The Warm Glow of ECM Vinyl: Tomasz Stańko, Bill Connors, and Mick Goodrick

In an oft-quoted phrase from a 1971 magazine article, ECM founder and producer Manfred Eicher described the label's ethos as "the most beautiful sound next to silence." From the start, the label's eloquent sound—captured expertly by house engineers Martin Wieland and Jan Erik Kongshaug—transferred beautifully to vinyl, and original pressings remain highly prized among collectors. So it's little wonder that fans welcomed news of a vinyl reissue series, even if it arrived later than other labels' ventures into the vinyl renaissance. Titled after a 1974 duo project by Jan Garbarek and Keith Jarrett, the ECM Luminessence series launched in early 2023 as an audiophile reissue program spotlighting some of the label's hidden gems, and currently runs to about two dozen titles. Housed in tip-on gatefold sleeves, these editions are remastered from the original tapes and pressed on 180-gram vinyl. Most also include newly penned liner notes, making them the definitive word on this timeless music.

Tomasz Stanko
Balladyna
ECM Records
1976/2026

Though it marked his debut for ECM, Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stańko's 1975 session Balladyna has remained a touchstone in his catalog and one of the label's finest records. Dave Holland's opening vamp on "First Song" makes clear he'd been listening closely to Charlie Haden, before the mood shifts into high-energy improvisation. Stanko's opening statement brims with vocal devices and textural nuance, while Tomasz Szukalski's tenor saxophone speaks in similarly tone-bending extremes.

Long bass tones and Edward Vesala's fluid drumming illuminate Stanko's yearning, beautiful statement on "Tale." In the final analysis, "Nun" is the first side's centerpiece, finding Stanko in spirited dialogue with Szukalski's piquant soprano saxophone. Dark and romantic, "Duet" strips things down to just Holland's bass and Stanko's searching trumpet—a brief, potent lesson in how space and silence shape mood.

The title track opens the flipside, again sounding like the next logical step from the chordless jazz quartets of Ornette Coleman's classic band and Old and New Dreams—Stanko even echoes their shared touchstone, trumpeter Don Cherry. A key collaborator here and on many of Stanko's projects, Vesala is a master of musical drumming, heard at his best on "Last Song" and "Nenaliina," where his stabs and interjections spur the band on, and his well-defined ride cymbal drives the pulse. Anything but ethereal and quiet, Balladyna spits, sputters, and swings, and remains as vital as ever.

Bill Connors
Of Mist and Melting
ECM Records
1978/2026

For guitarist Bill Connors, his detour into ECM territory proved a career-changing move, pulling him out of the electrified world he'd been working in with Return to Forever and Stanley Clarke. He switched to acoustic guitar for his three-album run on the label, beginning with 1974's Theme to the Guardian. The pick of the litter is Of Mist and Melting, its high-quality results owing much to the rhythm team of bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Jack DeJohnette. The pair had joined pianist Keith Jarrett for the bassist's Tales of Another in early 1977, then made the Connors session later that year. Of course, in January 1983, Jarrett would reunite with the two to form the legendary Standards Trio.

The lengthy "Melting" opens the album with DeJohnette's fluid, potent drumming setting the pace before saxophonist Jan Garbarek's clarion call pushes the narrative forward. Garbarek's upper-register phrases and stark tone can be an acquired taste, but none of the excesses that sometimes turn listeners off are on display here—he even sounds faintly romantic on the blissful "Not Forgetting," a sublime showcase for Connors' nylon-string guitar. The pair speaks in unison at the start of "Face in the Water," amid rumbling toms and collective improvisation.

A sense of simpatico runs through much of the interplay between Connors and Garbarek, especially when the latter switches to soprano saxophone. "Aubade" is the high point of this rapport, unfolding slowly as DeJohnette's sticks roll across his ride cymbal, Peacock not entering the fold until the performance's final quarter. Muscular and swinging in its own way, "Café Vue" holds some lovely flashes of Connors' refined melodic sense and phrasing, while the closing "Unending" settles back onto more tempered ground. A fan favorite since its release, Of Mist and Melting remains one of the catalog's gems, and one now worthy of wider appreciation.

Mick Goodrick
In Pas(s)ing
ECM Records
1979/2026

Another guitarist of note with a similarly low profile, Mick Goodrick was self-effacing to a fault, more content to be one of the country's best jazz educators than to push his own performing career into high gear. Following stints with Gary Burton and Woody Herman, Goodrick settled into jazz pedagogy, releasing only a handful of albums in his lifetime—the first being 1979's In Pas(s)ing. Still considered something of a masterpiece, it's another fine example of an artist pushing past Eicher's dominant sonic approach toward a more personal statement than the ECM norm.

Jack DeJohnette serves as a valuable catalyst once again, while Eddie Gomez struts his highly interactive style, his upper-register lines standing out sharply in the mix. Though often noted for more avant-garde leanings, John Surman's baritone on "Feebles, Fables, and Ferns" waxes poetic before Goodrick enters with a sublime statement of great beauty. The set's longest track, "In the Tavern of Ruin," suits Surman's colorful soprano work to a T; as the tension builds, Goodrick and Surman trade phrases while colorful splashes from DeJohnette's China cymbal lead into an impressive Gomez solo.

A favorite chart among musicians, "Summer Band Camp" shifts moods back and forth like clouds drifting across a sunny sky. Goodrick delivers single-note runs interrupted only briefly by chordal jabs, DeJohnette remaining highly interactive throughout. "Pedalpusher" draws its charm from Surman's blustery bass clarinet and Goodrick's dense chords. Ruminating on a static chord for nearly the first half of the tune, the title track features Surman's earthy soprano saxophone, which eventually lifts off with Coltrane—like energy. As fine as it is, In Pas(s)ing would inexplicably remain Goodrick's only release for ECM during his lifetime. With the label having recently issued a posthumous, newly unearthed duo set with Fred Hersch Feebles, Fables And Ferns (ECM Records, 2026) alongside this reissue, hopes are high for a well-served reevaluation of Goodrick's legacy.

Tracks and Personnel

Balladyna

Tracks: First Song; Tale; Num; Duet; Balladyna; Last Song; Nenaliina.

Personnel: Tomasz Stanko: trumpet; Tomasz Szukalski: saxophones; Dave Holland: bass; Edward Vesala: drums.

Of Mist and Melting

Tracks: Melting; Not Forgetting; Face in the Water; Aubade; Cafe Vue; Unending.

Personnel: Bill Connors: guitar; Jan Garbarek: saxophones; Gary Peacock: bass; Jack DeJohnette: drums.

In Pas(s)ing

Tracks: Feebles, Fables, and Ferns; In the Tavern of Ruin; Summer Band Camp; Pedalpusher; In Passing.

Personnel: Mick Goodrick: guitar; John Surman: saxophones and bass clarinet; Eddie Gomez: bass; Jack DeJohnette.