ECM

ECM was the first jazz label I heard of when I found randomly a cd called Selected Signs I - An ECM Anthology. Here is the tracklist :

Svantetic (from: Litania, Tomasz Stanko Septet)
Gorrión (from: Cité de la Musique, Dino Saluzzi)
Morning (from: North Story, Mish Alperin)
Tale Of Saverio (from: ANA, Ralph Towner)
Hyperborean / Patch Of Light (from: Hyperborean, Arild Andersen)
Morning Heavy Song (from: Leosia, Tomasz Stanko)
Creature Talk (from: Small Labyrinths, Marilyn Mazur's Future Song)
Desolation Sound (from: Canto, Charles Lloyd)
Motherless Child (from: In Full Cry, Joe Maneri Quartet)
Past Present (from: Angel Song, Kenny Wheeler)
Siegfried And Roy (from: Circa, Michael Cain Trio)
Free Above Sea (from: Oneness, Jack DeJohnette)
Sleep Safe And Warm (from: Litania, Tomasz stanko Septet)
Nothing Ever Was, Anyway (from: Nothing Ever Was, Anyway. Music Of Annette Peackok, Marilyn Crispell / Gary Peacock / Paul Motian)

I do listen to it from time to time, will browse that topic more attentively for interesting releases that people noticed :3

I know bassist Steve Swallow mostly by his regular collaboration with Carla Bley. On this Steve's solo album she plays some organ as well. Well-balanced very slightly melancholic mid-tempo straightforward jazz,not too complex to require all listener's concentration and not too sweet or light to be just sound wallpaper. Even has few adventurous moments. Seriously warmer sound than your regular ECM release.

Edited by snobb - 24 Jul 2013 at 9:39am

Popular Italian pianist Stefano Bollani duo with Brazilian bandolim (a 10-string mandolin) player Hamilton de Holanda on ECM - unusually warm chamber Latin jazz, close to DiMeola's World Sinfonia recordings. Not too passionate, slightly melancholic and with touch of Italian classicism - nothing really new,but nice album for fans of such kind of music.


Edited by snobb - 12 Sep 2013 at 1:07pm

Releasing acoustic guitar trio album containing mix of classic,world and jazz one must be ready this work will be compared with DiMeola/McLaughlin/DeLucia legendary album. On "Travel Guide" Ralph Towner plays with Austrian guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel and Kazakhstan-born Australia-based classical guitarist (of Armenian descent) Slava Grigoryan. Unfortunately the result is not of usual ECM standard. All compositions are Towner/Munthiespel originals, and the material is not enough strong to attract listener for another acoustic guitars trio album. Musicianship is ok,but again far from original or extremely virtuoso's. In all album represents quite boring and un-memorable music between chamber  and easy listening.

Edited by snobb - 29 May 2015 at 3:33am

Wow, it's been so long since I've added and ECM album I had to look it up - 2011.  This is all John Zorn's fault.   I am overdue, don't you think?  My last one was Bjornstad/Darling/Rypdal/Christensen The Sea

American pianist Aaron Parks debut on ECM is downtempo chamber piano ballads collection, dreamy and warmer than you can expect from ECM regular release.

Edited by snobb - 17 Oct 2013 at 3:05am

American trumpeter Ralph Alessi debut on ECM is great example of what is label's current front line: adventurous enough,with American jazz tradition,music for being not too boring and still safe enough for being enough comfortable for regular ECM chamber sound lovers. Highest level line-up with pianist Jason Moran, bassist Drew Gress and drummer Nasheet Waits

Edited by snobb - 17 Oct 2013 at 3:09am

ECM opens the year 2014 with traditional for them chamber jazz release, Norwegian pianist Tord Gustavsen Quartet's "Extended Circle". Full of European classical tradition Nordic (minimalistic) chamber jazz. Compositions are mostly down tempo, but there are few more energetic numbers as well. Safe but quality chamber jazz (wonder if they can still make money from such releases?)

Edited by snobb - 24 Jan 2014 at 5:04am

Norwegian acoustic bassist Arild Andersen at the very beginning of his musical career played with Jan Garbarek on ECM-sound founding early Garbarek's albums. Andersen solo albums (usually ECM products as well) are as rule better structured,tunes-based pleasant Nordic-folk based contemporary jazz.

snobb wrote: One among most interesting US jazz pianist of younger generation Vijay Iyer started his musical career playing adventurous avant-garde jazz, later continued with more accessible contemporary jazz. So his debut on ECM looks quite logical step, main surprise here is that his "Mutations" contain mostly classic compositions, from baroque-influenced to modern European-like, almost no traces of jazz could be found. Supported by strings quartet listen here: http://www.jazzmusicarchives.com/mp3/vijay-iyer/4209