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ECM Records Touchstones: Part 3
by Dan McClenaghan
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 This third edition of “ECM Touchstones" explores more of the label's early recordings, repackaged and offered up as a way to present music that had perhaps slipped through time's cracks, into the hard-to-find category. Of these, four were re-released in 2019, one in 2008--24 to 47 ...
ECM Records Touchstones: Part 2
by Dan McClenaghan
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 This second edition of “ECM Touchstones" explores more of the label's early recordings, repackaged and offered up as a way to present music that had perhaps slipped through time's cracks, into the hard-to-find category. Of these, four were re-released in 2019, one in 2008--32 to 43 ...
ECM Records Touchstones: Part 1
by Dan McClenaghan
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 Every album ever released by ECM Records would be readily available in a better world. But that, understandably, is not the case. The German label, founded by Manfred Eicher—who still holds the helm—debuted in 1969 with pianist Mal Waldron's Free At Last. In the ensuing five-plus ...
Ten Essential Keith Jarrett Solo Recordings
by Karl Ackermann
Keith Jarrett is a perfectionist. Perfection and innovation are, more often than not, mutually exclusive qualities and that is where Jarrett reveals his unique strain of genius. He remains the most respected and influential figure in the world of jazz, improvisation, and beyond. Despite two strokes that have permanently left him unable to play piano, his ...
Frank Sinatra: The Capitol Records Albums, 1954 to 1959
by Dan McClenaghan
After stints in the Harry James and Tommy Dorsey bands, Frank Sinatra began his solo recording career in 1947 with Columbia Records. This association lasted until 1950. He switched labels in 1954, moving on to Capitol Records. Songs For Swingin' Lovers (Capitol, 1954) was his first release for the label. It was the beginning of an ...
Donald Fagen: An Essential Top 10 Albums
by Peter Jones
Actually, the whole notion of a Donald Fagen Top Ten is tricky. Artists like Chet Baker made well over a hundred albums, whereas in half a century Fagen has only released 13 official studio albums, whether with Steely Dan or under his own name, along with a handful of live sets. The process of selecting the ...
Herbie Hancock: An Essential Top Ten Albums
by Chris May
The title of Herbie Hancock's 1973 hit single “Chameleon," pulled from his jazz-funk monster Head Hunters (Columbia), was an apt one. Hancock had already undergone several transformations: from the blues-and-gospel-infused vibe of his Blue Note debut, Takin' Off (1962), to more experimentally inclined Blue Note albums in the mid-to-late 1960s, and on to his early 1970s ...
Matthew Shipp: A Dozen Essential Albums
by Karl Ackermann
While he was still in his fifties, some pundits were hailing Matthew Shipp as the “elder statesman" of avant-garde jazz piano. The sentiment, if not the Stonehenge-like title, was spot on. The Wilmington, Delaware native grew up in jazz, with trumpeter Clifford Brown being a family friend. Shipp began studying piano at age 6 and later ...
Horace Silver: His Only Mistake Was To Smile
by Chris May
In his sleeve note for the audio restored Horace Silver album Live New York Revisited (ezz-thetics, 2022), British writer Brian Morton cut to the chase. “[Silver]'s only mistake," he wrote, “was to smile while he was playing... a challenge to the notion that jazz should be deadly serious and played with a pained rictus."
CTI Records: Ten Tasty Albums With No Added Sugar (Almost)
by Chris May
Few jazz producers divide opinion as much as Creed Taylor. He is a hero to many and a villain to as many more. His fans love him for his high production values. His detractors accuse him of dumbing jazz down with excessively sweetened orchestrations and other sales-oriented compromises. Nowhere is the dispute more heated than over ...
