Favourite ECM Recordings

I am very fond of Terje Rypdal, specifically: Skywards and Lux Aeterna.

Also floating my boat in an ECM stylee are Pat Metheny Group's Offramp and Travels; and, of course lots of Keith Jarrett: especially the awesome Jarrett/Peacock/DeJonette trio: best of all are The Cure, Inside Out (astonishing 99% improvised live album, recorded at the Festival Hall) and Changeless.

And I adore The Sun Bear Concerts

Kevin (Planetary Assault Systems: Twilight)

Cloud About Mercury, David Torn with Bruford, Levin & Isham...amazing.

I'd dearly love to know what brand/model of studio reverb/echo chamber was used in the mixing of albums like Offramp...anyone have any notion?

• Anouar Brahem - Astrakan Cafe
• Anouar Brahem - Thimar
• Anouar Brahem - Khomsa
• Anouar Brahem - Le Pas du Chat Noir
• Arild Andersen Trio - The Triangle
• Arild Andersen Quartet - If You Look Far Enough
• Arild Andersen Quintet - Hyperborean
• Arild Andersen/Tsabropoulos//Marshall - Achirana
• Charles Lloyd/Billy Higgins - Which Way is East
• All of Charlie Haden especially - The Ballad of the Fallen
• Dave Holland Quintet - Not For Nothing
• Dave Holland Quintet - Extended Play: Live at Birdland
• Dino Saluzzi Trio - Cite de la Musique
• Dino Saluzzi Quartet - Once Upon a Time[/B] - Far Away in the South
• Don Cherry/Nana Vasconcelos/Collin Walcott - Codona 2
• Egberto Gismonti/Nana Vasconcelos - Duas Vozes
• Egberto Gismonti Group - Sol Do Meio Dia
• Enrico Rava Quintet - Easy Living
• All of Keith Jarrett: Solo, his Trio and his Quartet, especially - LaScala, Paris, Belonging, Dark Intervals
• Gianluigi Trovesi Octet - Fugace
• Gianluigi Trovesi, Gianni Coscia - In Cerca de Cibo
• John Abercrombie Quartet - Class Trip
• Lester Bowie's Brass Fantasy - I Only Have Eyes For You
• Marilyn Crispell - Storyteller
• Miroslav Vitous / Jan Garbarek / Chick Corea / John McLaughlin / Jack DeJohnette - Universal Syncopations
• Oregon - Oregon
• Pat Metheny - 80/81
• Ralph Towner - Anthem
• Carla Bley Big Band - Looking for America
• Tomasz Stanko - Soul of Things
• Tomasz Stanko Quartet - Suspended Night

Best regards, freundliche Grüße

Stefan

God bless you too Mr Lees. Hope to see you soon (I've moved BTW).

Stefan - Excellent choices, you have all my favourites, I would only add a few:

1. Charles Lloyd
2. Shankar
3. Art Ensemble of Chicago
4. Nils Petter Molvaer
5. Some Jan Gabarek (esp with the Musicians of Pakistan 'Ragas & Sagas'...Nick you will love this one)
6. Zakir Hussain 'Making Music'

John Surman

Road To Saint Ives

Just ordered



The Amazing Adventures Of Simon Simon

John Surman soprano and baritone saxophones, bass clarinet, synthesizer
Jack DeJohnette drums, congas, electric piano

and

Coruscating

John Surman soprano and baritone saxophones, bass and contrabass clarinets
Chris Laurence double-bass
Rita Manning violin
Keith Pascoe violin
Bill Hawkes viola
Nick Cooper cello

Guys, almost ALL my ECM CD's are my favorites. I excluded in my list the ones that have been named, already, and those that remain, have been named by Dev B and Basil (like Surman, Lloyd, some Garbarek, AEOC)

I wonder how this would end if we also included the labels ENJA, Chesky (some) and ACT (some, coming up very strongly...)

Best regards, freundliche Grüße

Stefan

Here's their Web address:


ECM

Not a huge ECM fan, beautiful recordings but a fair wallop of lifestyle noodling IMO. Having said that, there are some great records in their catalogue, Art Ensemble of Chicago, Old & New Dreams, some of the Jarretts, and some good Dave Holland stuff. I can live without the wistful sax playing Scandanavians they seem to keep putting out, good players but generally better when they're on other people's records rather than fronting their own IMO.

-- Ian

Also with Ian/Bob on this. I love the sound of ECM but not always the music.

My faves:
Thomas Stanko : Suspended Night
Lester Bowie, The Great pretender
Art Ensemble of Chicago, Urban Bushmen
Wheeler et al, Angel Song
Haden et al, Ballad of the Fallen
Jarrett et al, Whisper Not
Nils Peter Molvaer, ( the second one - forgotten the name)

Is the Charles LLoyd stuff good? I quite fancy the Lloyd/ Billy Higgins cd.

Kevin

quote:

---

I wonder how this would end if we also included the labels ENJA, Chesky (some) and ACT (some, coming up very strongly...)

Best regards, freundliche Grüße

Stefan

---

Dear Stefan,

Enja is great as is Water Lily Acoustics and Nimbus Indian Classical / World Music Series.

Good listening!

Echo the Jarretts, Pärts, and Wheeler et al. mentioned above; I'll add the following:

Gary Burton/Chick Corea - Crystal Silence (as mentioned on the Corea thread)
John Abercrombie Trio - Timeless

I'm sure there are a couple of others that escape me at the moment.

I just wanted to say that I think my best ECM record - and it's a hard choice as it changes every time I think about it is the 'The Survivors Suite' By Keith Jarrett.

So many great ECM records I can't begin to list them ...

Ralph Towner - Solo Concert
Jan Gabarek - Paths, Prints
Mirolsav Vitous Quartet - self-titled
Ralph Towner/John Abercrombie - Five Years Later

The last two of these are still unavailable on CD - grrr.

Much as I love the music on ECM, I still have problems with Manfred Eicher's overgenerous application of reverb.

And why oh why do current ECM releases have such dull sleeves, and those damn-fool slipcases?

Mark S

Having been a big fan of ECM for a while, especially Arvo Part, I was especially looking forward to a trip to Talinn recently. The place is an amazing city made even more so by the best CD shop I have ever been into in the world. It was a tiny single room place with the guy who owns it running and serving there, he sold only Estonian recordings and what seemed like the whole ECM catalogue, I didnt know where to start. And the most strange and peaceful thing about the whole place was it was totally silent, no music in a CD shop, a concept I didnt think would work but strangely enough it did. So if you ever are in Tallin check it out, its just opposite the Depeche Mode bar...but thats another story!!!

Jazz:

Dave Holland Quintet - Prime Directive

Classical:

Zehetmair Quartett - Schumann, String Quartets Nr. 1 & 3

One superb ECM recording I did not mention in my earlier listing (I left many out) is

Tord Gustavsen - Changing Places

This is beautiful piano trio - very accessible

Thanks for all the other contributions - I may be tempted to go and try some out.

Cheers

I'm with Nick on this one. If I had to take just one to my island it would be Eberhard Weber - Chorus. This could well be my most favorite record....EVER. It is that good.

A close 2nd would be Jan Garbarek - Legend Of The Seven Dreams.

Bob

Anyone bought the second Rarum box set?

I have the first one and plan to get the new one as I don't have many of the individual albums. Just wondered what your views were.

Calum

quote:

---

Originally posted by Expat in Oz:
One superb ECM recording I did not mention in my earlier listing (I left many out) is

Tord Gustavsen - Changing Places

This is beautiful piano trio - very accessible

Cheers

---

You're so right, Adrian. Excellent recommendation a bit "off mainstream" (in "ECM land")

Thanks for the hint !

Best regards, freundliche Grüße

Stefan

Stefan,

Glad you like it.

Tord will have a new CD out on ECM early next year called "The Ground".

Anyway it is not often that here in Australia we are ahead of the game when it comes to ECM stuff but it has been released here this week - the only place worldwide to get it in 04.

Again a very good accessible listen.

Cheers
Adrian

Funny nobody mentioned Meredith Monk. Nick?

I think she's fantastic and she did release a few albums on ECM. I have 'Dolmen Music' and 'Do You Be'. The rest of the ECM stuff doesn't do it for me. I've got 'Old and New Dreams', which has the slick, cold, Hi Endish sound that is typical for the label.

Willem

Hi Nick,

There are some samples on this page http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000261O9/ref=ase_meredithmonk-20/102-5036515-9430561?v=glance&s=music#product-details, but they are nothing like the real thing of course.

The Dolmen Music album is quite something if you can bear high pitched female vocals.

Her website is nice also. This will lead you to it: http://www.meredithmonk.org/

Enjoy!

Willem

Good post.

Mention of Anouar Brahem prompted to play Madar again today and I really enjoyed it.

So I've just ordered Thimar.

Nice one!

Steve

Andras Schiff playing Bach's Goldberg Variations, recorded live by ECM a couple of years ago, is pretty special.

G