JOHN ABERCROMBIE Animato CD 1779870 £8.00
Animato explores the rich compositional world of Vince Mendoza – it’s a unique album for John Abercrombie, dominated by guitar and synthesizers, while Christensen’s drums add acoustic commentary. “One of Abercrombie’s most cohesive and swinging sets. He sounds completely in control of the music… the production is flawless.” – Penguin Guide to Jazz /
“Yet another superb trio” – Rough Guide to Jazz
ABERCROMBIE / HOLLAND / DEJOHNETTE Gateway CD 1776212 £8.00
The Gateway trio was one of ECM’s great, early ensembles and all three would go on to record many masterpieces for the label. This is intense, fiery (even sometimes rockish) music that defies categorization. DownBeat spoke of its “daring and visionary spirit” in a 5-star review “…generous interactive improvising, and when the three, driven by Mr. Holland's bass, hit the right swing, the music gleams.” – New York Times / “One of the definitive sounds of ECM’s early years.” – Penguin Guide to Jazz
ART ENSEMBLE OF CHICAGO Full Force CD 1779873 £8.00
The fabulous Chicago collective’s second recording for ECM is another Ensemble tapestry of sounds and influences. It showcases Malachi Favors’ suite-like “Magg Zelma” while “Charlie M” is their wonderful tribute to Charles Mingus. "Like Duke Ellington and Count Basie, the Modern Jazz Quartet and the aggregations of Charles Mingus, the Art Ensemble… expanded the expressive possibilities for jazz.“ – New York Times / “An excellent document of the Ensemble's most focused work in this period…” – Amazon
BASS DESIRES (Marc Johnson / Bill Frisell / Second Sight CD 1775825 £8.00 John Scofield / Peter Erskine)
Bass Desires was one of ECM’s most successful if short-lived bands, and this, their second and last recording, matches the brilliance of their self-titled debut. A true collaborative comprising four outstanding musical thinkers, they developed an eclectic group sound through exploring their own compositions. “With its briskly swinging, slightly rock-tinged rhythm section and its pealing guitars, Bass Desires might well appeal to fans of the guitarist Pat Metheny.” – NY Times / “Something of a supergroup of its day.” – Richard Cook’s Jazz Encyclopedia
LESTER BOWIE The Great Pretender CD 1776214 £8.00
Flamboyant trumpeter Lester Bowie took the instrument and improvisational music in his own, unique direction. As a sonic scientist with roots in R & B, the blues and carnival music, his ECM debut as a leader is a fascinating and fun sonic amalgam which good-humouredly explores these elements. “There are trumpet players and there is Lester Bowie…” – Sunday Times / “Typically resplendent ECM recording.” – Penguin Guide to Jazz
ANOUAR BRAHEM Conte de l'incroyable amour CD 1779874 £8.00
Tunisian oud master Anouar Brahem’s second recording for ECM is another category-defying masterpiece, blending elements of tradition and the new. He invites two Turkish musicians into his soundworld, ney player Kudsi Erguner, from the Sufi tradition, and clarinettist Barbaros Erköse, an exponent of Romany gypsy music. “The album unfurls around the poetic talent of Anouar Brahem’s lute. One follows him with delight around the subtle commands of the melody, the silences of the musical phrasing, across the unspoken deep into oriental paths, in a poetry of light and delicate beats." – Le Monde (CD of the Year 1992)
CHICK COREA Children's Songs CD 1776217 £8.00
Children’s Songs is a unique album in pianist Chick Corea’s long discography, comprising 20 brief, simple-yet profound and memorable sketches that quickly set a mood (comparisons have been made with Bartók’s Makrokosmos) and have never lost their charm. Set down in 1983, it features unusual instrumentation for a Corea recording. “Children’s Songs has a continual cascading melodiousness… illustrating [Corea’s] superb craftsmanship of terse, self-contained non-vocal compositions.” – New York Times (1988)
BILL FRISELL Rambler CD 1776225 £8.00
Rambler was guitarist Bill Frisell’s second recording for ECM, and was another of his early gems - the supporting players are amazingly empathic, creating a myriad of moods and sounds. It was these early ECM albums which established Frisell as a major new voice on guitar. “…an early and enduring document of a major musician's work…gives the eerie sense of funhouse mirrors, a dream of sonic and temporal distortion.” – Amazon / “A beautifully structured record with a fascinating instrumental blend.” – Penguin Guide to Jazz
JAN GARBAREK I Took Up The Runes CD 1779877 £8.00
Garbarek’s disparate inspirations – folk, jazz, world – are beautifully fused together on this bestseller which features the driving drumming of Manu Katché and the masterly percussion of Nana Vasconcelos, plus great contributions from Garbarek stalwarts, Brüninghaus and Weber. “I Took Up the Runes frequently achieves ecstatic elevation thanks to Garbarek’s incantatory style being matched to some superb themes – the five-section “Molde Canticle” uses the most immediately communicative melody of his career, with the direct simplicity of a folk-tune – and the propulsive world music percussion of Manu Katché and Nana Vasconcelos.” – MusicHound Jazz
EGBERTO GISMONTI / NANA VASCONCELOS Duas Vozes CD 1779923 £8.00
An original and profound album by two Brazilian masters, guitarist Egberto Gismonti and percussionist Nana Vasconcelos Duas Vozes evokes infinitely more sounds than just the “two voices” of its title - the partnership brought new colours to improvised music on ECM. “This album is genuinely a milestone in cross-cultural music in the way it fuses jazz piano or a dark rhythmic flamenco-cum-jazz guitar style with the vocal and arcane percussion methods of Brazilian music. A masterpiece…this album is an essential part of a comprehensive record collection.” – The Wire
JON HASSELL w/ Brian Eno / Daniel Lanois Power Spot CD 1776227 £8.00
Possibly the most significant album by the American experimental trumpeter Jon Hassell, whose instrument here glides and soars over a tapestry of ambient keyboard textures/percussion. He was the creator of a musical aesthetic that he termed “Fourth World” drawing on minimalism, Asian and African traditions, and electronics to create new, and very influential, dreamscapes. Produced by Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois - of Roxy Music, Talking Heads and U2 fame. “The Memphis-born explorer of African and Eastern music is an esthetician, cultural anthropologist and something of a mystic as well as a composer-performer.” – New York Times
KEITH JARRETT/ PEACOCK/ DEJOHNETTE Bye Bye Blackbird CD 1776230 £8.00
When Miles Davis died in 1991, three of his former sidemen – Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette – headed to New York’s Power Station to play some music in his memory. The trio’s homage to the legendary trumpeter includes six songs closely associated with Miles while “For Miles" is an 18-minute stirring original improvisation. "As an immediate response to a traumatic event [the death of Miles], Jarrett and his colleagues strike the right emotional balance to create one of their more meaningful albums." – Amazon
PAT METHENY New Chautauqua CD 1775849 £8.00
Pat Metheny’s first solo tour-de-force at an early stage in his career (recorded in 1978), New Chautauqua shows the guitarist as a visionary, a restless seeker of sounds, and a master musician. By skilfully over-dubbing himself, Metheny presents a new language for the guitar. He viewed it as ”an autobiographical album. It’s a lot to do with the American Midwest. It’s very open and spacious. “A rare all-solo album in the Metheny canon. A pleasant, sweet-toned diversion, it hints at the multifariousness, with various electric and acoustic settings, with which Metheny has grown fascinated in recent times.” – Penguin Guide to Jazz
PAT METHENY GROUP First Circle CD 1779925 £8.00
First Circle was Pat Metheny’s last recording for ECM, before signing with Geffen Records. With new members Pedro Aznar and Paul Wertico, the group was set for its next phase but Metheny’s musical touchstones are still all here – South America, spirited rock, and de-tuned sonic parody. “Metheny is surely the most popular jazz musician of the modern era.” – Richard Cook’s Jazz Encyclopedia
OREGON Ectopia CD 1777594 £8.00
Orgeon’s third and final recording for ECM, with Indian percussionist Trilok Gurtu replacing the late Collin Walcott, Ectopia represented a subtle and tasteful move into the world of electronics. A spectrum of the band’s highly original and disparate “world” sounds is present throughout. “Oregon was a hugely successful side-project that makes most ‘crossover’ music seem unbearably bland and unthoughtful.” – Penguin Guide to Jazz
ENRICO RAVA w/ John Abercrombie / The Pilgrim and the Stars CD 1775854 £8.00
Palle Danielsson / Jon Christensen
Enrico Rava has been Italy’s most acclaimed and accomplished jazz musician for 40 years, but his debut recording for ECM (1975) was only his third album. Rava’s evocative compositions, including the now classic ballad “Blancasnow”, inspire strong solos and spirited interaction. “The Italian is one of jazz’s greatest talents.” – Observer Music Monthly / "…recalls Miles Davis…Rava explores seven of his moody originals and creates thoughtful and introspective music." – All Music Guide / “It’s a European classic…that still enjoys iconic status.” – Jazz Review
TERJE RYPDAL / MIROSLAV VITOUS / Rypdal/Vitous/DeJohnette CD 1779926 £8.00
JACK DEJOHNETTE
An absolute must-have for the wildly inventive playing of Rypdal, Vitous and DeJohnette, this is atmospheric, abstract, and powerful music in which cascades of sound prevail and another early ECM classic, uniting like-minded adventurous souls. “Rypdal’s genius is for juxtapositions of textures, overlays of sound that act as polarizing lenses to what his companions are doing.” – Penguin Guide to Jazz / “Worthy of repeated hearings” – Rough Guide to Jazz / “An otherworldly soundscape of aching beauty…” – All Music Guide
DINO SALUZZI Kultrum CD 1779927 £8.00
Dino Saluzzi’s stunning debut for ECM is a thoroughly modern, solo tour-de-force tracing an “imaginary return” to the villages of his childhood, rooted in melody, simplicity and the folk traditions of Argentina. “Though it was Astor Piazzolla who sparked a revival of interest in the bandoneon and accordion, it has been Dino Saluzzi who has performed some of the most significant new music on an instrument that has always held a fascination for the avant-garde…Kultrum is well worth hearing and sets the agenda for what is to be a whole life’s work.” – Penguin Guide to Jazz / "Endlessly inventive.” – Amazon
SHANKAR w/ J Garbarek /Z Hussain /T Gurtu Song For Everyone CD 1777596 £8.00
An immediately appealing East/West collaboration - and another ECM genre-defying masterpiece - bringing together disparate sounds and kindred spirits, Song For Everyone heralded the return of the groove in Shankar’s unique cultural fusings and reunites the violinist with Shakti colleague, Zakir Hussain. “A brilliantly focused session” – Rough Guide to Jazz / "Fascinating, free-thinking music, beautifully recorded as usual by ECM." – Amazon
RALPH TOWNER w/ E Gomez/J DeJohnette Batik CD 1779928 £8.00
A slow-burning album of five Towner originals, this unique production project brings together RalphTowner’s acoustic guitars with the fleet, electric bass of Eddie Gomez and the detailed drumming of Jack DeJohnette in a highly empathic trio. “Clearly the aim was to relocate Towner in what was unmistakably a jazz context…It includes some strong exchanges between Towner and Gomez in particular.” – Penguin Guide to Jazz
JOHN ABERCROMBIE/RALPH TOWNER Sargasso Sea CD 1775812
An early ECM masterpiece from two American guitar legends, both of whom continue to record for the label over 30 years later, Sargasso Sea explores both the acoustic and electric realms. “With Towner on guitars and piano, the music is impressionistic and pastel shaded but more sinewy than its surface suggests.” – Rough Guide to Jazz
BASS DESIRES (Marc Johnson /Bill Frisell / John Scofield /Peter Erskine)
Bass Desires CD 1775823
The debut of Bass Desires – one of ECM’s most successful if short-lived bands – the album is a true collab-orative of four outstanding musical thinkers/leaders. “Highly influential album, still sounding fresh thanks to Frisell’s and Scofield’s pleasingly contrasting styles, and featuring the leader on electric bass. A highlight is a ringingly positive version of Coltrane’s ‘Resolution’ from A Love Supreme.” – Rough Guide to Jazz
PAUL BLEY Open To Love CD 1775827
A startling original solo piano masterpiece from Paul Bley, one of the early architects of the nascent ECM label, it covers the deeply original music of Carla Bley and Annette Peacock. “One of Bley’s finest-ever performances.” – Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD / “This is one of the most influential solo piano recordings in jazz history… (Bley’s) most mature and visionary work.” – All Music Guide
GARY BURTON QUINTET (w Pat Metheny) Dreams So Real CD 1775830
A deeply lyrical album showcasing the compositions of Carla Bley, Dreams So Real features riding star Pat Metheny during his brief, but vital stint with Gary Burton. “Their blend of country softness…still makes for interesting listening.” – Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD
CHICK COREA w M VITOUS / R HAYNES Trio Music, Live In Europe CD 1775831
One of the premier piano trios in the history of jazz, this live recording captures the tremendous interplay of the group. “Chick Corea's acoustic piano work with the bassist Miroslav Vitous and the drummer Roy Haynes brings out the mystical and lyrical side of the many-sided keyboardist.” –
New York Times / “Corea is a pianist of remarkable range and energy.” – Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD
JACK DEJOHNETTE Special Edition CD 1775832
The debut of one of the signature bands of the late 1970s/early 1980s, Special Edition was ‘Album Of The Year’ in the DownBeat 1980 Reader’s Poll, and features two classic John Coltrane compositions – ‘Central Park West’ and ‘India’. “A deft album with much variety and style.” – Rough Guide to Jazz / “Murray sounds wonderful and Arthur Blythe is playing out of his skin.” – Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD
BILL FRISELL BAND Lookout For Hope CD 1775834
The first and most stimulating of Bill Frisell’s bands, Lookout For Hope introduced a new group sound - from the influence of Jim Hall to rock to Nashville. “Certainly one of the strongest things he has done. Much of the credit has to go to the combination of Driscoll and Baron, a dream team for a player of Frisell’s sensibilities.” – Penguin Guide to Jazz
DAVE HOLLAND QUARTET Extensions CD 1775842
Steve Coleman, Kevin Eubanks and ‘Smitty’ Smith shine in Dave Holland’s presence on a recording named Album Of The Year in the DownBeat Critic’s Poll, 1989. “Holland teams up with some of the younger guard of the jazz scene who all prove their worth in the setting.” – Music Hound Jazz: The Essential Album Guide / “Extensions is a brilliant album that moves carefully from mood to mood.” – New York Times
KEITH JARRETT Facing You CD 1775845
Facing You was Keith Jarrett’s first-ever solo recording (1972) and an absolute landmark with its new improvisational language. “Facing You was a studio album, mostly of short pieces, and its brilliance, glowing sonorities and emotional resonances stunned the public.” –
Rough Guide to Jazz / “Keith Jarrett's first album of piano solos and, to many listeners, his best.” – New York Times
KEITH JARRETT / PEACOCK / DEJOHNETTE Standards Live CD 1775847
The very first (Paris, 1985) live recording of Keith Jarrett’s remarkable trio features ‘standards’ repertoire, much of which would become staples of the trio. “The whole concert is exceptional, and ‘Too Young To Go Steady’ is one of the most perfect and exultant trio performances in the whole of jazz… Jarrett plays a superlatively swinging and ecstatically emotional solo.” – Rough Guide to Jazz
CHARLES LLOYD QUARTET The Call CD 1779924
A deep, ruminative album by tenor saxophonist Charles Lloyd’s working quartet of the time, Lloyd has stated that The Call evokes the spirits of Ellington greats Harry Carney and Johnny Hodges. “This is a group to match the line-up of the 1960s, a perfectly balanced combination of power and delicacy, and fronted by a man who is once again at the top of his considerable powers.” – Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD / “A masterly session, and Lloyd plays as well as I have ever heard him.” - Gramophone
PAT METHENY GROUP American Garage CD 1775848
The second recording of the Pat Metheny Group, this album was captured at a time when the band was headed for stardom. “Pat Metheny’s popularity jumped to a much higher level in 1979 with his record American Garage.” – New York Times / “The Metheny Group albums settled the guitarists’ music into the niche from which he is still basically working: light, easily digested settings that let him play long, meticulous solos which often work up a surprising intensity.” – Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD
PAUL MOTIAN w Keith Jarrett/Charlie Haden Conception Vessel CD 1775852
Paul Motian’s superb and characteristically eclectic debut as a leader (1973), Conception Vessel contains two powerful duets with an abstract-leaning Keith Jarrett and fine contributions by unheralded guitarist Sam Brown, violinist Leroy Jenkins and bassist Charlie Haden. “Startling when it first appeared...has retained its freshness and vigour. A small classic...The leader is seldom far form the centre of things, but as ever he plays with grace and composure.” – Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD
OREGON Oregon CD 1777593
The ECM debut of this “world music-and-beyond” improvisational collective, the album heralded a major musical shift for the group – from acoustic to electric. The eponymously titled Oregon was the penultimate group recording with sitar master, Collin Walcott, before his untimely death. “Clearly the group-sound benefited enormously from ECM’s state-of-the-art production.” – Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD
TOMASZ STANKO Balladyna CD 1777597
Balladyna was the Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stanko’s powerful debut as a leader (1976) and presents a more aggressive and abstract side to his playing. “Balladyna was his breakthrough album, a very personal statement given a high production gloss by ECM.” – Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD / “Stanko plays with unusual urgency and fire… [his] fat, pliable tone and abstract ideas [create] hard-swinging European jazz.” - amazon.com
JOHN SURMAN Private City CD 1775856
Perhaps the most important solo recording of master musician John Surman’s large ECM catalogue, Private City is a deeply personal solo statement that had its origins as a 1987 score written for Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet. “Surman puts intensity and color into his introspective and often sparse explorations.” – All Music Guide / “Surman’s most considered achievement to date.” – The Times
RALPH TOWNER w Jan Garbarek / Eberhard Weber / Jon Christensen
Solstice CD 1775857
An early and label-defining ECM classic in both sound and style, folk, jazz and classical musics are seamlessly blended into an original whole. “With Garbarek, Weber and Christensen, who are ideally suited to Towner’s music in terms of their sonorities, active rhythms and sculpted phrasing. The romantic ‘Drifting Petals’ also shows that Towner isn’t afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve.” – Rough Guide to Jazz /
“Sumptuously beautiful sound.” – amazon.com
COLLIN WALCOTT Cloud Dance CD 1779929
Collin Walcott’s debut as a leader demonstrates his prowess of the sitar and tabla. This tight, lyrical album by an all-star collective is a must-have for fans of Oregon and world music. “A superb album” – Rough Guide to Jazz / “Cloud Dance has a freshness and originality that sustain its appeal. ‘Prancing’, just for tablas and double bass, is one of the most exciting performances in the ECM catalogue.”
– Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD
KENNY WHEELER w Keith Jarrett / Dave Holland / Jack DeJohnette
Gnu High CD 1777598
Kenny Wheeler’s stunning debut for ECM features an all-star cast and is one of the finest trumpet-led, jazz quartet recordings of all time. “A superb and unusually sympathetic quartet“ – amazon.com / “Wheeler with Keith Jarrett, Dave Hollane and Jack DeJohnette, on one of the classic albums of the 1970s. Three glorious long compositions by Wheeler, superb solos from him and Jarrett, and a superlative rhythm section.”
– Rough Guide to Jazz
NORMA WINSTONE w John Taylor / Tony Coe Somewhere Called Home CD 1779930
This vocal masterpiece was Norma Winstone’s ECM debut as a leader. JazzTimes has said: “She is not just an essential singer, but a singer of essentials.” / “Norma Winstone is a singer of brilliant virtuosity and flexibility…This is an excellent set of performances with sensitive accompaniment by John Taylor and pithy interjections by Tony Coe.”
– Rough Guide to Jazz
ECM
TOUCHSTONES – the label’s first mid-price series at only £8.00 each
Many ECM recordings are “touchstones” in jazz history and it has always been the label’s ambition to keep as many titles as possible available – even after decades!
This new series of mid-price, freshly packaged albums will help to introduce younger jazz listeners to many important and ground-breaking albums by artists who went on to become household names.
New series of specially priced (£8.00 each), newly packaged albums from ECM’s back catalogue – Extra 10% not available with this offer
all featuring the original artwork and new catalogue numbers
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