReichStephen Michael Reich is an American composer who pioneered the style of minimalist music. His innovations include using tape loops to create phasing patterns , and the use of simple, audible processes to explore musical concepts...
- 1978: Times Square
-Track listing:#"Semblance" – 4:01#"Coral" – 5:48#"Careful" – 4:42#"Peau Douce" – 4:55#"Midnight" – 4:21#"Radio" – 4:42#"True Or False" – 2:21...
by Gary BurtonGary Burton is an American jazz vibraphonist.A true original on the vibraphone, Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the usual two-mallets. This approach caused Burton to be heralded as an innovator and his sound and technique are widely imitated...
- 1978: Sol Do Meio Dia
-Track listing:# Palácio de Pinturas# Raga# Kalimba# Coração# Café / Sapain / Dança Solitária no. 2 / Baião Malandro-Personnel:* Egberto Gismonti - 8 String Guitar, Kalimba, Wood Flute, Voice, Piano, Bottle...
by Egberto Gismonti
- 1978: My Song
My Song is an album by American pianist Keith Jarrett which was released on the ECM label in 1978. It is the second album by Jarrett's 'European Quartet' featuring Jan Garbarek, Palle Danielsson and Jon Christensen.-Track listing:# "Questar" - 9:10...
by Keith Jarrett
- 1979: Solo
Solo is Egberto Gismonti's third album for ECM Records, on which he is the only performer....
by Egberto GismontiEgberto Gismonti Amin is a Brazilian composer, guitarist and pianist.-Biography:Gismonti began his formal music studies at the age of six on piano...
- 1979: Le Voyage
Le Voyage is the fourth album by Paul Motian to be released on the ECM label. It was released in 1979 and features performances by Motian with Jean-François Jenny Clark and Charles Brackeen.-Track listing:# "Folk Song for Rosie" - 9:53# "Abacus" - 7:16...
by Paul MotianStephen Paul Motian , is an American jazz drummer, percussionist and composer of Armenian extraction....
- 1981: The Great Pretender
The Great Pretender is the first album by Lester Bowie recorded for ECM and released in 1981.-Track listing:# "The Great Pretender" - 16:22# "It's Howdy Doody Time" - 2:08...
by Lester BowieLester Bowie was an American jazz trumpet player and composer. He was a member of the AACM, and cofounded the Art Ensemble of Chicago.-Biography:...
- 1981: Dawn Dance by Steve Eliovson
- 1983: The Ballad of the Fallen
The Ballad of the Fallen is a jazz album by bassist Charlie Haden, recorded in 1982 and released in 1983. The album was voted "Jazz album of the year" in Down Beat magazine's 1984 critic's poll...
by Charlie Haden
- 1984: Voyage by Chick Corea
- 1985: I Only Have Eyes for You
I Only Have Eyes for You is the third album by Lester Bowie recorded for ECM and the debut album of his "Brass Fantasy" group. It was released in 1985 and features performances by Bowie, Vincent Chancey, Craig Harris, Steve Turre, Malachi Thompson, Stanton Davis, Bob Stewart and Phillip...
by Lester BowieLester Bowie was an American jazz trumpet player and composer. He was a member of the AACM, and cofounded the Art Ensemble of Chicago.-Biography:...
- 1990: Music For Large & Small Ensembles
Music For Large & Small Ensembles is an album by Canadian jazz trumpeter, Kenny Wheeler. The album was released in 1990 through ECM Records.-Track listing:DISC 1: THE SWEET TIME SUITE:# "Part I - Opening" - 2:19# "Part II - For H...
by Kenny Wheeler
- 1991: Vienna Concert
Vienna Concert is a live solo piano album by American pianist Keith Jarrett which was released on the ECM label in 1991. It was recorded in concert on July 13, 1991 Vienna Staatsoper, in Vienna.-Track listing:# "Vienna, Part 1" - 42:05...
by Keith Jarrett
- 1994: Athos
Athos is a 1994 album by Stephan Micus that was released on ECM.Based on a three-day visit to Mount Athos, in it Micus tries to capture his experiences with the Greek Orthodox liturgy he experienced in the monasteries there, framing it with pieces that evoke his emotions at going to and leaving the...
by Stephan MicusStephan Micus is a German musician and composer, whose musical style is heavily influenced by his study of traditional instruments and musical techniques from Japan, India, South America, and other countries around the world...
- 1997: La Scala
La Scala is a live solo piano album by American pianist Keith Jarrett which was released on the ECM label in 1997. It was recorded in concert on February 13, 1995 at the Teatro alla Scala in Milano, Italy.-Track listing:# "La Scala, Part 1" - 44:54...
by Keith Jarrett
- 2005: Radiance
Radiance is a live solo piano album by American pianist Keith Jarrett which was released on the ECM label in 2006. It was recorded in concert in 2002 on October 27 in Osaka and October 30, in Tokyo.-Track listing:# "Radiance, Part 1" - 12:18...
by Keith Jarrett
Further reading
- Sleeves of Desire: a Cover Story. Lars Müller Publishers ISBN 978-3906700854 1996
- Horizons Touched: the Music of ECM. Steve Lake and Paul Griffiths
Paul Griffiths is a British music critic, novelist and librettist. He is particularly noted for his writings on modern classical music and for having written the libretti for two 20th century operas, Tan Dun's Marco Polo and Elliott Carter's What Next?.-Biography and career:Paul Griffiths was...
, eds. Granta Books ISBN 978-1862078802 2007
External links