I have over 800 ECM releases, (all on CD, now) purchased starting with 'My Song', by Keith Jarrett, in 1979. The greatest record label, of all time. Manfred Eicher is a genius. Yes, please cover the release of all new ECMs!
I am a huge ECM fan, and would love to have you continue sharing your thoughts and renewed journey with that wonderful label moving forward in your videos. ECM is truly Art, on so many beautiful levels.
Excited about the Keith Jarrett recording; excited and sad because I miss him. Whenever I could, I would go to listen to him play at Carnegie Hall here in NYC. I can hardly wait to get a copy of this lp. Thanks for another great review. Peace and love to you-
What an awesome way to kick off the year! Another label to look into thanks to your amazing reviews. I hope you had a great start to the year, lots of exciting additions to the M45 Shop, including those excellent sleeves to protect our precious records, well done 👍 wishing you and your family a prosperous and very happy new year Michael, and looking forward to continuing our musical journeys together in ‘23!
ECM is definitely my favorite label. My top picks would be: Eberhard Weber - Colours of Chloë Don Cherry, Nana Vasconcelos & Collin Walcott - Codona Julian Priester - Love, Love Ralph Towner - Solstice Terje Rypdal - Odyssey
My last live concert before the Corona madness was Anuar Brahem at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg in February 2020, ecm was there for a whole week with many artists. Fabulous.
This was a pleasant surprise. Happy New Year. Back when I was a young person I was working the Cassette department at a large record store and I'd often linger and admire the ECM titles when stocking inventory, but I never took the leap - above my pay grade at the time. I caught a couple of the Ken Micallef vids in '21 that reignited my interest and subsequently picked up a few titles on my travels (Keith Jarrett, Lester Bowie, Terje Rypdall), but this past year I lucked into a real good haul - more than I could afford on that day - so I all the premium titles. Ever since then I've had regularly finds: '70s Polydor distributed, early and mid-'80s WB distributed and a couple German originals. Just yesterday I found 'Saudades' Nana Vasconcelos. One of my local record store acquaintances convinced me to buy 'Illusion Suite' Stanley Cowell Trio. A couple I'm particularly high on: Collin Walcott, Don Cherry, Nana Vasconselos 'Codona 3' and John Suman & Jack DeJohnette 'The Amazing Adeventures of Simon Simon', Been keeping my eye open for some Jan Garbarek - only found one to date 'Belonging'. Have not ordered any current titles, but that's invevitable ;-)
Oh, Codona 3 is great. That last track, Inner Organ is sooo mesmerizing. And only one Garbarek? Try out "I took up the runes" from the 90's. That is one of his best. I see him live, last spring, and he/they still sound like on that album. And I see John Surman, some years ago and I find him also mesmerizing on his solo albums, like the 1985 "Withholding Pattern". Check it out! And I'll stop here. Could go on for hours, I guess.
I’m a big Jan Gabarek fan, He recorded for ECM from their early releases in the early’70’s up through the 90’s but must have retired. I have 13 albums of his that I counted. EsHis saxophone sound is an acquired taste - he must use a #6 reed all the time - but there’s no denying his skills. “Belonging” is my favorite ECM title of all time, but for solo Gabarek, seek out his solo ECM release “Dis”, Norwegian for “wind”. Jan improvises over the sound of a real Aeolian Wind Harp as sited on a high cliff overlooking a fiord. Pure magic, and a fantastic recording. Best wishes!
@@daniannaci3258 Yeah, Dis is a bit special. The sax is very clean recorded. And the track "Mission: To Be Where I Am" from "It's OK To Listen To The Gray Voice" (side B, first track) is one that keeps in my head, but in a pleasant way. Eventyr is a classic. And if you want something completely different, then i put on Shankar on, with Song for Everyone. Sometimes even in the car. Yeah, Garbarek is more versatile than you might think.
Good for you. I have been an ECM fan since early 70's, with 250 albums. Where to start? A great discovery, Nik Bartsch and Ronin. Stanko, Simple Acoustic Trio, Tomas Stronen, Arild Anderson, Anja Lechner, Dino Saluzzi
Great collector of ECM here. Old and new, however I choose more often to go for the CD for releases after around 1993, when they first stopped with vinyl. I got some newer ones, but they have not that special "thing" over the CD anymore. Older records (70's and 80's) do have something special, the CD does not have (at least, that is how I feel it). But in the end, we all just love, enjoy the music and cover art. And that is what it is most about. Thanks for the video, I will watch them from now on.
Very happy to see you getting back into ECM, tha has been my fave label since I started listening to jazz around 1986 with Keith Jarrets "Personal Mountain" album. So great to see you find your way back to them, found it peculiar that you did not cover them. I always found their recordings and production to be of high quality and most vinyl pressings from them to be decent quality as well. As I am from Norway we have had many of our jazz artist record for ECM , like Tord you mentioned, not to mention Jan Garbarek. Also one who was sound engineer for a lot of ECM records Jan Erik Kongshaug was a Norwegian who was a bit of a wizard in the studio and behind the mixing desk.
Love ECM. I have added 10 or so albums the last month. Terje Rypdal is one my all time favorite guitarists and composers. Been listening to Nik Bartsch a bit as of late. More ECM is good!
Great news Michael! I love ECM and their albums from the 80's where my introduction to Jazz (keith Jarrett, Pat Metheny, Charlie Haden,...) I was surprised that you rarely talk about them, but I know that they recently started to produce Lps, and the quality of production was always top notch, even for CD's, great selection by the way! Thanks again!
For the insanely curious and deep of pocket, this was not as easy as I thought it would be. A personal 'TOP 20' recommended 1970s titles (plus same artist alternates) on ECM (in no way ranked): John Abercrombie: Timeless (or Characters) Steve Kuhn/Sheila Jordan Band: Playground Egberto Gismonti: Sol do Meio Dia (or Solo) Eberhard Weber: Fluid Rustle (or The Following Morning) Pat Metheny: Bright Size Life (or New Chautauqua) Jan Garbarek: Places (or Photo With Blue Sky...) Azimuth: The Touchstone (or self-titled debut) Terje Rypdal/Miroslav Vitous/Jack DeJohnette: (self-titled) Barre Phillips: Three Day Moon (or Journal Violone II) Ralph Towner: Batik (or Solo Concert) Bill Connors: Of Mist and Melting (or Swimming With a Hole in My Body) Don Cherry/Collin Walcott/Nana Vasconcelos: Codona Richard Beirach: Elm Kenny Wheeler: Deer Wan (or Gnu High) Terje Rypdal: Descendre (or Waves) Steve Reich: Music For 18 Musicians Charlie Haden/Jan Garbarek/Egberto Gismonti: Magico (or Folk Songs) Keith Jarrett: Sun Bear Concerts (if only for sheer will - artist AND listener) Enrico Rava: The Pilgrim and The Stars Rainer Brunninghaus: Freigeweht Again, NOT easy...
So many great records, the early Terje Rypdal ones, the Nana Vasconcelos Don Cherry records are gems, I have not listened actively to ECM new releases since the mid naughties
I've been collecting ECM albums since the early 70s. Yesterday I played 2 albums by Dave Liebman. In 1975 the label had a tour of it's artists that I attended at UCLA. Same year, same place Keith Jarrett Arbour Zena. Seen many ECM artists over the decades and have numerous albums.
Fell in love with ECM 20 years ago previewing a CD from the Oud master Anouar Brahem’s Le Pas du Chat Noir in Tower Records😢, found a whole new world of music! The latest offerings do not shock me as much as their early 2000’s masterpieces. Tord Gustavsen Trio’s Changing Places was their pinnacle work. Macin Wasilewski Trio and the Keith Jarret/Charlie Haden piano + bass albums simply just etched in my soul! Paul Motian, Marilyn Crispell, Jan Garbarek, Terje Rypdal, Pat Matheny, and all those ECM New Series classical offerings really defined my 30s😢 Wish all those back catalogue will be released on vinyl! At least my first love, Le Pas du Chat Noir, was sitting on my record player👌❤️
@@kristofvadnai Check out “Vossabrygg” by Terje Rypdal, “Arvo Part: Alina”, “The River”, and “ Life in Leipzig” by Ketil Bjørnstad, “Cello” by David Darling, “Khmer” by Nils Petter Molvær, “I have the room above her“ by Paul Motian Trio, “In line” by Bill Frisell, “January “ by Marcin Wasilewski Trio, … simply divine!
Congratulations. Enjoy the journey. ECM has brought in current artists like Chris Potter,Vijay Iyer, Bill Frisell. John Hassell (RIP), Nick Bartsch(Continuum !!!), Fred Hersch, Carla Bley which are on vinyl. And so many on cd you can’t keep up. (Like John Zorn’s Tazdik label). The European jazz / classical european modernist dark approach is just stellar. Combine that with the art esthetic. Eberhard Weber is a legend and is personally involved with each recording. Not sure when they switched over to digital but they sound great regardless, as well as the cds. I have about 3 feet of shelf devoted to old ECM releases and probably 100 cds. Fabulous stuff. My favorites are Jan Garbareck, Colin Wolcott, Charlie Haden, and Dave Holland. The old lps are easy to find probably don’t even have to go on line (Especially in Europe) and always found in pristine shape (owned by audiophiles) Stellar stuff. Been buying these since the early 80s. There is a huge thread on Steve Hoffman on ECM releases. ECMRecords.com Enjoy
One used to be able to find used ECM albums for CHEAP. I’m glad I discovered the label prior to the resurgence of interest in ECM. For a long time in the United States, ECM’s catalogue wasn’t available on Spotify or Apple Music, so I had to collect a good number of their titles on CD or vinyl. All time favorite ECM title is a toss up between New Chautauqua by Pat Metheny and The Following Morning by Eberhard Weber.
I noticed ECM quality many years ago. It started with Pat Metheny and Jarrett. The quality of the vinyl stood out then. It really helped me know that there were companies who were serious about music because the low noise floor is amazing. Greg
Cheers and Happy New Year Michael! The ECM label has been one of the most consistent jazz labels since 1969. I believe there are over 750 plus records just in the 1000 series! The first albums in the 1000 series were jazz recordings until much later on when they recorded world and classical music. The first record was #1001 Mal Waldron- Free at Last. Their album art had an esthetic to it that matched the music inside. They were minimal but striking in the way they were presented. Reminds me of what Bluenote and CTI did when just by looking at the cover art you knew it was an ECM record. Six of my favorite ECM albums:(there really are so so many!) - John Ambercrombie - Timeless -Gary Burton/Chick Corea - Crystal Silence -Circle - Paris Concert -Braxton/Corea/Holland -Dave Holland Quartet - Conference of Birds -Keith Jarrett - Koln Concert -Pat Metheny - Bright Size Life
Great to hear this. I listened to ECM around 15 plus years ago mainly on CD. Nice to see the albums and thanks for the reminder. Time for me to get back into ECM as well. Go easy. Cheers
I love the old ECM vinyl releases. Vinyl prices skyrocketed so CDs for now to economize. I buy used LPs though. How does the new ECM vinyl releases sound?
I have a lot of older ECM vinyl and CDs. I find the later releases a bit samey. I was very impressed with Jakob Bro’s Gefion though. I’ve just dug out Edward Vesala’s Lumi from 1987. I haven’t played it in years, so thanks for reminding me about ECM!
Yes, the cover art is impressive, and due to your review, I will need to give ECM a listen. Thanks for the information and your knowledge based channel into the wonderful world of Music.
I enjoy listening to ECM a lot. Excellent selection in your video. A few of ECM albums that I like too: Marc Johnson’s Overpass, Marcin Wasilewski Trio’s En Attendant, Tord’s the Other Side, Gary Peacock’s Azure, and Steve Tibbetts’ A Man About A Horse. Other labels that are doing great music like ECM are trptk and Hunnia Records. Thanks for covering ECM!
There are a lot of ECM titles I like very much, especially the "New Series" and the very early ones that sometimes are not the kind of releases (musically) most people would expect from ECM.
Recently bought the "Köln Concert" on vinyl - even though I have different excellent digital versions - still the vinyl is a must have! I guess they have a digital step in the production. Other than that, the pressing quality is excellent.
Nice to see, that you changed your opinion about ECM vinyl releases (it wasn't good, as I remember well from your older videos). I am surprised, that you don't complain, that ECM masters from digital source and their releases are notall analogue, like you did in case of MoFi. The real change of mind or a better marketing relation with ECM?
Great video of great Record Label of Edition Contemporary Music, one super highly recommended just in case is not already in your collection is “Circle • Paris Concert” highly recommend thanks for not forgetting about this amazing Label and their jacket presentation as well the sound of each of these recordings
When I was a youngie, I heard Paul Bley - Open To Love, on the radio. It took me almost two years to get a copy on a record fair in Ostwestfalen. One of my personal grails. Thanks ECM❤
@@markusberzborn6346 Somehow they keep adding new surprising artists from time to time! wollny & parisien were a real revelation to me when I saw them this summer
I bought Timeless and Koln Concert in 1977. Still two of my favorite records. Your favorite ‘too cool for school’ tenor, Charles Lloyd 😉, recorded Voices In The Night on ECM with Abercrombie, Holland, and Billy Hoggins. It ain’t half bad either.
Very interesting & informative video Michael. When I think of ECM I think of Keith Jarrett The Koln concert released in 1975 on ECM label.The biggest selling piano album,4 million copies , Need to check out more especially more recent releases ,thanks for reminding people of this fantastic independent jazz label Michael. How great is John Schofield by the way need to listen to more of his work. Michael a pleasure as always my friend 🙌🙌
Chick Corea's "Return to Forever", from 1972. Was recorded before the self titled Band. Wonderful Sound. Wonderful record. Since a few years returned on Vinyl.
Here's an album on vinyl you should track down on ECM. Dawn Dance by Steve Eliovson & Collin Walcott. Very interesting backstory. Sounds a lot like John McLauglin acoustic. It's a real audiophile sonic spectacular.
Beside Garbarek, Jarrett, Scofield, Bley etc. ECM released some beautiful recordings by the greek composer Eleni Karaindrou. The album "Music for films" with compositions for the films of Theo Angelopoulos is gorgeous, with a big booklet inside. "The suspended step of the stork" same story...amazing! You find those albums on CD for sure, on my first check I didn't find them on vinyl. I bought my treasures in the ninties, good luck!
Hello Michael, I need your help. Regarding a triple album (three vinyls), could you tell me what type/model/measurement of sleeves you use, please? For example: Charles Mingus, "The lost album from Ronnie Scott's (RESONANCE RECORDS). It's a problem. In relation with ECM, this label is a label to snobs (jazz for musicians who don't sweat in nightclubs). Personally I have some" live" tittles on cd ("CIRCLE: Paris-Concert); the sound is quite good, but they release few live jazz vinyls. For example, they should edit in a vinyl-box at an "affordable price" Keith Jarret: "I-VI at Blue Note. The complete recordings". By the way, Michael, what's your opinion about the recent Blue Note album: Elvin Jones ("Revival: Live at Pookie's Pub"). Best Regards from Spain.
I really like ECM. Unfortunely i have some bad experience with some records. They had a lot of surface noices and i had to return them. Specially the records Keith Jarrets - The Melody At Night, With You and Björn Mayer - Provenance. But i don't have a ultrasonic cleaner. Maybe you get the suface noises away with a ultrasonic cleaner.
ECM... One of the really great and of course very important german labels. Especially when you are interested in jazz! The quality of their artists, their music and of course of their productions and pressings hast allways been outstanding. I'm a great Fan of them and will always be. Good decision to return to them! There ist another very interesting german label which is absolutely worth to have a look at. MPS MusikProduktion Schwarzwald. I'm shure you know them! What about them? Best regards and all the best for the new years! Greetings from Neuss 👋🙂
I first became aware of ECM back in 1976 or '77 when I was introduced to Pat Metheny. I couldn't believe how great their releases sounded and how wonderful the pressings were. Domestic US vinyl in those years was becoming a horrid experience given the oil shortage and Metheny's releases were always stellar. Bravo ECM!!
I never thought Pat Metheny’s releases were nearly as good once he left ECM. Too confining, he said. My favorite ECM of his is Watercolors from 1976 when he was just a kid. Amazing range of styles he displays on this release, and amazing recording, too. I was lucky to have purchased this album way back when on the German release and it still sounds like new 47 years later. That being said, all the ECM titles released on Warner Brothers pressings in the 70’s and 80’s were pretty darn good, often just as quiet as their German counterparts. Those WB pressings are a good value on the used market.
That the best record company for their pressing quality. I bought many in the the 80 and still listen to them .difficult to find in Montreal . Amazon are often to expensive for vinyl and bunch the delivery more and more often since the last months.I happy that you talk about them, ecm deserve it., and most if not all of expert (pseudo) in vinyl never talk about their great record.
yeah ! SURE the label ECM is a have-to-listen music in general. + yes ... SOUND/ ENGINEERING + STUDIOS always top. musicians creative masters. cover art, perfect art. i sure come out of the 80´s so i love specially all the early things. early 70´s first press LP´s can easily bought online. check PAUL BLEY solo piano. or RICHIE BEIRACH or DAVID LIEBMAN projects. and sure have to : PAUL MOTIAN. ..... all ANALOG stuff. all the best from berlin + happy 2023
I recently bought the Avishai Cohen - Naked Truth and the Tord Gustavsen Trio - Opening. Great records. Well made [and thankfully not tip-on] sleeves. Great designs too. I'll be exploring ECM further fo sure. D
Great video! Will you be doing a review of the new Blonde on Blonde from VMP? Mono master tape used, mastered by Ryan Smith. Would be great to hear a comparison of it to the mono box set one. Viel danke for all your great work! /Mario
I have a bunch of them from early 80's. I don't think the early ones are digital. I have two from ARILD ANDERSON which are audiophile recordings. Green shading into Blue is just great. Also, the 2 LP sampler, from the 80's, is great. Mike at the In Grove, kind of knock them in one of his videos maybe because a lot of the early ones were mostly Canadian artists.
I also like some of ECM’s releases. Just 2 side notes: ECM is recording in digital since approx. mid-80’s, so their LP’s starting from that period are all mastered from digital source. Nonetheless, sound is quite good. Another note is my personal experience trying to contact them. I was inquiring regarding the mastering of one of their not-so-old reissue. They never replied me, despite my repeated reminders. So sad that even smaller labels (at least, comparing to the 3 big majors) are taking this liberty to disregard technical inquiries.
Nice, big big ECM fan here. Heard the original vinyl pressings are WAY better than the new ones, I only have the re-presses (most on CDs even) sadly tho for now. To be fair, I've also heard many of their artists live Last edit, I promise : My recommendations (a few that come to mind now) are the beautiful Jan Garbarek & Hilliard Ensemble albums, these are so unique IMO, hearing a church with only saxophone & voices. And Arild Andersen Trio - Live at Belleville. And Ralph Towner / John Abercrombie - Five Years Later
@@RaviNewfarm same to both 🙂 Actually, it's only realesed as CD acording to discogs now that I've checked. Which is an issue with some of the label's last decade-ish releases, actually 😔
@@entity279 Actually ECM stopped releasing titles on vinyl about 30 years ago. It is only in recent years that they have started offering LPs again thankfully.
I agree. I have about 40 old pressings and about 10 new pressings and the new ones don't sound as good/analogue/dynamic as the old ones. I think the new issues to be more digital.
I recently got a first pressing of the Bremen/Lausanne concert of Keith Jarrett. The sound quality is way above the CD, which I already had. I also have first pressings of Facing You, and of Crystal Silence by Chick Corea. For some reason old ECM records seem really common, even down here in Australia. Try finding old Impulse records down here for example - you can't!
There is just so much great music on ECM one could be forgiven for spending all their time just investigating what it has to offer. ECM is also a great case in point to prove that if like me you are a music lover you don’t just limit yourself to vinyl. There are some fantastic releases on this label that are only available on CD in physical format; Steve Tibbetts - A Man About A Horse is a case in point
Sorry if I spell this ECM artists name wrong .. but if you haven’t heard any of Nik Bartsch’ music on the label .. you really need to. Some of the most amazing modular music that I’ve ever heard 💕
Big fan of Nik Bärtsch here. Spoke to him briefly after a Mobile and Ronin concert. What a great person and what a nice "band" members hè have around him. Nik is great alone, but big with his formations.
Good decision 😎🤟👌ECM Records has so many great artists in its catalogue and every year they come up with something new or surprising! Unfortunately some of them are only available on CD (Gard Nilssen Accoustic Unity‘ s „Elastic Waves“ for example, but we‘re talking First World problems here…)! Greetings 🎧
I've been heavily into ECM since '78, and particularly like the 70s output, much of which I have on vinyl (including a pristine Japanese copy of Jarrett's extraordinary 'Sun Bear Concerts'). I particularly like Terje Rypdal, Egberto Gismonti, John Abercrombie, Eberhard Weber, Ralph Towner, and Azimuth (well, there's SO MUCH more). The pressing quality has always been exemplary, particularly the German pressings and those from WEA in the U.S. from the late '70s onward. I must have the better part of 1K releases. The graphic/artwork style of the label has been very well documented in books like 'Sleeves of Desire' and 'Windfall Light'...
Good Job! - I was a Keith Jarrett fan 45 years ago, I guess. I had a number of his albums but can't recall what label. To be honest LABELS were not that important to me so much as the artist on them doing the work they did. .... At some point Jarrett seem to disappear for me and it was most likely because I'm not a Classic Musician Listener, and many of his later albums were Multiple Records with much higher prices as a result. ..... I'm listening to his ECM link you just left me with a Sample I guess. I just wanted to have that on while I left you a Post. Peace - m.
Michel--great info... New ECM(I am a big Jarrett listener) discs are great.. I have a lot of older ECM's--- and I fing the German pressings to be far superior to US. I am so lucky to have the complete Jarrett SUN BEAR concerts (from mid 70's) Germany pressing --so so so quiet!. Check out the Jarrett trio albums---they are amazing. They do such a great job with artists, allowing to to present what they want to present not always what would be the most $$ generating. The Rave -Hersh is really great..JG
Well, there isn’t a digital step in ECM releases… ECM is FULL DDD. Manfred has been recording fully digital since the late 80s, early 90s. He fully embraced the format and you know what, he’s been able to continue to capture that same ECM sound when he went full digital. Some albums I have on cd that are DDD sound unbelievable! So all these records you show here are full digital records. Better off having them on CD :)
'''...of course a bit out there, in a very subtle calming '' tend to be 2 mutually exclusive descriptions to most folks, in the same way that LP cover art might be something else but pretty is not, UNless Michael might be speaking wokenese or in some sort of Barbarian dialect that escapes me somehow.
Great to see that you now discuss these ECM-editions, Michael! The label also reissued a handful of AAA-titles which mostly sound really good. Amongst them albums from Dave Holland, Jan Garbarek, Kenny Wheeler and Keith Jarrett. Most of them are still available at very fair price.
I love my Chick Corea and Pat Metheny records! They have such detail and colorless representations! Also depth of stage is always incredible! Some of my favorites!!! Happy New Year🎉
I have over 800 ECM releases, (all on CD, now) purchased starting with 'My Song', by Keith Jarrett, in 1979. The greatest record label, of all time. Manfred Eicher is a genius. Yes, please cover the release of all new ECMs!
I am a huge ECM fan, and would love to have you continue sharing your thoughts and renewed journey with that wonderful label moving forward in your videos. ECM is truly Art, on so many beautiful levels.
My favorite ECM title ever is Keith Jarrett’s Sun Bear Concerts. Absolutely breathtaking playing and performances😊
Excited about the Keith Jarrett recording; excited and sad because I miss him.
Whenever I could, I would go to listen to him play at Carnegie Hall here in NYC.
I can hardly wait to get a copy of this lp.
Thanks for another great review.
Peace and love to you-
my favorite label, Jarrett my favorite all time artist.
What an awesome way to kick off the year! Another label to look into thanks to your amazing reviews. I hope you had a great start to the year, lots of exciting additions to the M45 Shop, including those excellent sleeves to protect our precious records, well done 👍 wishing you and your family a prosperous and very happy new year Michael, and looking forward to continuing our musical journeys together in ‘23!
I'm very happy you are back to ECM a fantastic label 😀
ECM is definitely my favorite label. My top picks would be:
Eberhard Weber - Colours of Chloë
Don Cherry, Nana Vasconcelos & Collin Walcott - Codona
Julian Priester - Love, Love
Ralph Towner - Solstice
Terje Rypdal - Odyssey
Evgueni Galperine'THEORY OF BECOMING was my favorite ECM album in 2022.
Another great video, thanks for it!
Happy new year Michael 🎉! I'm glad you found ECM again!
Yes, please review more ECM. I share your enthusiasm.
Happy New Year my fine German friend! Friedrich! Good dog!
Great first video of the year! Love ECM!
Happy New Year Michael, much success & happiness in 2023.
My last live concert before the Corona madness was Anuar Brahem at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg in February 2020, ecm was there for a whole week with many artists. Fabulous.
I have been a fan of the early ECM recordings. I have been picking them up since the 70’s.
Great episode Michael. Refreshing.
Can’t go wrong with ECM...fantastic artwork and groundbreaking but accessible music. More, please...
This was a pleasant surprise. Happy New Year. Back when I was a young person I was working the Cassette department at a large record store and I'd often linger and admire the ECM titles when stocking inventory, but I never took the leap - above my pay grade at the time. I caught a couple of the Ken Micallef vids in '21 that reignited my interest and subsequently picked up a few titles on my travels (Keith Jarrett, Lester Bowie, Terje Rypdall), but this past year I lucked into a real good haul - more than I could afford on that day - so I all the premium titles. Ever since then I've had regularly finds: '70s Polydor distributed, early and mid-'80s WB distributed and a couple German originals. Just yesterday I found 'Saudades' Nana Vasconcelos. One of my local record store acquaintances convinced me to buy 'Illusion Suite' Stanley Cowell Trio. A couple I'm particularly high on: Collin Walcott, Don Cherry, Nana Vasconselos 'Codona 3' and John Suman & Jack DeJohnette 'The Amazing Adeventures of Simon Simon', Been keeping my eye open for some Jan Garbarek - only found one to date 'Belonging'. Have not ordered any current titles, but that's invevitable ;-)
Oh, Codona 3 is great. That last track, Inner Organ is sooo mesmerizing. And only one Garbarek? Try out "I took up the runes" from the 90's. That is one of his best. I see him live, last spring, and he/they still sound like on that album.
And I see John Surman, some years ago and I find him also mesmerizing on his solo albums, like the 1985 "Withholding Pattern". Check it out!
And I'll stop here. Could go on for hours, I guess.
I’m a big Jan Gabarek fan, He recorded for ECM from their early releases in the early’70’s up through the 90’s but must have retired. I have 13 albums of his that I counted. EsHis saxophone sound is an acquired taste - he must use a #6 reed all the time - but there’s no denying his skills. “Belonging” is my favorite ECM title of all time, but for solo Gabarek, seek out his solo ECM release “Dis”, Norwegian for “wind”. Jan improvises over the sound of a real Aeolian Wind Harp as sited on a high cliff overlooking a fiord. Pure magic, and a fantastic recording. Best wishes!
@@daniannaci3258 Yeah, Dis is a bit special. The sax is very clean recorded. And the track "Mission: To Be Where I Am" from "It's OK To Listen To The Gray Voice" (side B, first track) is one that keeps in my head, but in a pleasant way.
Eventyr is a classic. And if you want something completely different, then i put on Shankar on, with Song for Everyone. Sometimes even in the car. Yeah, Garbarek is more versatile than you might think.
Great video Michael!
I will definitely check out many of these records.
Good for you. I have been an ECM fan since early 70's, with 250 albums. Where to start? A great discovery, Nik Bartsch and Ronin. Stanko, Simple Acoustic Trio, Tomas Stronen, Arild Anderson, Anja Lechner, Dino Saluzzi
Great collector of ECM here. Old and new, however I choose more often to go for the CD for releases after around 1993, when they first stopped with vinyl. I got some newer ones, but they have not that special "thing" over the CD anymore. Older records (70's and 80's) do have something special, the CD does not have (at least, that is how I feel it).
But in the end, we all just love, enjoy the music and cover art. And that is what it is most about.
Thanks for the video, I will watch them from now on.
Very happy to see you getting back into ECM, tha has been my fave label since I started listening to jazz around 1986 with Keith Jarrets "Personal Mountain" album. So great to see you find your way back to them, found it peculiar that you did not cover them. I always found their recordings and production to be of high quality and most vinyl pressings from them to be decent quality as well. As I am from Norway we have had many of our jazz artist record for ECM , like Tord you mentioned, not to mention Jan Garbarek. Also one who was sound engineer for a lot of ECM records Jan Erik Kongshaug was a Norwegian who was a bit of a wizard in the studio and behind the mixing desk.
Yes I agree, you can buy all Kongshaug productions blindly!
Happy New Year, Michael! I’m not familiar with ECM or most of these artists, but I look forward to checking them out.
Love ECM. I have added 10 or so albums the last month. Terje Rypdal is one my all time favorite guitarists and composers. Been listening to Nik Bartsch a bit as of late. More ECM is good!
Great news Michael! I love ECM and their albums from the 80's where my introduction to Jazz (keith Jarrett, Pat Metheny, Charlie Haden,...) I was surprised that you rarely talk about them, but I know that they recently started to produce Lps, and the quality of production was always top notch, even for CD's, great selection by the way!
Thanks again!
I collect all the originals of 1970s. Just amazing music and great pressings!
For the insanely curious and deep of pocket, this was not as easy as I thought it would be. A personal 'TOP 20' recommended 1970s titles (plus same artist alternates) on ECM (in no way ranked):
John Abercrombie: Timeless (or Characters)
Steve Kuhn/Sheila Jordan Band: Playground
Egberto Gismonti: Sol do Meio Dia (or Solo)
Eberhard Weber: Fluid Rustle (or The Following Morning)
Pat Metheny: Bright Size Life (or New Chautauqua)
Jan Garbarek: Places (or Photo With Blue Sky...)
Azimuth: The Touchstone (or self-titled debut)
Terje Rypdal/Miroslav Vitous/Jack DeJohnette: (self-titled)
Barre Phillips: Three Day Moon (or Journal Violone II)
Ralph Towner: Batik (or Solo Concert)
Bill Connors: Of Mist and Melting (or Swimming With a Hole in My Body)
Don Cherry/Collin Walcott/Nana Vasconcelos: Codona
Richard Beirach: Elm
Kenny Wheeler: Deer Wan (or Gnu High)
Terje Rypdal: Descendre (or Waves)
Steve Reich: Music For 18 Musicians
Charlie Haden/Jan Garbarek/Egberto Gismonti: Magico (or Folk Songs)
Keith Jarrett: Sun Bear Concerts (if only for sheer will - artist AND listener)
Enrico Rava: The Pilgrim and The Stars
Rainer Brunninghaus: Freigeweht
Again, NOT easy...
Fantastic list!
So many great records, the early Terje Rypdal ones, the Nana Vasconcelos Don Cherry records are gems, I have not listened actively to ECM new releases since the mid naughties
I've been collecting ECM albums since the early 70s. Yesterday I played 2 albums by Dave Liebman. In 1975 the label had a tour of it's artists that I attended at UCLA. Same year, same place Keith Jarrett Arbour Zena. Seen many ECM artists over the decades and have numerous albums.
Glad to see you cover this label! there older records are amazing as well
always enjoy ECM releases …keep doing these updates for sure
Fell in love with ECM 20 years ago previewing a CD from the Oud master Anouar Brahem’s Le Pas du Chat Noir in Tower Records😢, found a whole new world of music! The latest offerings do not shock me as much as their early 2000’s masterpieces. Tord Gustavsen Trio’s Changing Places was their pinnacle work. Macin Wasilewski Trio and the Keith Jarret/Charlie Haden piano + bass albums simply just etched in my soul! Paul Motian, Marilyn Crispell, Jan Garbarek, Terje Rypdal, Pat Matheny, and all those ECM New Series classical offerings really defined my 30s😢 Wish all those back catalogue will be released on vinyl! At least my first love, Le Pas du Chat Noir, was sitting on my record player👌❤️
Thanks for the recommendations, some I know, will check out the rest.
@@kristofvadnai Check out “Vossabrygg” by Terje Rypdal, “Arvo Part: Alina”, “The River”, and “ Life in Leipzig” by Ketil Bjørnstad, “Cello” by David Darling, “Khmer” by Nils Petter Molvær, “I have the room above her“ by Paul Motian Trio, “In line” by Bill Frisell, “January “ by Marcin Wasilewski Trio, … simply divine!
Congratulations. Enjoy the journey.
ECM has brought in current artists like Chris Potter,Vijay Iyer, Bill Frisell. John Hassell (RIP), Nick Bartsch(Continuum !!!), Fred Hersch, Carla Bley which are on vinyl. And so many on cd you can’t keep up. (Like John Zorn’s Tazdik label). The European jazz / classical european modernist dark approach is just stellar. Combine that with the art esthetic. Eberhard Weber is a legend and is personally involved with each recording. Not sure when they switched over to digital but they sound great regardless, as well as the cds. I have about 3 feet of shelf devoted to old ECM releases and probably 100 cds. Fabulous stuff. My favorites are Jan Garbareck, Colin Wolcott, Charlie Haden, and Dave Holland. The old lps are easy to find probably don’t even have to go on line (Especially in Europe) and always found in pristine shape (owned by audiophiles) Stellar stuff. Been buying these since the early 80s. There is a huge thread on Steve Hoffman on ECM releases. ECMRecords.com Enjoy
How about Pat Metheny? Bright Size Life, Offramp, "Pat Metheny Group," all of them are absolute classics.
One used to be able to find used ECM albums for CHEAP. I’m glad I discovered the label prior to the resurgence of interest in ECM. For a long time in the United States, ECM’s catalogue wasn’t available on Spotify or Apple Music, so I had to collect a good number of their titles on CD or vinyl. All time favorite ECM title is a toss up between New Chautauqua by Pat Metheny and The Following Morning by Eberhard Weber.
I noticed ECM quality many years ago. It started with Pat Metheny and Jarrett. The quality of the vinyl stood out then. It really helped me know that there were companies who were serious about music because the low noise floor is amazing. Greg
Cheers and Happy New Year Michael!
The ECM label has been one of the most consistent jazz labels since 1969.
I believe there are over 750 plus records just in the 1000 series!
The first albums in the 1000 series were jazz recordings until much later on
when they recorded world and classical music. The first record was #1001 Mal
Waldron- Free at Last.
Their album art had an esthetic to it that matched the music inside. They were
minimal but striking in the way they were presented. Reminds me of what Bluenote
and CTI did when just by looking at the cover art you knew it was an ECM record.
Six of my favorite ECM albums:(there really are so so many!)
- John Ambercrombie - Timeless
-Gary Burton/Chick Corea - Crystal Silence
-Circle - Paris Concert -Braxton/Corea/Holland
-Dave Holland Quartet - Conference of Birds
-Keith Jarrett - Koln Concert
-Pat Metheny - Bright Size Life
Great to hear this. I listened to ECM around 15 plus years ago mainly on CD. Nice to see the albums and thanks for the reminder. Time for me to get back into ECM as well. Go easy. Cheers
I love the old ECM vinyl releases. Vinyl prices skyrocketed so CDs for now to economize. I buy used LPs though. How does the new ECM vinyl releases sound?
An album I wish ECM would release on vinyl is Craig Taborn's "Daylight Ghosts." Phantom Ratio on that album is an absolutely stunning compostion.
Definitely interested in hearing the John Scofield album. He's a great guitarist and musician.
great video! ECM is superb. I have two crates full of their records!
I have a lot of older ECM vinyl and CDs. I find the later releases a bit samey. I was very impressed with Jakob Bro’s Gefion though. I’ve just dug out Edward Vesala’s Lumi from 1987. I haven’t played it in years, so thanks for reminding me about ECM!
Always great to find new music thank you keep up the great work
Yes, the cover art is impressive, and due to your review, I will need to give ECM a listen. Thanks for the information and your knowledge based channel into the wonderful world of Music.
I enjoy listening to ECM a lot. Excellent selection in your video. A few of ECM albums that I like too: Marc Johnson’s Overpass, Marcin Wasilewski Trio’s En Attendant, Tord’s the Other Side, Gary Peacock’s Azure, and Steve Tibbetts’ A Man About A Horse. Other labels that are doing great music like ECM are trptk and Hunnia Records. Thanks for covering ECM!
There are a lot of ECM titles I like very much, especially the "New Series" and the very early ones that sometimes are not the kind of releases (musically) most people would expect from ECM.
Recently bought the "Köln Concert" on vinyl - even though I have different excellent digital versions - still the vinyl is a must have! I guess they have a digital step in the production. Other than that, the pressing quality is excellent.
Nice to see, that you changed your opinion about ECM vinyl releases (it wasn't good, as I remember well from your older videos). I am surprised, that you don't complain, that ECM masters from digital source and their releases are notall analogue, like you did in case of MoFi. The real change of mind or a better marketing relation with ECM?
Great video of great Record Label of Edition Contemporary Music, one super highly recommended just in case is not already in your collection is “Circle • Paris Concert” highly recommend thanks for not forgetting about this amazing Label and their jacket presentation as well the sound of each of these recordings
I'm a huge ECM fan ... great stuff.
Great label! I just wish it put out more of its classical releases on LP!.
When I was a youngie, I heard Paul Bley - Open To Love, on the radio. It took me almost two years to get a copy on a record fair in Ostwestfalen. One of my personal grails. Thanks ECM❤
I never understood that you live in Germany and are into Jazz and you seemed to ignore ECM. Glad you are finally addressing this error.
Now ACT should be next !
@@entity279 Oh yes, a remarkable label.
@@markusberzborn6346 Somehow they keep adding new surprising artists from time to time!
wollny & parisien were a real revelation to me when I saw them this summer
Def an outstanding label!
I bought Timeless and Koln Concert in 1977. Still two of my favorite records. Your favorite ‘too cool for school’ tenor, Charles Lloyd 😉, recorded Voices In The Night on ECM with Abercrombie, Holland, and Billy Hoggins. It ain’t half bad either.
Love Voices In The Night. The tone Charles Lloyd gets is amazing!
Very interesting & informative video Michael.
When I think of ECM I think of Keith Jarrett The Koln concert released in 1975 on ECM label.The biggest selling piano album,4 million copies ,
Need to check out more especially more recent releases ,thanks for reminding people of this fantastic independent jazz label Michael.
How great is John Schofield by the way need to listen to more of his work.
Michael a pleasure as always my friend 🙌🙌
Chick Corea's "Return to Forever", from 1972. Was recorded before the self titled Band. Wonderful Sound. Wonderful record. Since a few years returned on Vinyl.
Here's an album on vinyl you should track down on ECM. Dawn Dance by Steve Eliovson & Collin Walcott. Very interesting backstory. Sounds a lot like John McLauglin acoustic. It's a real audiophile sonic spectacular.
Yes! I lucked into that title not knowing what I'd found at the time.
ECM = Timeless
Beside Garbarek, Jarrett, Scofield, Bley etc. ECM released some beautiful recordings by the greek composer Eleni Karaindrou. The album "Music for films" with compositions for the films of Theo Angelopoulos is gorgeous, with a big booklet inside. "The suspended step of the stork" same story...amazing! You find those albums on CD for sure, on my first check I didn't find them on vinyl. I bought my treasures in the ninties, good luck!
Love ECM Michael, I would recommend Bright Sized Life, cheers
Love Keith Jarret! Got me into Jazz deep.
The latest edition of MINT MAGAZIN has an extensive article about this label and an interview with the owner!
Will you add ecm label to your new website.
I love ECM, album Contrasts by Sam Rivers sounds amazing.
Hello Michael,
I need your help. Regarding a triple album (three vinyls), could you tell me what type/model/measurement of sleeves you use, please? For example: Charles Mingus, "The lost album from Ronnie Scott's (RESONANCE RECORDS). It's a problem.
In relation with ECM, this label is a label to snobs (jazz for musicians who don't sweat in nightclubs). Personally I have some" live" tittles on cd ("CIRCLE: Paris-Concert); the sound is quite good, but they release few live jazz vinyls. For example, they should edit in a vinyl-box at an "affordable price" Keith Jarret: "I-VI at Blue Note. The complete recordings".
By the way, Michael, what's your opinion about the recent Blue Note album: Elvin Jones ("Revival: Live at Pookie's Pub").
Best Regards from Spain.
i will do a Video about it very soon
Thanks, Michael.
I really like ECM. Unfortunely i have some bad experience with some records. They had a lot of surface noices and i had to return them.
Specially the records Keith Jarrets - The Melody At Night, With You and Björn Mayer - Provenance.
But i don't have a ultrasonic cleaner. Maybe you get the suface noises away with a ultrasonic cleaner.
ECM... One of the really great and of course very important german labels. Especially when you are interested in jazz! The quality of their artists, their music and of course of their productions and pressings hast allways been outstanding. I'm a great Fan of them and will always be. Good decision to return to them! There ist another very interesting german label which is absolutely worth to have a look at. MPS MusikProduktion Schwarzwald. I'm shure you know them! What about them? Best regards and all the best for the new years! Greetings from Neuss 👋🙂
I first became aware of ECM back in 1976 or '77 when I was introduced to Pat Metheny. I couldn't believe how great their releases sounded and how wonderful the pressings were. Domestic US vinyl in those years was becoming a horrid experience given the oil shortage and Metheny's releases were always stellar. Bravo ECM!!
I never thought Pat Metheny’s releases were nearly as good once he left ECM. Too confining, he said. My favorite ECM of his is Watercolors from 1976 when he was just a kid. Amazing range of styles he displays on this release, and amazing recording, too. I was lucky to have purchased this album way back when on the German release and it still sounds like new 47 years later. That being said, all the ECM titles released on Warner Brothers pressings in the 70’s and 80’s were pretty darn good, often just as quiet as their German counterparts. Those WB pressings are a good value on the used market.
That the best record company for their pressing quality. I bought many in the the 80 and still listen to them .difficult to find in Montreal . Amazon are often to expensive for vinyl and bunch the delivery more and more often since the last months.I happy that you talk about them, ecm deserve it., and most if not all of expert (pseudo) in vinyl never talk about their great record.
yeah ! SURE the label ECM is a have-to-listen music in general. + yes ... SOUND/ ENGINEERING + STUDIOS always top. musicians creative masters. cover art, perfect art. i sure come out of the 80´s so i love specially all the early things. early 70´s first press LP´s can easily bought online. check PAUL BLEY solo piano. or RICHIE BEIRACH or DAVID LIEBMAN projects. and sure have to : PAUL MOTIAN. ..... all ANALOG stuff. all the best from berlin + happy 2023
I recently bought the Avishai Cohen - Naked Truth and the Tord Gustavsen Trio - Opening. Great records. Well made [and thankfully not tip-on] sleeves. Great designs too. I'll be exploring ECM further fo sure. D
The best jazz label
Happy New Year
Great video! Will you be doing a review of the new Blonde on Blonde from VMP? Mono master tape used, mastered by Ryan Smith. Would be great to hear a comparison of it to the mono box set one. Viel danke for all your great work! /Mario
Yes Mario
Good stuff, Michael! You should check out the Wolfgang Muthspiel vinyl releases on ECM.
I have a bunch of them from early 80's. I don't think the early ones are digital. I have two from ARILD ANDERSON which are audiophile recordings. Green shading into Blue is just great. Also, the 2 LP sampler, from the 80's, is great. Mike at the In Grove, kind of knock them in one of his videos maybe because a lot of the early ones were mostly Canadian artists.
I also like some of ECM’s releases. Just 2 side notes:
ECM is recording in digital since approx. mid-80’s, so their LP’s starting from that period are all mastered from digital source. Nonetheless, sound is quite good.
Another note is my personal experience trying to contact them. I was inquiring regarding the mastering of one of their not-so-old reissue. They never replied me, despite my repeated reminders. So sad that even smaller labels (at least, comparing to the 3 big majors) are taking this liberty to disregard technical inquiries.
Sometimes a need a little Equivel, too 😆.
Nice, big big ECM fan here.
Heard the original vinyl pressings are WAY better than the new ones, I only have the re-presses (most on CDs even) sadly tho for now. To be fair, I've also heard many of their artists live
Last edit, I promise :
My recommendations (a few that come to mind now) are the beautiful Jan Garbarek & Hilliard Ensemble albums, these are so unique IMO, hearing a church with only saxophone & voices. And Arild Andersen Trio - Live at Belleville. And Ralph Towner / John Abercrombie - Five Years Later
Yes, Live at belleville is great. I only have it on CD though, but I was at the concert, a great gig!
@@RaviNewfarm same to both 🙂
Actually, it's only realesed as CD acording to discogs now that I've checked. Which is an issue with some of the label's last decade-ish releases, actually 😔
@@entity279 Actually ECM stopped releasing titles on vinyl about 30 years ago. It is only in recent years that they have started offering LPs again thankfully.
I agree. I have about 40 old pressings and about 10 new pressings and the new ones don't sound as good/analogue/dynamic as the old ones. I think the new issues to be more digital.
Check out Mark Turner's Return From The Stars it was released on vinyl last month. Turner is one of the most influential saxophonist of past 20 years.
Nice, but how many and which ones are pressed from the analog source?
I recently got a first pressing of the Bremen/Lausanne concert of Keith Jarrett. The sound quality is way above the CD, which I already had. I also have first pressings of Facing You, and of Crystal Silence by Chick Corea.
For some reason old ECM records seem really common, even down here in Australia. Try finding old Impulse records down here for example - you can't!
There is just so much great music on ECM one could be forgiven for spending all their time just investigating what it has to offer. ECM is also a great case in point to prove that if like me you are a music lover you don’t just limit yourself to vinyl. There are some fantastic releases on this label that are only available on CD in physical format; Steve Tibbetts - A Man About A Horse is a case in point
Finally - we Europeans have our treasures too!
Analog Productions and Intervention are tied for first in my world. As far as releases, MFSL/MOFI are the most eclectic. From Folk to Hip Hop.
Sorry if I spell this ECM artists name wrong .. but if you haven’t heard any of Nik Bartsch’ music on the label .. you really need to. Some of the most amazing modular music that I’ve ever heard 💕
Big fan of Nik Bärtsch here. Spoke to him briefly after a Mobile and Ronin concert. What a great person and what a nice "band" members hè have around him. Nik is great alone, but big with his formations.
An iconic label and back to the beginning it may be worth exploring the "JAPO" label! Be well!
Good decision 😎🤟👌ECM Records has so many great artists in its catalogue and every year they come up with something new or surprising! Unfortunately some of them are only available on CD (Gard Nilssen Accoustic Unity‘ s „Elastic Waves“ for example, but we‘re talking First World problems here…)! Greetings 🎧
I've been heavily into ECM since '78, and particularly like the 70s output, much of which I have on vinyl (including a pristine Japanese copy of Jarrett's extraordinary 'Sun Bear Concerts'). I particularly like Terje Rypdal, Egberto Gismonti, John Abercrombie, Eberhard Weber, Ralph Towner, and Azimuth (well, there's SO MUCH more). The pressing quality has always been exemplary, particularly the German pressings and those from WEA in the U.S. from the late '70s onward. I must have the better part of 1K releases. The graphic/artwork style of the label has been very well documented in books like 'Sleeves of Desire' and 'Windfall Light'...
I totally agree with you. While I only have around 100 of early ECM titles from 1975-1979, they are my favorites in my collection.
I buy a lot of ECM and ACT records 👌 two great German labels
Good Job! - I was a Keith Jarrett fan 45 years ago, I guess. I had a number of his albums but can't recall what label. To be honest LABELS were not that important to me so much as the artist on them doing the work they did.
.... At some point Jarrett seem to disappear for me and it was most likely because I'm not a Classic Musician Listener, and many of his later albums were Multiple Records with much higher prices as a result.
..... I'm listening to his ECM link you just left me with a Sample I guess. I just wanted to have that on while I left you a Post.
Peace - m.
Michel--great info... New ECM(I am a big Jarrett listener) discs are great.. I have a lot of older ECM's--- and I fing the German pressings to be far superior to US. I am so lucky to have the complete Jarrett SUN BEAR concerts (from mid 70's) Germany pressing --so so so quiet!. Check out the Jarrett trio albums---they are amazing. They do such a great job with artists, allowing to to present what they want to present not always what would be the most $$ generating. The Rave -Hersh is really great..JG
I miss your vinyl me please monthly review , did you stop your subscription?
no just did not have the time.. i will do them again
Well, there isn’t a digital step in ECM releases… ECM is FULL DDD. Manfred has been recording fully digital since the late 80s, early 90s. He fully embraced the format and you know what, he’s been able to continue to capture that same ECM sound when he went full digital. Some albums I have on cd that are DDD sound unbelievable! So all these records you show here are full digital records. Better off having them on CD :)
'''...of course a bit out there, in a very subtle calming '' tend to be 2 mutually exclusive descriptions to most folks, in the same way that LP cover art might be something else but pretty is not, UNless Michael might be speaking wokenese or in some sort of Barbarian dialect that escapes me somehow.
die besten Wünsche ! 🙂
Great to see that you now discuss these ECM-editions, Michael! The label also reissued a handful of AAA-titles which mostly sound really good. Amongst them albums from Dave Holland, Jan Garbarek, Kenny Wheeler and Keith Jarrett. Most of them are still available at very fair price.
I love my Chick Corea and Pat Metheny records! They have such detail and colorless representations! Also depth of stage is always incredible! Some of my favorites!!! Happy New Year🎉