# ECM label thread



## Conrad2 (Jan 24, 2021)

ECM seems to me to have a lot of good to exceptional jazz recordings that I enjoyed and cherished. So I want to create a dedicated thread to this record label.

For this thread, all topics relating to ECM are welcome such as upcoming album releases, discussion about ECM released albums, etc. Also, ECM New Series and others belonging under ECM record label is welcome here.

For the first topic, what are your favorite albums from this label recording? 

Hope you enjoy this thread.


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## Conrad2 (Jan 24, 2021)

Here are some of my favorites so far:

Big Map Idea - Steve Tibbetts









Witchi-Tai-To - Jan Garbarek-Bobo Stenson Quartet









Bright Size Life - Pat Metheny









Crystal Silence - Gary Burton And Chick Corea









The Well - Tord Gustavsen Quartet









There are many more, but these are the one that came to my mind first.


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

There are at least ECM Records and ECM New Series which put out quite a different output.


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## Conrad2 (Jan 24, 2021)

Azol said:


> There are at least ECM Records and ECM New Series which put out quite a different output.


Yep, I know that ECM record has a New Series which has a different catalogue from the usual output that ECM do, but for this thread, ECM New Series is welcomed. Thanks for pointing that out, as I didn't want to exclude the New Series out, and the initial impression of my wording may be interpreted in a way that effectively excluded them from discussion. I have edited my post to allow discussion of the New Series.


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

In this case...
Quite different music styles, amazing albums!

Arvo Part - Te Deum








Keith Jarrett - Paris Concert








Silvestrov - Metamusic/Postludium


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Way too many to pick favorites. I started collecting ECM titles almost 40 years ago. I began with Pat Metheny and just kept going. Some favorite artists of mine on the label are:

Egberto Gismonti
Kenny Wheeler
Dave Holland
Marc Johnson
John Abercrombie
Ralph Towner
Eberhard Weber
Jack DeJohnette
Enrico Rava
Bobo Stenson
Steve Tibbetts
Gary Burton
Terje Rypdal


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

I have been a fan of ECM since the early '70s when I first discovered the recordings by Keith Jarrett, the Jan Garbarek Quartet, Terje Rypdal, Chick Corea, and David Holland. The New Series is their Classical label, and again, the releases have been very interesting and finely done.

Some favorites:

Ralph Towner with Glen Moore - Trios / Solos
Eberhard Weber - The Colours of Chloë 
Keith Jarrett - Belonging 
Enrico Rava - The Pilgrim and the Stars
Tomasz Stańko - Balladyna
Arild Andersen - Shimri
Egberto Gismonti - Dança Das Cabeças, Sol Do Meio Dia
Don Cherry / Collin Walcott / Nana Vasconcelos Codona
Charlie Haden / Jan Garbarek / Egberto Gismonti - Magico

And many, many others up to the present, by these same artists and more. The quality has not changed, still offering excellent recorded sound and high quality roster of artists.

One of the Spotify curators has created several playlists of the entire ECM catalog - chronologically as well as the latest recordings, and focused on individual artists - for both ECM and ECM New Series.


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## Jay (Jul 21, 2014)

Jan Garbarek - Afric Pepperbird
Circle - Paris Concert
AEC - Urban Bushmen
Julian Priester - Love Love
Eberhard Weber - Colours of Chloe
Jimmy Giuffre - 1961
Dewey Redman - The Struggle Continues
John Abercrombie - Timeless
Ralph Towner - Solstice
Jack DeJohnette - Directions; Pictures; Special Edition
Dave Liebman - Lookout Farm
Mal Waldron - Free At Last
George Adams - Sound Suggestions
Don Cherry -- El Corazon
Old & New Dreams -- s/t; Playing
Kenny Wheeler - Gnu High; Double, Double You
Sam Rivers - Contrasts
Bill Connors - Theme to The Guardian
Bennie Maupin - The Jewel In The Lotus
Steve Kuhn - Trance
Marion Brown - Afternoon of A Georgia Faun
Dave Holland - Conference of The Birds
Terje Rypdal - Whenever I Seem To Be Far Away
A.R.C.
Paul Motian - s/t
Paul Bley - Open, To Love


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

What the last three posts said. I too have been an ECM collector for forty odd years. A label that rarely lets you down.


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## jim prideaux (May 30, 2013)

ECM......tricky question as I frankly have little real idea where to start as i have enjoyed so much of the music on this label.....

So I will mention two albums here.....

Travels-the Pat Metheny Group live album has been with me (through good times and bad) for most of my adult life and a little like Sibelius 5 seems to have assumed some kind of prominence.......still there!

Keith Jarrett's Blue Note recordings.......I already have many of his albums and it is only recently that I inadvertently came across this box set....and I had to order it as certain tracks frankly 'blew my socks off!'.......

There you go.......two albums,

but what about numerous other albums by Jarret and Metheny, and albums by ( among others) Kenny Wheeler, Marcin Wasilewski, Stanko etc.....the list goes on.....


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Yeah, that 6CD box of the Keith Jarrett Blue Note recordings are great.

This morning I've been listening to *Anouar Brahem*, Tunisian oud player and composer, who recorded about ten CDs (so far) on ECM.

Yesterday and still more to day I've been listening to the four installments *John Potter* made which he called _The Dowland Project_. Which reminded me of the recordings the *Hilliard Ensemble* made with *Jan Garbarek*.

ECM's catalog is one of the most unique and consistently of high quality.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

SA. Are you sure you’re not me?:lol: love all those artists.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Barbebleu said:


> SA. Are you sure you're not me?:lol: love all those artists.




I forgot to mention the incredible collection of late career albums by *Charles Lloyd* on ECM.

He had gone into semi-retirement, spending most of his musical energy traveling and performing with the Beach Boys throughout most of the '70s. *Michel Petrucciani* was instrumental in getting him back into Jazz, but that re-emergence was short-lived. It wasn't until 1989 when he signed with ECM, forming a new quartet with *Bobo Stenson*.

He's recorded regularly on ECM since, with a variety of great bands.

After of a couple of decades on ECM, he was signed again to Blue Note, the label where his iconic records were made in the '60s. Most recently he formed a group called *The Marvels *with *Bill Frisell* a band also including *Greg Leisz* on dobro and pedal steel guitar as a multi-genre group. One of my favorite records with the Marvels features *Lucinda Williams*.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

For Kenny Wheeler I recommend Deer Wan, and Large and Small Ensembles. Stanko made quite a few albums but I'm happy with Leosia, and Matka Joanna with Bobo Stenson, Anders Jormin, and Tony Oxley.

Other albums by Metheny? 80/81, Watercolors, Wichita Falls, and his debut Bright Size Life contains some beautiful and unique compositions.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

Fortunately every album mentioned so far is in my collection. All I need is a spare couple of years and I can listen to them again. I still have a few that I have not replaced digitally and remain on vinyl. One day, one day!


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## jim prideaux (May 30, 2013)

good to see 80/81 get a mention......Two Folk Songs, wonderful!


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

This thread reminds me that I bought the big Art Ensemble and Associated Artists box. I need to crack this open and listen to more of it.


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## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

Count me as another huge fan of this label!

I love their entire ethos; from the sparse covers, to the production values, to the dead quiet vinyl (when they were still releasing vinyl), to the recordings that fit squarely in the jazz milieu, and to those recordings that do not (even though there is still plenty of improvisation). And who can question their discovery of new artists and musicians throughout their history?

What I really like about their releases that are a bit more identifiable as jazz, is that, unlike most jazz where the musicians play head>solo>head>solo, etc. Where each player has their chance to solo, with the rest of the musicians playing chords behind them, with so many ECM artists, the musicians that aren't soloing, aren't usually just playing chords behind them. They might be playing more intricate lines with more complex interplay with the soloist and other musicians. 

If I had it my way, I'd buy every new release, and trade the ones I didn't like. Because, who knows how many unknown gems are in every new release cycle?


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I wish every release was available on CD. I'd buy a bunch more. I have picked up quite a few titles in the past couple of years. The early Jan Garbarek album, Afric Pepperbird is a favorite. Also several of the 50th anniversary re-issues by Gary Peacock, Bill Connors, and David Torn. And every Eberhard Weber, and Ralph Towner CD I could find at a decent price.

I have a few more recent titles by Tim Berne, Craig Taborn, and Vijay Iyer that I need to revisit. And one of Dino Saluzzi's that has a lot of beautiful music.


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## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

Let me add, that every time I go to a brick and mortar store, like Amoeba in Hollywood, Freak Beat in the Sherman Oaks, Counterpoint in LA, first on my agenda is to search the jazz section (vinyl and CD) for ECM. Even before I head to the avant-garde classical section.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

starthrower said:


> And every Eberhard Weber, and Ralph Towner CD


As a bassist I was into Eberhard Weber early on, even his phased sound did not turn me off. And I first heard Ralph Towner on the second Weather Report album, the song "Unknown Soldier" which featured a solo 12-string intro.


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## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

Here's an excellent release, with a bit of a sad story.

Steve Eliovson - Dawn Dance

South African guitarist recorded this one great album, with percussionist, Colin Walcott. He was supposed to record another for ECM, when he badly broke his leg.

"This was to be a harbinger of a mysterious turn of events in his life which saw him never recording again. Rumours of him trying his hand at farming in KwaZulu-Natal and of his stash of guitars remaining unclaimed in the US cannot be corroborated. Effectively Eliovson vanished from the grid, the music industry and his friends and fans."

He died of cancer almost a year ago.

If you can find a copy of his one and only album, don't hesitate to buy it.


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## jim prideaux (May 30, 2013)

Jarrett's Blue Note box set has just arrived in the post!

Like a lot of listeners I like to have the physical copy and this will be a real treat.....also waiting for Mullova's LvB VC....BIG BIG week round these parts!


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

Simon Moon said:


> Here's an excellent release, with a bit of a sad story.
> 
> Steve Eliovson - Dawn Dance
> 
> ...


I'm surprised that ECM don't have any unreleased stuff from the Dawn Dance sessions that could be put on a re-release. It would be most unusual to only record what was released.

I think this is a link to the video memorial tribute to Steve.

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&r...=vYv-ym7hcM4&usg=AOvVaw0AyKpailovIHc3GakPTVLM


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I listened to New Directions Live in Europe from my Art Ensemble box. What a great record! But I have to say this box design is the most cumbersome physical set I've ever purchased. I don't rip CDs to a hard drive but this is almost enough incentive to make me start doing it. The CD sleeves are absolute rubbish. Not characteristic of ECM's usual high standard of quality. But I love this band with Lester Bowie, Abercrombie, Eddie Gomez, and DeJohnette.


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## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

Here's another one of the great, but lesser known ECM releases.

Art Lande - Rubisa Patrol

With trumpet great, Mark Isham*, Bill Douglas in bass and flute, and Glenn Cronkite in drums.






*Mark Isham, as well as being a world class trumpet player, has composed 188 movie, documentary and TV show soundtracks. Including some pretty big ones: Point Break, Reservation Road, The Nevers, The Black Dahlia, October Sky, From Earth to the Moon, Quiz Show, A River Runs Through It, and more.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

Simon Moon said:


> Here's another one of the great, but lesser known ECM releases.
> 
> Art Lande - Rubisa Patrol
> 
> ...


Red Lanta with Jan Garbarek is another good one. In fact all of his ECM albums are worth seeking out.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*jean-louis matinier | marco ambrosini | nventio*

*blurb from ecm*:
_Inventio i_s an inventive project at all levels, beginning with the instrumentation. *Marco Ambrosini* is one of very few musicians playing nyckelharpa outside the Swedish folk tradition, and *Jean-Louis Matinier* has similarly taken the accordion beyond any 'folkloric' frame of reference. On the present disc, the French-Italian duo plays a programme inspired by the baroque sonatas of Bach and Biber but also by the lyrical cadences of Pergolesi. They adapt and arrange works of each of these masters, and contribute compositions of their own. Following a path from ancient to modern music, they improvise together, finding new sound-colour combinations in the special blending of their instruments.

View attachment 156032


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

SanAntone said:


> *jean-louis matinier | marco ambrosini | nventio*
> 
> *blurb from ecm*:
> _Inventio i_s an inventive project at all levels, beginning with the instrumentation. *Marco Ambrosini* is one of very few musicians playing nyckelharpa outside the Swedish folk tradition, and *Jean-Louis Matinier* has similarly taken the accordion beyond any 'folkloric' frame of reference. On the present disc, the French-Italian duo plays a programme inspired by the baroque sonatas of Bach and Biber but also by the lyrical cadences of Pergolesi. They adapt and arrange works of each of these masters, and contribute compositions of their own. Following a path from ancient to modern music, they improvise together, finding new sound-colour combinations in the special blending of their instruments.
> ...


What are your impressions of this one SA?


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Barbebleu said:


> What are your impressions of this one SA?


It is not jazzy but contains some very fine music; the instrumentation is a big reason why.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

Not jazzy is not a problem. I like the ECM ethic so their music is always worth exploring. I bought all the volumes of Selected Signs and they gave me a great door into the more outré things in the catalogue.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*last dance | keith jarrett | charlie haden*

View attachment 156051


Keith Jarrett/Charlie Haden: Last Dance (ECM 2399)
April 23, 2015 | Tyran Grillo



> Seeing as this was to be Charlie Haden's final record, one could easy read mournful prophecy into Last Dance. To be sure, its poignancy is as heavy as the burden of the bassist's loss. To do so, however, risks obscuring the fact that the music under its title stretches seams by virtue of an abundance of life. Born of the same sessions as Jasmine, the lovingly interpreted standards of Last Dance again find Haden in the company of pianist Keith Jarrett, who once characterized this rare partner as a musician who thinks through whatever melody comes his way.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*Marilyn Mazur/Jan Garbarek: Elixir*

View attachment 156067


*Marilyn Mazur* marimba, bowed vibraphone and waterphone, hang, bells, gongs, cymbals, magic drum, log drum, sheep bells, Indian cowbells, udu drum, various drums and metal utensils
*Jan Garbarek* tenor and soprano saxophones, flute
Recorded June 2005 at Sun Studio, Copenhagen

*Review July 9, 2014 | Tyran Grillo* 


> Each of the album's 21 tracks is an iceberg's tip. Only the penultimate "Winter Wish" exceeds four minutes, and with it the waterline. This and other such evocative titles as "The Siren In The Well," "Mountain Breath" (which sounds like an eagle dreaming of a whale), and "Bell-Painting" afford imaginings for the wayward listener fortunate to wander into these territories. The latter title is especially appropriate, for Mazur is very much a painter whose palette is her instrument. From a kit that spans the globe, she chooses only the most appropriate pigment for each image. Be it the splash of a Chinese gong (cf. "Creature Walk" and "Talking Wind"), the pulse of hand on taut skin ("Mother Drum"), or the resonant metals of "Pathway," she reverse engineers gold into its base components and treats each as if it were just as precious. Her solos speak to the heart because they speak to the earth: the two are one in the same.


A really fantastic record.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

SanAntone said:


> *Marilyn Mazur/Jan Garbarek: Elixir*
> 
> View attachment 156067
> 
> ...


I thought I had all Garbarek's works! It seems I was wrong. Omission now remedied. Thanks SA.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Barbebleu said:


> I thought I had all Garbarek's works! It seems I was wrong. Omission now remedied. Thanks SA.


It is almost entirely a Marilyn Mazur record, I think Garbarek is only on two tracks, the first and last, but those two are excellent


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*ralph towner | paolo fresu | chiaroscuro*

View attachment 156073


A Ralph Towner album, but no matter who is credited as leader this is a beautiful recording, by a very evocative duo

*ECM note*:



> In this programme of Towner originals and improvisations, the sole cover version is "Blue In Green". the Bill Evans/Miles Davis tune from the classic "Kind of Blue" album - an apt choice for Sardinia-born trumpeter Paolo Fresu, whose pure and elegant tone still carries echoes of early Miles. Towner's own pieces offer continually changing landscapes for Fresu's horn to grace, in a very poetic and lyrical set whose gradations of light and shade, of sound and shadows, are beautifully recorded. "Chiaroscuro" is Towner's 22nd ECM disc as a leader and Fresu's first - although the trumpeter guest-starred on Carla Bley's prize-winning "The Lost Chords Find Paolo Fresu", issued on WATT in 2007.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*codona trilogy | don cherry | nana vasconcelos | collin walcott*

View attachment 156080


*Don Cherry* trumpet, doussn'gouni, flutes, organ, melodica, voice
*Nana Vasconcelos* berimbau, cuica, talking drum, percussion, voice
*Collin Walcott *sitar, tabla, hammered dulcimer, sanza, timpani, voice

*Review | May 16, 2011 | Tyran Grillo*



> The music of CODONA, ECM's most emblematic creation, invariably puts me in mind of the above passage from Kingston's classic "memoir." It describes the author's mother as, having just received her diploma, she celebrates by spreading what little monetary resources she has. The word that always stands out for me, and which is a theme of the book as a whole, is "talk-story," for it describes with no uncertain brevity exactly what CODONA enacted in the studio (and on the stage) throughout the four-year span represented on this Old & New Masters trilogy. CODONA's name-a portmanteau derived from its members' firsts: COllin Walcott, DOn Cherry, NAna Vasconcelos-melds minds and hearts in the deepest crucible of music making.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*enrico rava | stefano bollini | paul motian | tati*

View attachment 156107


Another first rate recording from *Enrico Rava*, recorded in 2004. The only odd thing here is the lack of a bassist - but it does lend the sessions a transparent sound and leaves *Bollini* with complete control over the harmonic field.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I found a rare Enrico Rava CD at my local store for a few bucks. The Plot, with John Abercrombie, Palle Danielsson, and Jon Christensen.

NP: Dave Holland: Seeds Of Time, 1985


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

starthrower said:


> I found a rare Enrico Rava CD at my local store for a few bucks. The Plot, with John Abercrombie, Palle Danielsson, and Jon Christensen.


I know that record, I remember hearing it not long after _Belonging_ (Jarrett), same rhythm section, well, bass and drums.

Speaking of which, one of my most favorite EMC albums:

View attachment 156113


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Several months ago I misplaced my copies of Belonging, and Nude Ants. It's driving my crazy that I can't find them.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Bridging the gap between Jazz and Contemporary Classical is this album by Eberhard Weber.

Recorded 1980. At the time Weber's Colours group was one of the most highly-acclaimed bands on the international touring circuit. Colours combined a sense of jazz history (personified by ex-Charles Mingus saxophonist Charlie Mariano) with an awareness of the pattern-pulses of the minimalist composers (emphasised in Weber's writing for Brüninghaus's synthesizers) and the energy of jazz-rock (drummer Marshall had played with Soft Machine and Jack Bruce).

Eberhard Weber Bass
Charlie Mariano Soprano Saxophone, Flute
Rainer Brüninghaus Piano, Synthesizer
John Marshall Drums, Percussion

View attachment 156120


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*ralph towner | gary burton | slide show*

View attachment 156140


Ralph Towner - Classical Guitar, 12-String Guitar
Gary Burton - Vibraphone, Marimba

I don't generally like Gary Burton, but his duets with Ralph Towner succeed, IMO, more than any of his other albums.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*ralph towner | jan garbarek | eberhard weber | jon christensen | solstice*

View attachment 156149


Ralph Towner - 12-String Guitar, Classical Guitar, Piano
Jan Garbarek - Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Flute
Eberhard Weber - Bass, Cello
Jon Christensen - Drums, Percussion

This record would be on my top ten list of ECM recordings, if I had one. The band has three of my favorite ECM artists: Ralph Towner, Eberhard Weber and Jon Christensen (I like Jan Gabarek's style, but sometimes his tone is harsh to my ears).


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

SanAntone said:


> *ralph towner | gary burton | slide show*
> 
> View attachment 156140
> 
> ...


What? You don't generally like Gary Burton? Heretic!:lol:


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

SanAntone said:


> *ralph towner | jan garbarek | eberhard weber | jon christensen | solstice*
> 
> View attachment 156149
> 
> ...


Yeah. This would figure in a top ten ECM list for me too! As would Blue Sun and Dawn Dance. Better make it a top twenty!


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I scored some great used CDs at my local store today. Dave Holland Big Band: What Goes Around on ECM, and Passing Ships by Andrew Hill which is hard to find cheap online.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Barbebleu said:


> Yeah. This would figure in a top ten ECM list for me too! As would Blue Sun and Dawn Dance. Better make it a top twenty!


I was listening to Dawn Dance yesterday, great record.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Blue Sun is awesome! Can't believe I actually found an affordable mint copy several months back. Also bought Lost and Found, and Timeline.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

starthrower said:


> I scored some great used CDs at my local store today. Dave Holland Big Band: What Goes Around on ECM, and Passing Ships by Andrew Hill which is hard to find cheap online.


Passing Ships is a really nice Andrew Hill record - great writing for the horns. Hard to understand why Blue Note sat on it for over 30 years.

The Dave Holland Big Band record is unique in his catalog, but as is always the case a super recording.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I knew both records from the Syracuse U. radio station where I used to do a jazz program but I never picked them up back then.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

1990

31 years already since I bought this album. As great as his later ensembles have been, the individual players don't possess the unmistakable voices of musicians like Steve Coleman, Kevin Eubanks, and the late Kenny Wheeler who worked with Holland in the 1980s.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

starthrower said:


> 1990
> 
> 31 years already since I bought this album. As great as his later ensembles have been, the individual players don't possess the unmistakable voices of musicians like Steve Coleman, Kevin Eubanks, and the late Kenny Wheeler who worked with Holland in the 1980s.


I really liked that quartet; a great, great record.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

SanAntone said:


> I really liked that quartet; a great, great record.


Yeah, the material is superb and with just four players there's enough space to keep the ear fatigue at bay. And for my ears The Oracle is one of Holland's finest tunes.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

I’m not a huge fan of big bands but I am a Dave Holland fan. Would you recommend Overtime and What Goes Around at all?


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Barbebleu said:


> I'm not a huge fan of big bands but I am a Dave Holland fan. Would you recommend Overtime and What Goes Around at all?


I'm not familiar with Overtime. What Goes Around is a great recording with some excellent compositions. My only criticism is that these soloists play too many notes. As I mentioned in my other post my preference is for the albums with Steve Coleman. But there are very affordable copies of What Goes Around and I'd say overall it has more positives than negatives. I do enjoy modern big band recordings and some of the others I listen to are by John Hollenbeck, Carla Bley, Either/Orchestra, and Michael Formanek's The Distance. The E/O is one of the finest ensembles I've had the pleasure of listening to but they are not as well known due to the fact that all of their albums are on the tiny Accurate label owned by bandleader Russ Gershon.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Barbebleu said:


> I'm not a huge fan of big bands but I am a Dave Holland fan. Would you recommend Overtime and What Goes Around at all?


His "big band" is basically his quintet augmented to 13 members and retains the same basic sound as his smaller groups. I am pretty sure both albums came out of the same sessions in 2002, but Overtime was released later, in 2005, so they are similar in sound and approach, although Overtime is built around Holland's extended work The Monterey Suite. Also, Overtime was released on a different label from ECM.

I think his idea with the big band was to focus more on his ensemble writing, and featuring some long form works.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

The great Holland quintet back in the day.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

starthrower said:


> The great Holland quintet back in the day.


I'm not sure, but I might like the vibraphone quintet a bit better because of the variety of timbre - but IMO, Holland never had a band that wasn't superb.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

SanAntone said:


> His "big band" is basically his quintet augmented to 13 members and retains the same basic sound as his smaller groups. I am pretty sure both albums came out of the same sessions in 2002, but Overtime was released later, in 2005, so they are similar in sound and approach, although Overtime is built around Holland's extended work The Monterey Suite. Also, Overtime was released on a different label from ECM.
> 
> I think his idea with the big band was to focus more on his ensemble writing, and featuring some long form works.


Thanks SA. Both are now downloaded. Just need some time to listen to them!


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I actually passed up an opportunity to see the Holland Quintet in the early 2000s. What was I thinking? But it was a stormy Sunday night and the gig was 40 miles away so I didn't make it.

He's obviously a great musician but sometimes I get fatigued with Chris Potter's playing. The later band seems to be all about discipline and virtuosity but I don't hear as much poetry and lyricism.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Barbebleu said:


> Thanks SA. Both are now downloaded. Just need some time to listen to them!


I hope you enjoy them, Barb. I just put on The Razor's Edge CD. Haven't listened to this in ages. The title track, and Blues For C.M. are on What Goes Around.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

starthrower said:


> I actually passed up an opportunity to see the Holland Quintet in the early 2000s. What was I thinking? But it was a stormy Sunday night and the gig was 40 miles away so I didn't make it.
> 
> He's obviously a great musician but sometimes I get fatigued with Chris Potter's playing. The later band seems to be all about discipline and virtuosity but I don't hear as much poetry and lyricism.


I was living in NYC during the Eighties, and saw the earlier quintet in the clip you posted. While I think both quintets are excellent and have their own unique qualities, I lean more towards the later one, as I said, because of the vibraphone and I don't share your assessment of Chris Potter. The extended improvised duet between Potter and Eubanks in the second clip is simply amazing, IMO.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Well I need to listen to more of Potter but a lot of his solos are pretty note heavy in the Michael Brecker vein but thankfully he doesn't sound like Brecker. Since I'm on a Holland kick I'm going to crack out the Extended Play live set. I also want to find my Metheny Unity Band CD. That is one of the best sounding jazz recordings I've ever heard.


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## Jay (Jul 21, 2014)




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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Love that Sam Rivers album!


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

starthrower said:


> Love that Sam Rivers album!


Have you heard the Dave Holland/Sam Rivers duet albums? There's two of them.

View attachment 156177


View attachment 156178


However, they're not on ECM.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*anouar brahem | conte de l'incroyable amour*

View attachment 156187


*Anouar Brahem* _oud_
*Barbaros Erköse* _clarinet_
*Kudsi Erguner* _ney_
*Lassad Hosni* _bendir, darbouka_

Recorded October 1991 at Rainbow Studio, Oslo

excerpt from the review by Tyran Grillo

"After a memorable ECM debut with _Barzakh_, *Anouar Brahem* recorded this even more memorable sophomore effort one year later. Carrying over percussionist Lassad Hosni, Brahem welcomes Turkish musicians Kudsi Erguner on ney and Barbaros Erköse on clarinet. Erköse, a gypsy music specialist, adds rich colors to an already dense palette, weaving tethers that pull us into tender worlds. His duets with Erguner ("Etincelles" and "Peshrev Hidjaz Homayoun") stand out as some of the album's most flowing. The title track brings the patter of clay drums, weaving a gorgeous ney into our vision. (The melodies and rhythms here put this listener immediately in mind of the song "I Love You" from Omar Faruk Tekbilek's album One Truth.) Captivating. Erguner shines again in "Diversion." Slaloming through every drummed pillar with the conviction of a bird in search of prey and yet with the delicacy of an angel avoiding such violence, he brings a sense of history to every lilting gesture. "Nayzak" revives the clarinet amid oud and drums for a stunning taste of mountains and the plains. The album's meat, though, comes in Brahem's unaccompanied storytelling. From the dawn chorus of "L'oiseau de bois" and invigorating virtuosity of "Battements," through the tender air "Le chien sur les genoux de la devineresse," and on to "Epilogue," there is unimaginable depth of yearning in every twang and strum."

*********************************

love it, love it, love it.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

SanAntone said:


> Have you heard the Dave Holland/Sam Rivers duet albums? There's two of them.
> 
> View attachment 156177
> 
> ...


Haven't heard them. But I do have the live trio 2 CD with Barry Altschul.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

Listening to Chris Potter’s new one, Sunrise Reprise. Excellent.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*jan garbarek | in praise of dreams*

View attachment 156193


Jan Garbarek - soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, synthesizers
Kim Kashkashian - viola (tracks 2-4, 6-10)
Manu Katché - drums, percussion, samples

I like this record, but I could have liked it even more if the synthesized sampling had not been such a prominent feature of the recording. Kim Kashkashian is excellent partner with Garbarek, and Manu Katché's drum/percussion work strikes just the right balance. But at times the background pads seem a bit pop-ish.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Barbebleu said:


> Listening to Chris Potter's new one, Sunrise Reprise. Excellent.


I think the first one is even better. But I love that trio. And his solo record There Is A Tide is really good too. That young cat James Francies that plays keyboards on the circuits albums is a great talent. I saw him with Metheny on the Wide Eye tour in 2019. He's like the Lyle Mays of his generation but with his own style.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*Trygve Seim | Andreas Utnem | Purcor*

Trygve Seim - tenor and soprano saxophones
Andreas Utnem - piano, harmonium

Recorded May 2008 at Tøyen Kirke, Oslo
Engineers: Jan Erik Kongshaug and Peer Espen Ursfjord
Mixed at Rainbow Studio, Oslo by Jan Erik Kongshaug, Manfred Eicher, Trygve Seim, and Andreas Utnem
Produced by Manfred Eicher

View attachment 156196


*Tyran Grillo*



> A beautiful and intimate album that belongs right alongside Stella Malu, Purcor strains its sentiments through a reductive mesh that distills only the purest extract of each melody. Seim's breathy tone carries experience in its pockets, which it drops in methodical, dripping handfuls in the opening "Kyrie." Feathered like the edge of an avian dream, it lisps at the edge of a time when mouths wandered in search of tongues. The album's splintered Mass is therefore less a structural element than it is the air that gives said structure meaning to begin with. It is the space it inhabits, the climate from which it shelters its inhabitants, the words spoken in its chambers. From the beautiful counterpoint of the "Credo," through the John Surman-esque sopranism of the jubilant "Gloria," and on to the heartwarming gentility of cause in the "Agnus Dei," the duo establishes a devotional yet ecumenical atmosphere, a shroud that reaches forth like arms of light and wraps its sacred conscience around secular means. A "Responsorium" switches piano for harmonium, lending the feeling of an organ hymn. Along with the "Pater Noster," it is a reflecting pool of the soul whose contemplation is naked before all in Heaven. Such are the wounds that give weight to the meaning of struggle-not threads but veins: vast internal networks, compact and held together by the skin of the Word.


Trygve Seim is new to me, I've only come across his music recently in this latest exploration of the ECM catalog. Interesting guy. Wikipedia writes, "He started to play the saxophone in 1985 after hearing Jan Garbarek's CD Eventyr."

And: "Seim's debut CD release as a leader, _Different Rivers_, released on the German record label ECM in 2001, received good reviews all over the world. Since then, he has released several records on ECM."

"He has, more recently, composed music for classical musicians, especially Norwegian mezzo-soprano Anne-Lise Berntsen, soprano Tora Augestad, violinist Atle Sponberg and such as his new work Between Voice and Presence for the Trio Mediaeval. For the 2006 Vossajazz Festival, he wrote a full-length commissioned concert, _Reiser._"

_Purcor_ is spare, contemplative, music that is well worth exploring.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*joe lovano | marilyn crispell | carmen castaldi | trio tapestry*

View attachment 156216


Lovano stretches out on this freer Jazz approach than what is usual the case for him, probably because of the collaboration with Marilyn Crispell. Carmen Castaldi hails from Cleveland as does Lovano, and they have played a lot together. Marilyn Crispell has a fairly large catalog on ECM, and her style is uniform across all the albums: meditative, free improvisations, and always with fine sidemen.

Trio Tapestry came out in Jan/2019 and caused something of a sensation, well-deserved, IMO. This trio subsequently released a follow-up in Jan/2021, _Garden of Expression_.

View attachment 156217


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*egberto gismonti | sol do meio dia*

View attachment 156263


There is an extended medley on this overall excellent record that feature one of his best songs IMO: "Café."

Café - Sapain - Dança Solitária No.2 - Baiao Malandro


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*arild andersen | hyperborean*

View attachment 156265


*Tore Brunborg* soprano and tenor saxophones
*Bendik Hofseth* tenor saxophone
*Kenneth Knudsen* keyboards
*Arild Andersen* double-bass
*Paolo Vinaccia* drums, percussion
*Odd Hannisdal* violin
*Henrik Hannisdal* violin
*Marek Konstantynowicz* viola
*Morten Hannisdal* cello

Recorded December 1996 at Rainbow Studio, Oslo

*Arild Andersen: Hyperborean (ECM 1631)
February 11, 2013 | Tyran Grillo	*



> If you think the title of Hyperborean sounds enchanting, wait until you hear the music. Arild Andersen's evocation of the Greek mythological race plies the shimmering backdrop from which its thread comes unraveling and weaves an entirely new one in its place. Like the chariot of Apollo, who rides to the north three months out of the year to join the Hyperboreans, it marks the sky with seasonal precision. Such is the backstory of this 1995 Norwegian Molde Festival commission, which sought a large-scale suite from the bassist. Andersen took the opportunity to expand his sound, writing for string quartet for the first time. After the success of the concert, Andersen returned to the material and appended "Patch Of Light," which introduces the album. Andersen: "In general, the role of the strings in the music was strengthened and improved by Manfred Eicher's input. He had a lot to add in terms of phrasing, dynamics and emphasis, and in the relationship of the string writing to the jazz improvising in the mix."
> 
> Eicher's fingerprints are apparent every step of the way and represent a particularly successful marriage of engineering, behind-the-scenes thought, and performance. He also brought in the Cikada String quartet for the first of many label collaborations. Saxophonists Tore Brunborg (longtime member of Andersen's Masqualero outfit) and Bendik Hofseth (who appeared on his earlier Sagn) make for an organic counterpoint of styles. Italian-born but Oslo-based drummer Paolo Vinaccia, who replaced Nana Vasconcelos in Andersen's "folk" group in 1993, has also made notable appearances on Terje Rypdal's Q.E.D. and Skywards. Danish pianist Kenneth Knudsen is a longtime friend of Andersen and draws on his background both with Miles Davis and Palle Mikkelborg.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

SanAntone said:


> *egberto gismonti | sol do meio dia*
> 
> View attachment 156263
> 
> ...


Gismonti recorded some lovely albums on ECM. Great underrated artist.


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## Jay (Jul 21, 2014)




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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*don cherry | dewey redman | charlie haden | ed blackwell | old and new dreams*

View attachment 156278


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

Working our way through our ECM collection are we SA? Excellent plan!


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Barbebleu said:


> Working our way through our ECM collection are we SA? Excellent plan!


All from Spotify, some I used to own, most not. I created a folder with about two dozen playlists of my favorite ECM artists and usually listen to it on shuffle mode. When I hear a track that grabs my attention, I go to the full album and give it a listen. If I really like what I'm hearing I'll post it here.

There is so much variety on ECM, and most of the recordings are pleasing and interesting, I could spend weeks listening to nothing but this collection.


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## Jay (Jul 21, 2014)




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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*chick corea | stefano bollini | orvieto*

View attachment 156339


*ECM note*:



> Chick Corea and Stefano Bollani in their first recorded collaboration, a document of a most spirited gig in Orvieto's Teatro Mancinelli last December. Effervescent virtuosity abounds as the two piano genii romp through a programme that includes Jobim's "Retrato Em Branco E Preto", the swing ballad "Darn That Dream", Fats Waller's "Jitterbug Waltz", Miles Davis's "Nardis", blues, improvisations and more. The recording is Corea's first new ECM date in more than a quarter-century.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

SanAntone said:


> *chick corea | stefano bollini | orvieto*
> 
> View attachment 156339
> 
> ...


I had completely forgotten that I didn't have this album. Now remedied. Thanks for reminder SA.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Not on ECM but I just picked up Chick's Trilogy CD. Over 200 minutes of beautifully recorded live music. I'm really digging the drummer, Brian Blade. He really makes this music and trio sound brilliant. Already ordered Vol 2.


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## Jay (Jul 21, 2014)




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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*bobo stenson trio | serenity*

View attachment 156675


ECM website:



> Serenity brings the work of the Stenson Trio to a new plateau, drawing on the richness of the jazz tradition, on folk music, Cuban song, 20th century composition, and free playing. The choice of material is inspired. In addition to pieces by each of the trio members and collective improvisations, we hear two pieces by Hanns Eisler, one by Charles Ives, and one by Alban Berg, plus Wayne Shorter's Swee Pee, singer/songwriter Silvio Rodríguez's El Mayor, and two accounts of the Swedish folk tune Polska of Despair by Lorens Brolin.


Release date: 05.06.2000

Bobo Stenson Piano
Anders Jormin Double-Bass
Jon Christensen Drums

*****************************

One of ECM's best releases, IMO - a prime example of what the label brings to the table that is unique.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

Wayne Shorter’s Swee Pee? Sweet Pea surely!:lol:

ECM proof reading not the best!


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Barbebleu said:


> Wayne Shorter's Swee Pee? Sweet Pea surely!:lol:
> 
> ECM proof reading not the best!


A nickname for Billy Strayhorn, I have seen it written as "Swee-Pea" (Super Nova) but never as "pee" until now - 

:tiphat: Barbebleu


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I was a bit underwhelmed by the last Bobo Stenson release I picked up. But the previous CD, Cantando is superb if over long. I think it's 78 minutes. The young rhythm section does some of the finest playing I've heard. I'm pretty sure it's Jormin on bass but I can't recall the drummer's name. He is a brilliantly creative player.


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## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

starthrower said:


> I was a bit underwhelmed by the last Bobo Stenson release I picked up. But the previous CD, Cantando is superb if over long. I think it's 78 minutes. The young rhythm section does some of the finest playing I've heard. I'm pretty sure it's Jormin on bass but I can't recall the drummer's name. He is a brilliantly creative player.


Jon Fält is the drummer. _Cantando_ is excellent, but I don't have a problem with any of Stenson's recordings. I used to think he was derivative of Keith Jarrett but have grown into hearing the differences.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

Jay said:


>


This is a wonderful album and rarely mentioned. Terrific compositions and delightful playing by brilliant musicians. The usual high class ECM production values add to the mix.


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## Jay (Jul 21, 2014)




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## Jay (Jul 21, 2014)




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## Jay (Jul 21, 2014)

[video]http://www.expose.org/assets/img/releases/maupin-bennie-jewel-in-the-lotus-1974.jpg[/video]


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