Duets between Dino Saluzzi on bandoneon and Jon Christensen on percussion. CD

Keith Jarrett on piano and percussion, Jan Garbarek on tenor and soprano sax, Palle Danielsson on bass, and Jon Christensen on drums. CD

A record that's as melancholic as its cover and title – definitely one of the more sensitive efforts we've ever heard from pianist Bobo Stenson – and a set that also really showcases some great contributions from bassist Anders Jormin as well! Jormin composed a few of the most beautiful tunes on the set, and also really wins us over with his solo moments on the set – in a trio that also features Jon Christensen on drums, working in his usual very open, very loose approach. Titles include "Sediment", "All My Life", "War Orphans", "Natt", "Eleventh Of January", "Bengali Blue", and "Oleo De Mujer Con Sombrero". CD

Moody musings from guitarist Ralph Towner – recorded here on 12-string and classical guitar, plus a bit of piano – and working with a quartet that includes Jan Garbarek on sax and flute, Eberhard Weber on bass and cello, and Jon Christensen on drums and percussion. The group do a nice job of mixing up sweeter Towner moments with numbers that have a darker, almost noisier edge at times – and Garbarek's work on soprano sax gives the record some of its best moments. Early genius on ECM! Titles include the slightly funky "Piscean Dance", plus "Sand", "Red & Black", "Oceanus", "Visitation", and "Drifting Petals". LP, Vinyl record album

A legendary session from the early years of ECM – one of those records that really helped set the tone of the label for years to come! The album's definitely on the more avant side of the spectrum, and is a great reminder of how much ECM contributed to European free jazz at the start – with fantastic interplay from a group led by reedman Jan Garbarek on tenor, bass sax, flutes, clarinet, and percussion – in a quartet with Terje Rypdal on guitar, Jon Christensen on percussion, and Arild Andersen on bass, xylophone, and kalimba! The tracks vary in length, and the players all shift instruments nicely – on titles that include "Myb", "Blow Away Zone", "Afric Pepperbird", "Scarabee", and "Beast Of Kommodo". CD

A legendary session from the early years of ECM – one of those records that really helped set the tone of the label for years to come! The album's definitely on the more avant side of the spectrum, and is a great reminder of how much ECM contributed to European free jazz at the start – with fantastic interplay from a group led by reedman Jan Garbarek on tenor, bass sax, flutes, clarinet, and percussion – in a quartet with Terje Rypdal on guitar, Jon Christensen on percussion, and Arild Andersen on bass, xylophone, and kalimba! The tracks vary in length, and the players all shift instruments nicely – on titles that include "Myb", "Blow Away Zone", "Afric Pepperbird", "Scarabee", and "Beast Of Kommodo". LP, Vinyl record album

Jan Garbarek on tenor and soprano sax, Keith Jarrett on piano, Palle Danielsson on bass, and Jon Christensen on drums. Titles include "The Windup", "Belonging", "Solstice", "Spiral Dance", and "Blossom". CD

Michael Musillami on guitar, Tom Christensen on tenor and alto saxophone, alto flute, english horn, and wood flute, Art Baron on trombone, bass recorder and didgeridoo, Peter Madsen on piano, Tom Beckham on vibraphone and marimba, Cameron Brown on bass, Michael Sarin on drums, and Satoshi Takeishi on percussion. CD

Terje Rypdal on guitar, Bugge Wesseltoft on electric piano and synthesizer, Pal Mikkelborg on trumpet, Bjorn Kjellemyr on bass, Jon Christensen on drums, and others. CD

With Jakob Bro on guitar, Thomas Morgan on bass, and Jon Christensen on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

Tremendous early work from Karin Krog – a great example of her rich vocal talents and creative energy, recorded well before her more experimental sessions of the 60s! Even at this early date, Karin's got a strong commitment to improvisation and unique phrasing – a style that really transforms all the tunes in the set, and marks them as her own through inventive performance with the trio of Egil Kapstad on piano, Kurt Lindgren on bass, and Jon Christensen on drums. Krog's voice is amazing – icy, yet never heartless – and her tones ring out especially beautifully on the modal groover "Karin's Kicks" – but sound great throughout, on other tunes that include "All Blues", "Lover Man", "By Myself", "I Fall In Love Too Easily", and "Mood Indigo". CD

A bold brilliant statement from pianist Steve Kuhn – his next great record after the seminal Three Waves, and a record that pushes the envelope even further! From the title, you might think that Kuhn's playing some familiar 60s standards for MPS – but he's really working strongly in his own agenda here, stepping forward in strong new voice he was bringing to piano at the time, and even going a bit more outside than ever before. The trio includes Palle Danielsson on bass and Jon Christensen on drums – and although familiar, some of the titles have a sense of freedom that really transforms them. Titles include Burt Bacharach's great "Windows On The World", Michel Legrand's "Watch What Happens", Gary McFarland's "Once We Loved", Carla Bley's "Ad Infinitum", and Kuhn's own "Silver". Prestige US reissue of this MPS recording. LP, Vinyl record album

Features Palle Mikkelborg on trumpet and Jon Christensen on drums! CD

3 ECM treats from bassist Eberhard Weber – packaged in a single set! First up is Yellow Fields – a record with great soprano sax from Charlie Mariano, who also plays shenai and nagaswaram too – plus keyboards from Rainer Brunighaus and drums from Jon Christensen – on titles that include "Touch", "Left Lane", "Yellow Fields", and "Sand Glass". Next is Silent Feet – a set that features soprano and sax from Charlie Mariano, plus piano and keyboards from Rainer Brunighaus, and drums from John Marshall – on titles that include "Eyes That Can See In The Dark", "Seriously Deep", and "Silent Feet". Last up is Little Movements, from 1980 – a set that again has Weber working with great reeds from Charlie Mariano – alongside keyboards from Rainer Brunighaus and drums from John Marshall, who also plays percussion too. Titles include "Bali", "A Dark Spell", "The Last Stage Of A Long Journey", and "No Trees He Said". Mariano really gives the records a nice bite – a bit more than usual for ECM! CD

Three groundbreaking albums from reedman Jan Garbarek – packaged in a single set! First up is Sart – a great example of the way that ECM helped to bring the voice of the Scandinavian jazz underground to the world at large – as the album's a key showcase for the talents of budding young modernists Jan Garbarek, Bobo Stenson, Terje Rypdal, and Arild Andersen! The record's got a really unusual quality that's quite different from the more jamming fusion or freer jazz of the mid European scene – a sense that plays with space between the notes as much as it does the sounds of the individual instruments, and which seems perfectly cast for the newer style of jazz recording pioneered by ECM. Garbarek plays tenor, bass, and flute on the record; Stenson is on electric and acoustic piano; Rypdal on guitar, Andersen on acoustic (but amplified?) bass, and Jon Christensen is on drums. Titles include "IRR", "Song Of Space", "Close Enough For Jazz", "Sart", and "Fountain Of Tears". Witchi Tai To is warm and wonderful sounds from Garbarek – and a record that brings together so many strands at once! There's of course the obvious atmospherics you might expect from a 70s set on ECM – but there's also some sharply modern moments too – that harder sound that the label was endorsing while helping to shape the world of European jazz on both sides of the fence. And there's even some surprisingly soulful moments, too – not just from Jan's work on tenor and soprano sax, but also from the piano of Bobo Stenson – which rings out wonderfully amidst subtle bass from Palle Danielsson and drums from Jon Christensen. Titles include a great version of Jim Pepper's "Witchi Tai To", plus "Hasta Siempre", "AIR", and "Desireless". Dansere is one of the highlights of saxophonist Jan Garbarek at ECM – and a set that has him working with the well-matched lineup of Bobo Stenson on piano, Palle Danielsson on bass, and Jon Christensen on drums! The shape of the songs is a bit looser than before, but Garbarek and Stenson turn out to be perfect in the setting – opening up, stretching out, and breaking down convention – yet also never losing themselves in self-indulgence either. Titles include "Dansere", "Lokk", "Fris", "Til Vennene", and "Skrik & Hyl". CD

A really cool set from the famous Nordic scene of the 70s! There's a touch of prog in the mix, even though the album's all instrumental – and the group features Hakon Graf on moog, Fender Rhodes, and organ – with Jon Eberson on guitar, Jon Christensen on drums, and Sveinung Hovensjo on bass. LP, Vinyl record album

Magnificent work from European jazz vocalist Karin Krog – a landmark album that shows why she sings like no other singer! On this 1974 session, Karin moves far beyond the standard jazz of her roots – into territory that's spacey, cosmic, and filled with the best influences bubbling underground in the Euro scene of the 70s. The backing group features Steve Kuhn on keyboards, Steve Swallow on bass, and Jon Christensen on drums – all working out these beautiful modal patterns that unlock Karin's cool and icy vocals. The tunes are all pretty incredible too – vocal versions of originals by Kuhn, like "Meaning Of Love", "Sometime To Go", and "Raindrops Raindrops"; a very cool version of Joni Mitchell's "All I Want", a rare Jon Hendricks' lyrical version of JJ Johnson's "Lament", and a sweet and breezy take on the Michel Colombier tune "We Could Be Flying"! CD

A bold brilliant statement from pianist Steve Kuhn – his next great record after the seminal Three Waves, and a record that pushes the envelope even further! From the title, you might think that Kuhn's playing some familiar 60s standards for MPS – but he's really working strongly in his own agenda here, stepping forward in strong new voice he was bringing to piano at the time, and even going a bit more outside than ever before. The trio includes Palle Danielsson on bass and Jon Christensen on drums – and although familiar, some of the titles have a sense of freedom that really transforms them. Titles include Burt Bacharach's great "Windows On The World", Michel Legrand's "Watch What Happens", Gary McFarland's "Once We Loved", Carla Bley's "Ad Infinitum", and Kuhn's own "Silver". CD

Michael Musillami on guitar, Joe Fonda on bass, and George Schuller on drums and percussion – plus special guests Peter Madsen on piano, Tom Christensen on tenor, and Dave Ballou on trumpet. CD

Mike Nock has always been a pianist with so many varied shades and styles to his talents – and here, he makes a rare ECM appearance in a set that's nicely different from most of his other albums of the 70s – maybe a bit more sensitive at times, but also maybe more freewheeling too – with these beautiful long tracks that have Nock really reveling in the tone of his instrument, but also working things with an inherent sense of rhythm too! The approach makes for these compelling spun-out tunes that pulsate beautifully – given subtle but strong support from Eddie Gomez on bass and Jon Christensen on drums. Titles include "Forgotten Love", "Ondas", "Visionary", "Doors", and "Land Of The Long White Cloud". LP, Vinyl record album

Bobo Stenson on piano, Charles Lloyd on tenor saxophone, Jan Garbarek on tenor and soprano saxophone, Don Cherry and Tomasz Stanko on trumpet, Anders Jormin, Palle Danielsson, and Arild Andersen on double bass, Jon Christensen, Tony Oxley, Billy Hart, and Anders Kjellberg on drums, and Okay Temiz on percussion. CD