Keith Jarrett in our favorite side of his talents – playing the long, improvised style that first made him a breakthrough artist on ECM in the 70s – and which still remains one of his most important contributions to the history of jazz! Even later years, Jarrett's sense of imagination on the keys is amazing – and here, you'll hear very few echoes of other improvisations – long tracks that show that Keith is always able to create spontaneously, at a level that few others can match – especially as he never goes too far outside, or seems to lose a sense of melody in his music. The work is divided up into shorter passages – the older Jarrett sometimes needs a break on the keys, but never in his cognition – and as with other concert recordings of this type, the encores are older standards – "Answer Me My Love" and "It's A Lonesome Old Town" – but both given a very free, open Keith Jarrett approach! LP, Vinyl record album

A live performance from pianist Keith Jarrett, recorded at Suntory Hall in Tokyo – but one that's a bit different than some of the solo sets that came earlier in his career, as it's got both a different sound and different style overall! The tracks here aren't side-long improvisations, and instead are shorter tunes that offer up a compressed version of the freewheeling Jarrett style on the piano – still with a sense of openness that really sets Keith apart from the rest, but maybe with more pronounced melodies – although many of those are as dark as you might guess from the title! Tracks include "Fire Dance", "Ritual Prayer", "Hymn", "Americana", "Parallels", and "Entrance". CD

Features Manu Katche on drums – with Mathias Eick on trumpet, Trygyve Seim on tenor and soprano, Marcin Wasilewski on piano, and Slawomir Kurkiewicz on bass – plus guest guitar from David Torn! CD

Alto sax and all around jazz legend Lee Konitz playing with a great group of players – drummer Paul Motian, double bassist Charlie Haden and pianist Brad Helhdau – captured live at New York's fabled Birdland, in December of 2009! There's really no need to qualify assessments of Konitz's performance with a note about his age, he simply sounds terrific here on a set that's fairly easygoing in approach, but still quite dexterous! Includes fresh, unique takes on "Loverman", "Lullaby Of Birdland", "Solar", "I Fall In Love Too Easily", "You Stepped Out Of A Dream" and "Oleo". CD

With Steve Slagle on soprano, alto, and flute, Harvie Swartz on bass, and Michael Smith on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

A standout moment from pianist Art Lande – maybe his best-remembered date for the ECM label – in part because the record features wonderful work from Jan Garbarek on flute, soprano, and bass saxophone! The simple duet mode is a bit different here than on other ECM dates – as Lande can sometimes have a fuller approach to the keyboard, which is best echoed by Garbarek on flute – which he blows with a tone that is lean, but surprisingly biting, even when melodic. And although Jan blows other horns on the date, the record seems to be an especially great showcase for his flute – on titles that include "Waltz For A", "Quintennaisance", "Awakening Midweek", "Miss Fortune", and "Cherifen Dream Of Renate". LP, Vinyl record album

A large group set – with Dave on tenor, soprano sax, and flute – with Richard Beirach on electric piano, plus lots of added players on percussion! LP, Vinyl record album

Quite a bit different than the famous Charles Lloyd work of the 60s – but a nicely introspective session that showcases his quieter sounds of later years! The date was recorded in Oslo, with a relatively laidback feel – by a quartet that features Lloyd on tenor, Bobo Stenson on piano, Anders Jorman on bass, and Billy Hart on drums – all players who really get some of their own space and time for expression on the record, working with Lloyd more in the sense of a small cadre of co-mingled players, rather than the structure of a traditional combo. Titles include "Imke", "Song", "Dwija", "Glimpse", "Nocturne", and "The Blessing". CD

Beautiful work from Charles Lloyd – a set of compelling originals mixed with standards, both old and new, performed in a laidback style that really makes the most of his wonderful tone! Lloyd was a player who was great from the start – but in recent years, he seems to have even deepened his sound more strongly – finding notes on the saxophone that few others could match, in ways that are similar to the levels that Archie Shepp hit during his maturing years. The cooled-off setting of the album works perfectly to highlight this great side of Lloyd's talents – and backing is subtle, and handled by the trio of Jason Moran on piano, Reuben Rogers on bass, and Eric Harland on drums. Titles include "Caroline No", "I Fall In Love Too Easily", "Monk's Mood", "Mirror", "Ruby My Dear", "Lift Every Voice & Sing", "Desolation Song", and "Tagi". CD

Features Charles Lloyd on reeds, flutes, piano, and percussion – with additional percussion from Zakir Hussain and Eric Harland. CD

A key album from the later Charles Lloyd years on ECM – from a moment when the saxophonist seemed to be completely reinvigorated, and exploring very different territories than his music of the 60s! Part of the sound has Lloyd hitting a few ECM vibes – hard not to do with a group that features John Abercrombie on guitar, Dave Holland on bass, and Billy Higgins on drums – but there's also moments that are looser and freer, too – really showing the individuality that's always been such a hallmark of Charles' recordings, and which here is hardly going to cowtow to any sort of stricter style for the label. The tenor work is superb – very sinuous and constantly exploring, but never overindulgent – and titles include "Voice In The Night", "Dorotea's Studio", "Homage", "Pocket Full Of Blues", "Forest Flower Sunrise/Sunset", and "A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing". LP, Vinyl record album

Joe Lovano is one of those players who only seems to go deeper at a time when he could be taking it easy – really pushing his talents to new territory, and finding ways to evolve the way that he expresses himself! That's definitely the case here, in his second album with the trio of Marilyn Crispell on piano and Carmen Castaldi on drums – a set that's maybe even more open, and more personal than before – with Joe blowing tenor, soprano, and a bit of tarogato – all in an echoey space that seems to amplify every moment and new idea. Crispell is nicely restrained, but manages to do a lot with a little – sometimes in ways that are more gentle than usual – and titles include "Night Creatures", "Dream On That", "Sacred Chant", "Zen Like", "Garden Of Expression", and "Chapel Song". CD

The nine to get ready here are the members of Roscoe's Note Factory nonet – an ensemble that includes George Lewis on trombone, Hugh Ragin on trumpet, Matthew Shipp on piano, William Parker on bass, and Tani Tabbal on drums and percussion. The sound here is spare and textural – very much in the ECM mode, and often surprisingly spare, despite the largeness of the group. Mitchell's on soprano, alto, tenor, and flute – stepping slowly alongside more tightly arranged horn passages for most of the set. Titles include "Leola", "Dream & Response", "Nine To Get Ready", "Move Toward The Light", "Big Red Peaches", and "Bessie Harris". CD

A great statement as a leader from drummer Paul Motian – a player that none would have expected to be hitting this territory in the decade before – the start of a great run of records that continued his break from more familiar rhythmic territory! The record's got a very strong ECM vibe, but also maybe a bit more bite, too – as the bass work of Charlie Haden is balanced by sharper sounds from Carlos Ward on alto sax – who really gets plenty of space to dominate the proceedings, with this open soulfulness that really adds a lot to the record. The set's also got twin guitars from Paul Metzke and Sam Brown, which makes for a great approach – especially as Brown moves between acoustic and electric. Titles include a beautiful reading of Haden's "Song For Che" – plus "Victoria", "Tuesday Ends Saturday", "War Orphans", and "Sod House". CD

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Mindblowing sounds from guitarist Terje Rypdal – one of the most unique players of the 70s, and still very much at the top of his game all these many years later – even after generations have tried to copy his style! The set is a great reminder that the mixture of Rypdal and ECM is a match made in heaven – as the guitarist has a sound that's full of the kind of atmospherics that the label loves to spin out with its trademark production, but also keeps more than enough of his own identity here – never falling into easy modes or soundscape cliches – and always knowing when to step up front sonically when that seems about to happen. Other players include Stale Storlokken on keyboards, Endre Hareide Hallre on Fender and fretless bass, and Pal Thowsen on percussion and drums – on the titles "Dawn", "By His Lonesome", "Conspiracy", "What Was I Thinking", and "As If The Ghost Was Me". CD

With Jan Garbarek on saxes and Palle Mikkelborg on trumpet. LP, Vinyl record album

With Michel Benita on double bass, Sebastian Rochford on drums and Eivind Aarset on guitar. CD

A quartet session with Marcin Wasilewski on piano, Slawomir Kurkiewicz on bass, Michal Miskiewicz on drums, and Tomasz Stanko on trumpet. CD

Steve Swallow on bass, Adam Nussbaum on drums, Mick Goodrick on guitar, Chris Potter on tenor saxophone, and Barry Ries on trumpet. 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 quartet session from four ECM stalwarts – features Jan Garbarek on soprano, tenor sax, and flute, Eberhard Weber on bass and cello, Jon Christensen on drums, and Ralph Towner on guitars plus piano and French horn! LP, Vinyl record album

Two of the greatest things going for ECM in the 70s – brought together on one record! The vibes of Gary Burton are a wonderful match for the careful guitar work of Ralph Towner – particularly his 12-string guitar, which is used in a space that's somewhere between folk and jazz, and which seems to evoke Gary Burton's Tennessee roots in a really poetic way! The style isn't entirely jazz, although that term is the best description for it – and instead, both players find this really magical space together – creating special sounds that resonate with sensitivity and a unique sort of soul. Titles include "Drifting Petals", "Icarus", "Brotherhood", "Song For A Friend", and "Goodbye Pork Pie Hate". CD

Nice late 70s work from guitarist Ralph Towner – heard here in a great trio setting with Eddie Gomez on bass and Jack DeJohnette on drums! Both players have an ear tuned well to the sorts of open, exploratory styles that suit Towner best – but they also have a nice sense of force as well – a way of pushing things up from the bottom without bombastically approaching the rhythms – making the record a bit more than just spare expressions from Ralph on guitar. Towner plays 12 string and classical guitar, plus a bit of piano – and titles include "Waterwheel", "Green Room", "Batik", "Trellis", and "Shades Of Sutton Too". LP, Vinyl record album

Colin Vallon on piano, Patrice Moret on double bass, and Julian Sartorius on drums. CD

The title's no mistake, as the album was really one of Mal Waldron's first really outside sessions – a real embrace of the free jazz modes coming out of the European scene of the 60s, but in a way that's slightly different than most! As Waldron states in the liner notes, his vision here is free, but not total chaos – an approach to music that's much more unfettered than before, yet still somewhat rhythmically structured – so that the tunes themselves roll out with a great deal of drive and energy, almost modal at points, but a bit fuller overall. The rhythm section here is a great part of the success of the album – with Clarence Becton on drums and the amazing Isla Eckinger on bass – a player whose pulsating approach is a perfect foil for Waldron's bold work on piano. There's actually a surprising amount of groove-driven numbers here – hardly the free jazz of the FMP scene, and more in the mode of some of the most unfettered expressions going down at MPS at the time. Titles include "Rat Now", "Balladina", "1 3 234", "Rock My Soul", and "Boo". Features a full bonus album – with alternate takes of "Balladina", "Boo", and "1 3 234" – and a long take of "Willow Weep For Me". LP, Vinyl record album

Marcin Wasilewski on piano, Slawomir Kurkiewicz on double bass, and Michal Miskiewicz on drums. CD

A set that 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! LP, Vinyl record album

Denny Zeitlin on piano and Charlie Haden on bass. CD

A masterpiece of chromes and tones from the legendary John Abercrombie – an album that's a beautiful summation of all the special style he's brought to his guitar work over the years! That subtle shading that John had back at the start is still very firmly in place, but he group's also almost got a Bill Evans sort of approach – a gentle attack and quick decay, always respecting the space between the notes – driven strongly by the wonderful piano efforts of Marc Copland, who seems to be the perfect balance for Abercrombie. In a way, the album really hearkens back to those key ECM albums of the 70s – those moments when something extremely special and new was taking place, and when things never got too abstract or ambient. The subtle rhythms help a lot – always-careful work on drums from Joey Barron, and well-placed bass from Drew Gress. Titles include "Joy", "Tears", "Sunday School", "Jumbles", and "Flipside". CD

Early ECM work from Paul Bley – a great example of the way that label helped Bley find a new voice in his music during the 70s! Although issued in 1971, the session was actually recorded a few years before – in 1967 – and done with a very spare, very open approach to the piano – one that was still extremely fresh at the time, and which is handled better by Bley than by most, especially on a few of the more dramatic moments. All tracks here are trio tracks – with Barry Altschul on drums, and either Gary Peacock or Mark Levinson on bass – and the three long tracks on the album were all composed by Annette Peacock, and include "Ending", "Circles", and "So Hard It Hurts". LP, Vinyl record album

Features Makoto Ozone on piano, Steve Swallow on electric bass, and Mike Hyman on drums! CD

With Makoto Ozone on piano, Steve Swallow on electric bass, and Mike Hyman on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

One of Chick Corea's greatest moments on record – the self-titled album by the legendary Return To Forever group – a combo that included Joe Farrell on saxes, Flora Purim on vocals, Airto on percussion, and Stanley Clarke on bass! The sound is archetypal 70s fusion at its best – filled with soaring electric keyboard work from Chick, and plenty of great Brazilian touches by Airto and Flora. Farrell's reeds help the tunes get a really sharp edge, especially once they get going – and the whole album is an electric piano classic through and through, filled with great titles that include "Sometime Ago/La Fiesta", "Return To Forever", "Crystal Silence", and "What Game Shall We Play Today". CD

With 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". LP, Vinyl record album

Warm and wonderful sounds from saxophonist Jan 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". CD

Features John Abercrombie on guitar, Dave Holland on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums and piano. CD

Features Arve Henriksen on trumpet, voice and field recordings – with arrangements by Jan Bang who handles samples, beats, and additional programming. Guest musicians include David Sylvian, Lars Danielsson, Helge Sunde, and Erik Honore. CD

Beautiful solo work on cello from bassist Dave Holland! CD

Features Chris Potter on alto, soprano, and tenor – with Robin Eubanks on trombone, Steve Nelson on vibes, and Billy Kilson on drums. 8 tracks in all: "Looking Up", "Make Believe", "A Seeking Spirit", "High Wire", "Jugglers Paradise", "Candlelight Vigil", "Wonders Never Cease" and "Down Time". CD

A large group session from bassist and leader Dave Holland. Features Antonio Hart on alto and flute, Gary Smulyan on baritone sax, Duane Eubanks on guitar, and Steve Nelson on vibes. CD

Landmark improvisations from two of the most important bassists in avant garde jazz – Dave Holland and Barre Phillips – two players each coming from two different scenes and styles, but working together here perfectly in a groundbreaking session of all-bass work! Holland plays a bit of cello on the album, and the interplay of the instruments is wonderful – open and flowing in the space of a young ECM, but with a lot more bite than other work for the label too. Side one features two longer improvised works – while side two features shorter tracks that include "Song For Clare", "Beans", "Maybe I Can Sing It For You", and "Just A Whisper". CD

A key early moment for Keith Jarrett – his first-ever solo album, recorded in the early 70s for ECM – and the start of a huge legacy of later work! Before this set, Jarrett had recorded some compelling trio material for Atlantic – and he was also exploring more spiritually soulful tones over at Impulse Records too. But this record is something else entirely – a new showcase for his sensitive expressions – the kind of angular, yet poetic lines that sparkled strongly in the trio recordings, yet stand out even more on their own! Tunes are beautifully penned – and titles include "In Front", "Ritooria", "Lalene", "Starbright", "Vapallia", and "Semblence". CD

The Keith Jarrett trio can take just about any tune and make it their own – as you'll hear in this wonderful set that has the group still going strong, well into the 21st Century! As with some of their previous outings, the tunes here are mostly familiar standards, but played with a fluid, open quality that's really unique – Keith himself blocking out these waves of sound that approximate the melody, but really extrapolate from it – Gary Peacock handling the bass with these round, extended tones that seem to wrap up the whole group together – and Jack DeJohnette as a master of understatement, yet making these really important inflections all the time as well. Titles include "Shawnuff", "Yesterdays", "Strollin", "A Sleepin Bee", "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes", and "Stella By Starlight". CD

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A beautiful solo set from Steve Kuhn – recorded in the mid 70s, with an even more careful, thoughtful tone than some of his other albums of the decade! Steve's piano is captured in a warmly intimate setting – somewhat echoey at points, and spinning out with these captivating lines and tones that hold us more hypnotically than other albums of this nature – still definitely that Kuhn sense of flow, motion, and deeper thoughts below the surface – but performed this time in a solo setting, without any other help at all. Titles include "Thoughts Of A Gentleman – The Saga Of Harrison Crabfeathers", "Ulla", "Silver", and "Life's Backward Glance". LP, Vinyl record album

Steve Kuhn takes on the music of John Coltrane – but in a way that's very different than just a standard Coltrane copycat record, thanks to the sensitive sound of his own piano, and some great tenor work from Joe Lovano! Lovano fills in the space of Coltrane here, but his approach is quite different than the Great One – a bit more spacious, almost tentative at points – which could also be the ECM aspect of the recording kicking in, too – and Kuhn's piano has a much more sensitive quality than you'd ever hear in the music of McCoy Tyner – almost less fluid than some of Steve's more recent recordings, especially Japanese ones – with a spare-stepping sound that's almost consciously avoiding any of Coltrane's modal modes. The rest of the quartet features David Finck on bass and Joey Barron on drums – and titles include "Song Of Praise", "Crescent", "Living Space", "Central Park West", "Like Sonny", "Spiritual", "Jimmy's Mode", and "Configuration" – plus the Kuhn numbers "Trance" and "With Gratitude". CD

Beautiful duets between this richly creative pair – a stripped-down set that really showcases the warmth and intimacy of Charles Lloyd's reed styles in recent years – and one that also has Jason Moran warming up a bit more than usual too! Lloyd plays tenor and alto, both with a very rich tone – plus bass and alto flutes – and although Moran mostly plays piano, he also handles a bit of tambourine – maybe in a way that underscores the rhythmic elements that Jason brings to his work on a few tracks. The centerpiece of the album is the "Hagar Suite" – which has some of the evocative, exotic modes of other Lloyd recordings – and other titles include "God Only Knows", "Pretty Girl", "Mood Indigo", "Bess You Is My Woman Now", and "Pictogram". CD

Mindblowing sounds from guitarist Terje Rypdal – one of the most unique players of the 70s, and still very much at the top of his game all these many years later – even after generations have tried to copy his style! The set is a great reminder that the mixture of Rypdal and ECM is a match made in heaven – as the guitarist has a sound that's full of the kind of atmospherics that the label loves to spin out with its trademark production, but also keeps more than enough of his own identity here – never falling into easy modes or soundscape cliches – and always knowing when to step up front sonically when that seems about to happen. Other players include Stale Storlokken on keyboards, Endre Hareide Hallre on Fender and fretless bass, and Pal Thowsen on percussion and drums – on the titles "Dawn", "By His Lonesome", "Conspiracy", "What Was I Thinking", and "As If The Ghost Was Me". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic early record by one of the true guitar geniuses of the 70s – and a set that shows why even at ECM, Terje Rypdal could still sound unlike anybody else in his generation! Side one features a quintet working through two very striking tunes – a bit noisy and funky at times, atmospheric at others – filled with freaky lines from Rypdal on guitar! Other players include Pete Knutsen on mellotron and electric piano, Odd Ulleberg on French horn, Sveinung Hovensjo on basses, and Jon Christensen on percussion – and the group plays the tunes "Silver Bird Is Heading For The Sun" and "The Hunt". Side two features a very different mode – the title track "Whenever I Seem To Be Far Away" – billed as an "image for electric guitar, strings, oboe, and clarinet"! Rypdal's guitar is mixed with work from members of the Sudfunk Symphony – and the 17 minute track is a masterful showcase not just for Terje's guitar, but also for his large conceptions of music. CD

With Carla Bley on organ, Hiram Bullock on guitar, Larry Willis on piano, Victor Lewis on drums, and Don Alias on percussion – plus Ida Kavafian on violin, Ikwhan Bae on viola, and Fred Sherry on cello. CD

Solo work from the virtuoso bassist. CD

A killer ECM debut from Kenny Wheeler – a real standout in the label's classic 70s run, and a record that's overflowing with soul and feeling! Wheeler had already made a number of key recordings by the time of this ECM set, but the label's approach seems to unlock something new in his playing – a deeper sensitivity, yet never in the slower, too-open way of other ECM players – almost an Art Farmer sort of approach to the flugelhorn, which he uses exclusively on this set. The tracks are all quite long, but very focused and flowing – with key rhythmic support from the trio of Keith Jarrett on piano, Dave Holland on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums – all of whom are happy to put their own agendas aside, and let Wheeler's magnificent lines direct the album's sound. Titles include "Heyoke", "Smatter", and "Gnu Suite". CD

Trumpeter Avishai Cohen has given us many great records over the years, yet this time around, he seems to be cooking up something extra-special – an album that still echoes some of his older ideas, but which maybe has a bit more warmth, and a bit more unity – qualities that seem to come partly from the album's use of two different guitarists, whose electric elements provide a nice backdrop for the Cohen's trumpet! Uzi Ramirez plays one guitar, and Yonatan Albalak plays the other, and a bit of bass – but there's also maybe a more pointed drum sound too – not too funky or rhythmic, yet more than we're used to hearing from Avishai, and maybe ECM too. Aviv Cohen and Ziv Ravitz handle the drums – and the latter does some live sampling – and Avishai also adds some electric touches to the record, as well as uses a few effects on his horn. Titles include "The Cow & The Calf", "This Time It's Different", "Fractals", "Hidden CHamber", "Honey Fountain", "The Things You Tell Me", and "Teno Neno". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Holland's excellent small group sides for ECM, showcasing his angular yet swinging take on modern jazz, that sidestepped the 80s by numbers jazz molds of revisionist young lions and too smooth jazz lite. The quintet here features Julian Priester, Steve Coleman, Kenny Wheeler, and Steve Ellington, and they run through 7 numbers in all, with titles that include "Jumpin In", "First Snow", 'The Dragon & The Samurai", "New-One", "Sunrise", "Shadow Dance" and "You I Love". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the better Meredith Monk albums for ECM, and a beautiful spare record of voice and tuned percussion. Meredith makes music like nobody else we can describe – but we can definitely describe this one as beautiful and haunting! Includes "Gotham Lullaby", "Travelling", "The Tale", "Biography" and "Dolmen Music". CD

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Mindblowing sounds from guitarist Terje Rypdal – one of the most unique players of the 70s, and still very much at the top of his game all these many years later – even after generations have tried to copy his style! The set is a great reminder that the mixture of Rypdal and ECM is a match made in heaven – as the guitarist has a sound that's full of the kind of atmospherics that the label loves to spin out with its trademark production, but also keeps more than enough of his own identity here – never falling into easy modes or soundscape cliches – and always knowing when to step up front sonically when that seems about to happen. Other players include Stale Storlokken on keyboards, Endre Hareide Hallre on Fender and fretless bass, and Pal Thowsen on percussion and drums – on the titles "Dawn", "By His Lonesome", "Conspiracy", "What Was I Thinking", and "As If The Ghost Was Me". CD

Classic ECM material from guitarist Terje Rypdal – a set that only features a trio, but which has a wonderfully majestic sound all the way through! Terje plays guitar, keyboards, and flute – somehow finding a moody edge on all three instruments – getting perfect accompaniment from the open drums and percussion of Jon Christensen, and the more pointed work on trumpet from Palle Mikkelborg – who often punctuates the music in a really great way! Mikkelborg seems to be processed at points, and also plays a bit of keyboards – and there's a shifting acoustic/electric vibe to the set that's somewhere in the EG Records territory of Jon Hassell – but more guitar-based overall. Titles include "Circles", "Descendre", "Speil", "Men Of Mystery", "Innnseiling", and "Avskjed". CD

A key early ECM set from guitarist Terje Rypdal – a set that moves him from the territory of his more experimental Bleak House album into the kind of moodily expressive field that made the label such an important showcase for his unusual talents! There's still some psychedelic touches around the edge – but almost in some sort of Miles electric vibe, as Terje's guitar really comes on strong at times – with these bold statements that you might not expect from later years – but mixed with more ECM-styled moments too – all delivered by a superb lineup that includes Jan Garbarek on tenor and flute, Bobo Stenson and Tom Halversen on electric pianos, Arild Andersen on bass, Jon Christensen on drums, and Inger Lise Rypdal on a bit of voice. Terje also plays a bit of flute – and titles include "Keep It Like That Tight", "Rainbow", "Electric Fantasy", "Lontano II", and "Tough Enough". CD

Beautiful sounds from pianist Carla Bley – a musician who just keeps on blowing us away as the decades move on – and that's saying a hell of a lot, given how many years she's been making music! There's a really special quality to this record – a warmth and maybe just a slight touch of humor, but not in the overdone way of some of Carla's records from the 80s – much more subtle, and mixed with occasional currents of darkness – all handled with this understated sense of personality that perfectly showcases all three members of the group – Bley on piano, Steve Swallow on bass, and Andy Sheppard on tenor and soprano saxes. Swallow maybe sounds more wonderful here than we've heard in years – the record is a great reminder of how many great contributions he can make to music – and titles include the longer cycles of songs "Life Goes On", "Copycat", and "Beautiful Telephones (parts 1 to 3)". CD

A really special set from pianist Paul Bley – one that's maybe hinted at by the "blues" in the title, which is a word we never would have imagined on the cover of a record by Bley! The album features a performance recorded a few decades back by Swiss TV – a beautifully flowing trio date with Gary Peacock on bass and Paul Motian on drums – all players who are very familiar with each other, but who seem to find a special sort of intimacy here – this warmly mellow approach that still has some of the sharper corners of their modern roots, but which also resonates with a surprising current of soul at times. The performance is very open and spacious – allowing for special moments from each player – and titles include "Moor", "Longer", "Dialogue Amour", "When Will The Blues Leave", "Mazatlan", and "Flame". CD

A key album in bringing the guitar sound of Terje Rypdal to a larger audience – a wonderfully fluid electric set that opens up his sound, while still keeping all the edge from his early days! There's few players like Rypdal on the strings, and that's definitely the case here – as the guitarist moves between a few different instruments, in a few different modes – working with Barre Phillips on bass, Jon Christensen on percussion and organ, Sveinung Hovensjo on electric bass, and Erik Niord Larsen on oboe and English horn. The unusual instrumental range is used to great effect – in the best ECM 70s style – and the players are really staking out new territory in jazz, but without ever sounding gimmicky or overindulgent – qualities that might make the record one of Rypdal's most organic outings. Titles include "Icing", "Yearning", "Bent It", "Back Of J", "Sejours", and "What Comes After". CD

John Surman's a player who always shines brightly in any sort of a duet setting – as you'll easily hear in this early 80s session cut with drummer Jack DeJohnette! The work has a slightly composed, slightly improvised feel – with Surman on soprano, baritone sax, bass clarinet, and synth – and DeJohnette on his usual drums, plus congas and a bit of electric piano. Most numbers have a relatively loose structure, but still a strongly melodic pulse overall – and Surman's ability to bring new sounds, moods, and tones to a set like this is one of the key aspects that makes the record great! Titles include "The Buccaneers", "Kentish Hunting", "The Pilgrim's Way", "Nestor's Saga", and "A Fitting Epitaph". CD

The tenor of Joe Lovano joins the trio of pianist Marcin Wasilewski – adding this great current of soul and depth to the music, and really stating his presence as a key element in the record! Wasilewski is a pianist who's more in the modern ECM tradition – open spaces, open sounds, and getting the right sort of accompaniment from Slawomir Kurkiewicz on bass and Michal Miskiewicz on drums – while Joe does this great job of balancing between their musical ideas and some of his own – sometimes showing off that more modern side of the Lovano horn, sometimes going straighter, in ways that really shape the record! Titles include "Old Hat", "Vashkar", "L'Amour Fou", "A Glimpse", "Fading Sorrow", and "Arco". CD

An intimate solo set from pianist Misha Alperin. CD

One of the best ECM teams of the 70s – working here together in a wonderful live set! Chick Corea's got this wonderful flow on his piano – almost a quality that's more like the most unbridled Keith Jarrett work for ECM – bursting out with light and color at each new turn, but in a way that makes it feel like Chick's just discovering each sound as it comes to his fingertips! This quality really seems to bring out a freshness in Burton's vibes, too – an ebullience that's even stronger than usual – and not as concerned with deeper-down sounds as some of his other ECM recordings. The whole thing's great – with lots of original tunes by Chick – and titles include "Song To Gayle", "Mirror Mirror", "Crystal Silence", "Bud Powell", and "Senor Mouse". CD

Saxophonist Jan Garbarek has always had a great ear for an unusual setting for his horns – and here, he continues that strong legacy by working with Kjell Johnsen – a keyboardist who plays a pipe organ in a very spacious way! The mix of the large instrument and the ECM production style comes across beautifully – slightly sinister at some times, moodier at others – all with Garbarek spinning his loose, open lines on both tenor and soprano sax, and a bit of wood flute at one point. The music is very painterly and evocative – and titles include "Bue", "Linje", "Syn", "Aftenland", "Enigma", "Iskirken", and "Tegn". CD

A key moment in the career of pianist Keith Jarrett – and one that would continue to provide him a strong space for exploration in his later years at ECM! Jarrett first rose to great fame on the label with his long-spun solo improvisation albums of the 70s – and had also recorded famously in a more avant mode in the previous decade with quartets – but here, he returns to the trio format of his earliest records, yet in a way that completely embraces all the changes that had happed in the space of time – so that Jarrett is taking a completely fresh approach to jazz standards – respecting the tunes, but really using them as a great vehicle for rhythmic and melodic improvisation. His strong partners in crime here are bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Jack DeJohnette – both musicians who also expanded greatly in the previous decade – and they work perfectly with Keith, on long variations on the tunes "Meaning Of The Blues", "All The Things You Are", "It Never Entered My Mind", "The Masquerade Is Over", and "God Bless The Child". CD

The Oregon sound, still alive and well into the 80s – perhaps given even more room to express itself in an ECM setting like this! The album's a mix of angular notes and warmer tones – very much the experimentalism that the group prided itself on at the time – and which really set the tune for a whole generation of imitations, some of which were already showing in the rest of the jazz world by the time of this release. Yet Oregon proves by the set that they're still the leading lights of the this side of the jazz spectrum – keeping things fresh with an ever-changing array of instrumentation from Ralph Towner, Colin Walcott, Paul McCandless, and Glen Moore. Titles include "Skyline", "Impending Bloom", "Beacon", "Rapids", "Taos", and "Beside A Brook". LP, Vinyl record album

Beautiful bass from Barre Phillips – with Terje Rypdal on guitar and organ, Dieter Feichtner on keyboards, and Trilok Gurtu on tabla and percussion! LP, Vinyl record album

Celso Saluzzi & Dino Saluzzi on bandoneon, percussion & voice, Felix "Cuchara" Saluzzi on tenor & soprano saxophones & clarinet, Armando Alonso on guitars & voice, Guillermo Vadala on electric bass & voice, Jose Maria Saluzzi on drums, percussion & voice & Arto Tuncboyaci on percussion on percussion & voice. CD

The basshapes of Eberhard Weber are already great enough in a spare, stripped-down ECM setting – but here, they get great exposure amidst some even more compelling tonal landscapes – as Weber works with strong solo piano from Rainer Bruninghaus, and rich sounds on celli, oboe, and French Horns from various members of the Oslo Philharmonic! The album's one of those great 70s moments in which the luminous qualities of the ECM approach are blended with a richer palette of sound – with results that are completely wonderful, and which never bury the energy that you'd find in a solo or small group Weber setting – somehow enhancing it in a really beautiful way. Titles include "T On A White Horse", "Moana 1", "The Following Morning", and "Moana 2". CD