Your 4 favourite ECM albums.

Great thread making choices is difficult. Because I will miss out on other albums I love. I would come to a Keith Jarrett only suggestion....

This is a nice idea, but selecting only four took a while. But here they are, in alphabetical order:

Jan Garbarek - I Took Up The Runes

Keith Jarrett - The Melody At Night, With You

Quercus

Arianna Savall - Hirundo Maris

...and two of them haven’t been not mentioned yet  

I'm rather surprised, if not disappointed, that no one has yet listed any of the early Pat Metheny albums. Without going through my record collection to find which are ECM, I am certain without doubt that this is my absolute favourite on ECM: 'Offramp'.

Also up there would be 'As Falls Wichita...' and maybe 'Officium'.

Although I have a copy of Keith Jarrett's 'Köln Concert', I just don't get it. I heard part of it on Jazz Record Requests a couple of weeks back and thought it sounded OK, so I thought I'd give it another chance, but still it didn't work for me.

The last sentence in my post above is poorly written. Perhaps I should have said: two of them are new.

The Black Crowes on ECM - I don't think  so. 

Sorry folks - not paying enough attention! The Black Crowes was of course meant to go in WAYLTAWMAEBI

Clive B posted:

I'm rather surprised, if not disappointed, that no one has yet listed any of the early Pat Metheny albums.

Ahem, I listed Bright Size Life, his first ECM album:

https://forums.naimaudio.com/to...03#72807553187492603

Clive B posted:

I'm rather surprised, if not disappointed, that no one has yet listed any of the early Pat Metheny albums....

Ahmmm... I mentioned 'American Garage' - it's from 1979. 'Offramp' is from 1982....

Out of the few that I know, and as of today- in no particular order :

Chic Corea - Return To Forever

Steve Kuhn - Ecstasy

Stefano Bollani - Joy In Spite of Everything

Enrico Rava - New York Days

Tord Gustavsen's first four albums. I'm looking forward to trying much more of the ECM catalog, now it's available on Tidal and other streaming services.

Like the label I'm putting forward four eclectic options:

Nils Petter Molvaer - Khmer

Ambose Field/John Potter - Being Dufay

Jon Hassell - Last night the moon came dropping its clothes in the street

Food - This is not a miracle

I have those last three, and really rate them. The Ambrose Field is particularly good. 

Four I’d suggest, though I’m not sure I can really identify ‘favourites’, are:

John Holloway - Biber/Muffat- Der Türken Anmarsch

Kim Kashkashian & Robert Levin - Asturiana - Songs from Spain and Argentina

Marc Johnson - Shades of Jade

John Taylor - Rosslyn 

 I think "Easy Living" is fabulous, cheated a bit with the last one (Jack DeJohnette - Parallel Realities", just noticed not on ECM for this one, but recommended LP !

That’s cheating! The Peter Erskine is four albums by itself. I agree about Easy Living, and am playing it now, following your timely reminder. 

Hungryhalibut posted:

That’s cheating! The Peter Erskine is four albums by itself. I agree about Easy Living, and am playing it now, following your timely reminder. 

I imagine the Peter Erskine sounding absolutely fantastic on your "new" system !?

A bit annoyed I omitted one of my all time favourites !

Angel Song - Kenny Wheeler

Hard to pick only four, so will go with favorites that come quickly to mind.

Jan Garbarek - Witchi-Tai-To

Chris Potter - Imaginary Cities

Tord Gustavsen - The Well

Haden, Garbarek and Gismonti - Magico

Oh crap, how can I leave out Charles Lloyd?  Will go with “Which Way Is East”.

An article about ECM records:

http://www.irishexaminer.com/l...-records-463186.html

Haim Ronen posted:

An article about ECM records:

http://www.irishexaminer.com/l...-records-463186.html

Thanks for link, enjoyed the article.

The article also included the 5 essential ECM Albums.

FIVE ESSENTIAL ALBUMS FROM ECM 

• Keith Jarrett: The Köln Concert (1975) Sixty-six intense minutes of solo piano improvisations that still entrance and transport more than 40 years later.

• Steve Reich: Music For 18 Musicians (1978) Debut and definitive recording of Reich’s masterpiece. David Bowie described it as “Balinese gamelan music cross-dressing as minimalism”.

• Arvo Pärt: Tabula Rasa (1984) The album that introduced the Estonian composer’s powerfully movingly “holy minimalism” to a wider world. “Arvo Pärt’s music is a house on fire and an infinite calm,” said REM’s Michael Stipe.

• Jan Garbarek and The Hilliard Ensemble: Officium (1994) Lustrous jazz saxophone combines with the ethereal purity of an early music vocal quartet to glorious effect.

• Vijay Iyer Sextet: Far From Over (2017) All-star group led by American jazz pianist Iyer; a compelling, complex, cutting-edge modern classic.

No way I can make a selection of 4 favorites, as probably a third of my collection is on ECM, but observations:

[@mention:1566878603881681], you are the uncrowned king of ECM for me. Not only do you keep the complete catalogue (and that will include duplications,books, collection, etc.), but you also can tell a story about most of the individual records. And how many times have you had dinner or at least met the ECM artists and/or Manfred Eicher...

going through this thread, I can agree with almost any of the 4 choices to be mine, also.

over the years, it was usually the last 4 I had purchased, that were my 4 favorites. Can hardly remember to be let down by any.

there ARE some that I only listened once, though. Still enjoying, but no lust to repeat. That must have been the time when I bought records like others do their grocery.

with ECM releasing ALL (as I understand) of their catalogue to streaming (and thus downloading) platforms, a new era of discovery has started. I feel like a kid in a candy shop !

ECM without The Köln Concert would be like Virgin without Tubular Bells.

My most played are

Keith Jarrett - The Survivors Suite and Nude Ants

Meredith Monk - Book of Days and Dolmen Music