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Bill Frisell / Thomas Morgan: Small Town
by John Kelman
In Emma Franz's revelatory documentary, Bill Frisell: A Portrait, the guitarist talks about the many guitars he owns, and how he rarely gets to plays them--the consequence, amongst other things, of the plight musicians face when traveling by air these days. Not three months after the film's premiere at South By Southwest this past March, comes ...
Matt Mitchell: Forage
by Dan McClenaghan
Alto saxophonist Tim Berne could have been called, at the dawn of the new millennium, the American artist least likely to join the ECM Records roster. The thought here was that Berne's relentless momentum and frequent agitation and flat out wild man brazenness wouldn't fit in well enough with the European impressionism/Nordic cool approach (a definite ...
Mats Gustafsson & Craig Taborn: Ljubljana
by Mark Corroto
Congratulations to whomever conceived of this pairing of two improvised music giants. Pianist Craig Taborn and saxophonist Mats Gustafsson, both born in the great white north (so to speak), Taborn in Minneapolis and Gustafsson, Umeå, in Northern Sweden. Both are original and distinctive improvisers whose paths had never crossed until the 2015 Ljubljana Jazz Festival.
Five Classic ECM Titles in High Res
by John Kelman
If ever there were a label that deserved to have its catalog released in a high resolution format, it's Munich's ECM Records. Since its inception in 1969, the multiple award-winning record label headed by producer Manfred Eicher has truly redefined how, initially, jazz and improvised music recordings could--and, at least for some, perhaps should--sound. Attention to ...
John Abercrombie Quartet: Up and Coming
by Matthew Aquiline
Guitarist John Abercrombie has long been a stalwart artist for Manfred Eicher's ECM Records, steadily releasing albums as a leader since 1975's fusion masterpiece Timeless (ECM). A true guitar virtuoso, Abercrombie's adaptability and dexterous command over his instrument have secured his exalted rank within the jazz realm and beyond. Now, over 40 years after his debut, ...
Theo Bleckmann: Elegy
by John Kelman
While ECM is a label largely renowned for its subtlety, attention to space and detail, and overall understated, “less is more" aesthetic--an early sampler titled, even, The Most Beautiful Sound Next To Silence--it's hard to imagine a label debut as a leader that could be less about virtuosity and more about creating soft atmospheres and ambiences ...
John Abercrombie Quartet: Up and Coming
by John Kelman
Starting the new year with, if not precisely a bang, a nevertheless unforgettable record whose strength lies in pristine lyricism, nuanced group interplay and writing that capitalizes on the entire quartet's appreciation of subtlety over gymnastics and refined lyricism over angularity, John Abercrombie's Up and Coming--ECM's first release of the year--is also founded strongly on the ...
Keith Jarrett: A Multitude of Angels
by John Kelman
The phrase “triumph of the human spirit" may be commonly used, but rarely in musical contexts. There have, however, been relatively recent examples of such achievements, like when Michael Brecker managed to not just make it into the studio, six months before he died from a fatal blood disorder in early 2007, but delivered one of ...
Andrew Cyrille Quartet: The Declaration of Musical Independence
by Mark Sullivan
Drummer Andrew Cyrille is probably best known for his long association with the avant-garde pianist Cecil Taylor. He has previously appeared on ECM and Watt albums by saxophonist Marion Brown (Afternoon of a Georgia Faun, 1970), Carla Bley (European Tour 1977, 1978), The Jazz Composer's Orchestra (originally on JCOA, 1968), and most recently on Ben Monder's ...
Tigran Hamasyan/Arve Henriksen/Eivind Aarset/Jan Bang: Atmosphères
by Mark Sullivan
This quartet came together at the suggestion of ECM label head Manfred Eicher after hearing a Punkt Festival recording of pianist Tigran Hamasyan in duo with live sampling musician Jan Bang. The addition of trumpeter Arve Henriksen and guitarist Eivind Aarset increased the textural possibilities, as well as providing a solo trumpet voice. Hamasyan was preparing ...
