With Gary Burton on vibes, Jim Odgren on alto, Steve Swallow on bass, and Mike Hyman on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

With Makoto Ozone on piano, Tommy Smith on saxophone, Steve Swallow on bass, and Martin Richards on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

A nice collection from Gary Burton's ECM years that includes collaborations with Steve Swallow on bass, Pat Metheny on guitar, Ralph Towner on classical guitar, and others. Tracks include "Desert Air", "Tunnel Of Love", "Vox Humana", "Three", "Brotherhood", "Chelsea Bells (For Hern)", and "Domino Biscuit". CD

Mellow vibes and spacious piano – a 70s classic from the team of Chick Corea and Gary Burton, serving up some of their finest work of the decade! The style is a bit mellower and more contemplative than some of Chick's harder-hitting fusion of the time – and he seems to nicely borrow a page from Burton's book on the record, letting space seep into the tracks as much as his own work on the acoustic piano – which is used here in a warmer, more contemplative mode than we normally expect from Corea. Titles include "Senor Mouse", "Desert Air", "I'm Your Pal", "What Game Shall We Play Today", "Crystal Silence", "Falling Grace", and "Children's Song". LP, Vinyl record album

Dark-tinged sounds from trumpeter Avishai Cohen – a set that draws as much from his contributions as it does from the moody piano of Yonathan Avishai – whose sense of spacing and tone really seems to match the overall musical vision of Cohen! Most tracks unfold at a very contemplative pace – drawing from the careful bass of Barak Mori and drums of Nasheet Waits – with a somewhat poetic approach to the melody, but never in any sort of light, lyrical way. The song titles may well give a hint as to the vibe of the set – and tunes include "Will I Die Miss Will I Die", "Shoot Me In The Leg", "50 Years & Counting", and "340 Down". CD

Nothing childish here – as the album's a beautiful set of short, spare numbers from Chick Corea – a perfect reminder that he could still maintain a subtle approach to his music, even after years of more dramatic electric sides! The bulk of the album features short "Children's Songs", numbered 1 to 20 – played by Chick in spare, swirling ways that are mighty nice – a much more sensitive Chick Corea than we remember, dancing a nice balance between lyricism and sentimentality, yet without any of the too-popular trappings of some of his 80s contemporaries in the solo piano mode. The CD also features one slightly longer track – "Addendum" – which has Corea's piano with violin and cello. CD

Nothing childish here – as the album's a beautiful set of short, spare numbers from Chick Corea – a perfect reminder that he could still maintain a subtle approach to his music, even after years of more dramatic electric sides! The bulk of the album features short "Children's Songs", numbered 1 to 20 – played by Chick in spare, swirling ways that are mighty nice – a much more sensitive Chick Corea than we remember, dancing a nice balance between lyricism and sentimentality, yet without any of the too-popular trappings of some of his 80s contemporaries in the solo piano mode. The CD also features one slightly longer track – "Addendum" – which has Corea's piano with violin and cello. CD

Beautiful solo piano from Chick Corea – almost in a Keith Jarrett mode on ECM – mostly original improvisations, plus extrapolations on work by Thelonious Monk and Wayne Shorter! LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful bit of "serious" music from Chick Corea – a standout set from the 80s, penned for piano, string quartet, flute, and French Horn – yet handled with a sense of color and tone that's quite different than any sort of staid chamber music might sound! Chick's opening up all these great acoustic waves of sound here – music that pulsates with an inherent sense of rhythm, but also has none of the rhythmic conventions of jazz – just this wonderful interplay between Corea's piano, the flute of Steve Kujala, French Horn of Peter Gordon, and the lineup of two violins, viola, and cello! The core of the record is the five movement "Septet" – and the set also features "The Temple Of Isfahan". CD

Wonderful work from this famous pair – piano and vibes mixed with string quartet! CD

A seminal statement from drummer Jack DeJohnette – a musician who'd already made a pretty big impact in the years before this set – but who really seemed to take off with his New Directions group on ECM! Every player in the lineup is a key sonic pioneer on their instrument – John Abercrombie on guitar, with his great sense of color and tone – Eddie Gomez on bass, with that soundshaping ability he developed with Bill Evans – trumpeter Lester Bowie, really finding a voice here away from the Art Ensemble Of Chicago – and drummer DeJohnette, beautifully set free in territory far beyond standard rhythm! The mix of all four musicians is wonderful – and still quite fresh after all these years, despite how many folks might have tried to copy the approach – on titles that include "Dream Stalker", "Where Or Wayne", "Silver Hollow", "One Handed Woman", and "Bayou Fever". CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

Duo recordings with DeJohnette on drums, piano, and organ, and John Abercrombie on electric and acoustic guitar. LP, Vinyl record album

A record of darkly brooding sounds from drummer Jack DeJohnette – a trio date, but one that's way more than any trio session you might expect – and definitely part of the great legacy of creative sounds that Jack has given us over the years! The lineup features Matthew Garrison on bass and electronics, and Ravi Coltrane on tenor, soprano, and sopranino sax – working together in textures of sounds that really benefit from DeJohnette's open conception of rhythm, as the group creates lots of textures and tones. Coltrane's sound grounds the whole thing with some soulful currents – and titles include a take on John Coltrane's "Alabama", which nicely sets up the excellent originals "In Movement" and "Two Jimmys" – the former a great showcase for Ravi's solos and the latter doing the same trick for Garrison's sly, almost sinister bass groove. Other titles include a shadowy take on Earth Wind & Fire's "Serpentine Fire", plus "Blue In Green", "Lydia", "Rashied", and "Soulful Ballad". CD

Elina Duni on voice, guitar, piano and percussion. CD

Featuring Hamen Fraanje on piano, Mats Eilertsen on bass, and Thomas Stronen on drums. CD

One of the more avant, improvised sets on ECM from the start of the 80s – a group with Denny Goodhew on alto, flute, and bass clarinet; James Knapp on trumpet, flugelhorn, and waterphone; and Eric Jenson on cello! LP, Vinyl record album

Mark Turner on tenor and soprano saxophones, Larry Grenadier on double bass, and Jeff Ballard on drums. CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

The fragile side of Bill Frisell, captured here in a really beautiful way – a set of unadorned live duets with bassist Thomas Morgan – playing together at the Village Vanguard, with a sound that's maybe even slightly warmer than the album might have been than if recorded by ECM in the studio! The set's got Bill using all these subtle, careful elements in his guitar – sounds that might be overshadowed in a larger setting, especially when his work on the strings gets a bit more complex – and Morgan's bass is often quite spacious, leaving much of the core energy to come from Bill. Titles include "Mumbo Jumbo", "Lush Life", "Save The Last Dance For Me", "All In Fun", "Wildwood Flower", "You Only Live Twice", and "In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning". CD

Featuring Jan Garbarek on sax, Bill Connors on guitar, John Taylor on organ & piano, and Jack Dejohnette on drums. LP, Vinyl record album

With Eberhard Weber on bass, Manu Katche on drums, Rainer Bruninghaus on keyboards, Marilyn Mazur on percussion, Jan Garbarek on saxophones,plus Agnes Buen Garnas and Mari Boine on vocals. CD

Jan Garbarek on soprano and tenor sax – with vocals by the Hilliard Ensemble. Includes music by Christobal de Morales, Magister Perotinus, Guillaume Dufay, and anyonymous compositions from the 14th and 15th centuries. CD

Spare European work from Egberto Gismonti – a set that's different than his fuller earlier work from Brazil, but still pretty compelling overall! Gismonti's playing here with a group of familiar ECM artists – mixing his own piano, guitar, and percussion lines with soprano sax from Jan Garbarek, guitar and percussion from Ralph Towner, tabla from Collin Wolcott, and berimbau and assorted percussion from Nana Vasconcelos. Many tunes are spare, but not nearly as cerebral as other ECM work – as Gismonti brings a very organic feel to the record, one that resonates strongly with Wolcott – and helps keep things in a loosely creative space. Tracks include "Cafe", "Sapain", "Coracao", "Kalimba", and the great "Raga", with excellent work by Wolcott! LP, Vinyl record album

2 amazing albums from the 2nd version of the Jimmy Giuffre 3! After working with his first combo of Bob Brookmeyer and Jim Hall during the late 50s, Giuffre hooked up with a pair of younger modernists – Paul Bley and Steve Swallow – reintroducing the piano and bass to his trio format, instruments that had been previously missing because Giuffre wanted to explore the possibilities of melodic composition freed from rhythmic constraints. With this trio, Giuffre was still working in that mode – as you'll hear on Bley and Swallow's incredibly free playing. The group's performances are not free jazz by any means, but they're a key link in that tradition – as Giuffre and crew do an excellent job of creating unconventional compositions, most of which feel like little sculptures in sound. There's a total of 20 tracks on 2CDs – and titles include "Cry, Want", "Trudgin", "Jesus Maria", "Ictus", "Sonic", "Whirrrrr", "The Gamut", "Herb & Ictus", and "Flight". Both records originally available on Verve, now repackaged by ECM. CD

Beautiful solo bass work from Larry Grenadier – a record that fits perfectly in the best ECM tradition, yet also provides a stunning showcase for the artist as well! The recording quality is superb – and Grenadier finds so many ways to create different shades and tones with his instrument – sometimes bowing, sometimes plucking, always with a different vibe on each of the album's tracks – and occasionally hitting modes that have us running to the notes, confirming that there's no other instrument used at all on the recording. Titles include "Vineland", "Gleaner", "Pettiford", "Oceanic", "Bagatelle", "My Man's Gone Now", "A Novel In A Sigh", and "The Owl Of Cranston". CD

Features Per Gudmundson on fiddles and Swedish bagpipes, Lena Willemark on fiddles and wooden flute, and Ale Moller on mandola, flutes, folk harp, shawm, and hammered dulcimer. CD

Features Tord Gustavsen on piano, Harald Johnsen on bass, and Jarle Vespestad on drums! CD

Features Tord Gustavsen on piano, Harald Johnsen on bass, and Jarle Vespestad on drums! CD

... CD

With Billy Kilson on drums, Steve Wilson on alto and soprano sax, Robin Eubanks on trombone, and Steve Nelson on vibraphone and marimba. CD

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

Features Dave Holland on bass, Chris Potter on saxophones, Robin Eubanks on trombone, and Billy Kilson on drums. CD

Wonderful trio work from Vijay Iyer – a set that's got his piano doing equal time with the drums of Tyshawn Sorey and bass of Linda May Han Oh – all at a level that reminds us why we first fell in love with Iyer's music many years back! The set's a return to the kind of records that really has Vijay reshaping the role of the trio in jazz – with every player rhythmic at once, but still also finding melodic moments together too – breaking down conventional structures, but never in a way that's free jazz either – just boldly, lyrically leaping towards the future! Titles include "Children Of Flint", "Touba", "Entrustment", "Configurations", "Uneasy", "Drummer's Song", and "Augury". CD

Wonderful trio work from Vijay Iyer – a set that's got his piano doing equal time with the drums of Tyshawn Sorey and bass of Linda May Han Oh – all at a level that reminds us why we first fell in love with Iyer's music many years back! The set's a return to the kind of records that really has Vijay reshaping the role of the trio in jazz – with every player rhythmic at once, but still also finding melodic moments together too – breaking down conventional structures, but never in a way that's free jazz either – just boldly, lyrically leaping towards the future! Titles include "Children Of Flint", "Touba", "Entrustment", "Configurations", "Uneasy", "Drummer's Song", and "Augury". LP, Vinyl record album

A record that offers up one slice of a key live moment in the career of Keith Jarrett – his return to work in a New York club after the space of more than a decade! The group here is Jarrett's fantastic Standards trio – Gary Peacock on bass and Jack DeJohnette on drums – working with Keith on these longform explorations of tunes that are familiar, but which really transform in that mode that Jarrett brought to his own solo improvisation work of the 70s. The tunes are there, somewhere – but often just as subtle signposts for the direction of the flow from the master's hands on the piano. Titles include "Autumn Leaves", "Days Of Wine & Roses", "You Don't Know What Love Is", "When I Fall In Love", and a version of Jarrett's "Bop Be". CD

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! CD

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

One of Keith Jarrett's pieces for a larger orchestra – done with the Syracuse Symphony, conducted by Christopher Keene – but still with Jarrett's piano in the lead! LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful little trio side from Keith Jarrett – very much in the mode of his other ECM group work. The group here is his well known trio with Gary Peacock on bass and Jack DeJohnette on drums – and they mesh nicely with him and the material, providing a sort of trio interpretation of the vibe of his solo piano sides, lively yet contemplative. 4 nice drawn out numbers in all, including "Dancing", "Endless", "Lifeline" and "Ecstacy". CD

Sublime solo work from Keith Jarrett – that beautiful unstructured style he virtually invented in the 70s! LP, Vinyl record album

With Dewey Redman, Charlie Haden, and Paul Motian. LP, Vinyl record album

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". LP, Vinyl record album

A genre-defining moment from pianist Keith Jarrett – a record that really set the world on fire, and which continues to charm all these many decades later! Although Jarrett had already made some amazing music in a trio setting during the 60s, and in his more freewheeling groups with Dewey Redman in the early 70s, it's this sort of format that forever put him on the map – long, extended improvised passages on solo piano – played at a level that's still extremely lyrical, tuneful, and thoughtful – quite different than the free jazz waves that were building at the time! And while so many other people copied the style over the years, nobody does it better than Jarrett – especially on this landmark outing for the style. The work is amazing – extremely compelling as little melodies drift in and out of the waves of piano improvisation – without any of the sloppiness of some of Jarrett's imitators, and a surprising sense of soul and direction throughout! CD

A lengthy, two-part solo improvisation, followed by Harold Arlen's "Over The Rainbow". CD

Magical solo work from pianist Keith Jarrett – a set that's comprised almost entirely of standards, similar to some of the better-known trio recordings in this format by the artist – and which has Jarrett playing in this really evocative way that definitely lives up to the title! The solo performances aren't nearly as open or longform as his other recordings without any other players – melodies are intact throughout – but Keith does really have a way of opening up the songs, and almost making them sound like these very fragile, very personal poems that spin from his fingers on the keys of the piano. Titles include "Don't Ever Leave Me", "I Loves You Porgy", "Blame It On My Youth", "Meditation", "Something To Remember You By", and "I'm Through With Love". CD

With Palle Danielsson on bass, Jon Christensen on drums, and Jan Garbarek on tenor and soprano sax. CD

With Palle Danielsson on bass, Jon Christensen on drums, and Jan Garbarek on tenor and soprano sax. LP, Vinyl record album

Keith Jarrett on piano, Gary Peacock on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums. Tracks include "All Of You", "Just In Time", "Love Is A Many Splendored Thing", "Dedicated To You", and "I Hear A Rhapsody". CD

A second great set of standards from Keith Jarrett – and like the first one, a great reminder to many that the pianist was still very strongly schooled in jazz! Although Keith really opened up ways for pianists to stretch out in the 70s, his move to material like this in the early 80s was a great one – as it moved Jarrett away from some territory that was a bit overly-trod, and managed to bring a new sort of sensitivity to his music! Of course, the whole trio here is really part of the success – bass from Gary Peacock and drums from Jack DeJohnette – both, like Jarrett, players who'd more than had their chance to stretch out, explore new modes, and were bringing all that freedom and experience to play here in a setting that's outwardly conventional, but still plenty darn fresh. Titles include "I Fall In Love Too Easily", "Never Let Me Go", "So Tender", and "Moon & Sand". CD

Wonderful trio work from Keith Jarrett – a format that the pianist returned to strongly in the 80s, after really breaking fresh ground as a solo artist in the 70s! The music here is hardly the trio styles of most of Jarrett's contemporaries, as there's lots of lessons learned from the freewheeling solo years, which come strongly into play with the performances from all group members – not just Keith's amazing tone and phrasing on the piano, full of gentle soul and life – but also the sublime bass work of Gary Peacock, and the defter-than-usual drums of Jack DeJohnette. The whole thing's wonderful – very transformative – and tunes include "Late Lament", "I Remember Clifford", "The Song Is You", "When I Fall In Love", and "Autumn Leaves" – all in very long, very unusual versions. CD

One of the crowning moments of Keith Jarrett's longform improvised style of the 70s – a huge batch of concert material recorded in Japan – done in a style that's similar to his famous Koln and Berlin concert records! The album features different performances from Kyoto, Osaka, Nagoya, Tokyo, and Sapporo – each titled after the city itself, and laid out without much in the way of other ornamentation or explanation – which creates an even greater focus on Jarrett's amazing work on piano, and his nonstop energy to create! CD

One of the crowning moments of Keith Jarrett's longform improvised style of the 70s – a huge batch of concert material recorded in Japan – done in a style that's similar to his famous Koln and Berlin concert records! This promo features excerpts from different performances in Osaka, Nagoya, Tokyo, and Sapporo – each titled after the city itself, and laid out without much in the way of other ornamentation or explanation – which creates an even greater focus on Jarrett's amazing work on piano, and his nonstop energy to create! LP, Vinyl record album

A solo piano performance – includes two long tracks. CD

Keith Jarrett on piano, Gary Peacock on double bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums. CD

A fond farewell to Miles Davis – played here by a hip trio that features Keith Jarrett on piano, Gary Pecock on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums! A few of the numbers are ones that Davis recorded famously in years past, and a few others are originals – played by the trio in ways that are hardly Davis-like, but which certainly draw from the rich legacy of music he created. Rather than a Miles soundalike record, consider this one as a musical poem to the (then) recently departed great one – a beautiful set of music, with titles that include "Bye Bye Blackbird", "Blackbird Bye Bye", "You Won't Forget Me", "Summer Night", "For Miles", and "Straight No Chaser". CD

Keith Jarrett on piano, Gary Peacock on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums. CD

Another wonderful live date – tracks include "If I Were A Bell", "Butch & Butch", "Someday My Prince Will Come", and the title track, "Up For It". CD

Tracks include "Bouncing With Bud", "Groovin High", "Whisper Not", "Round Midnight", and "Poinciana". CD

The classic trio – opening up nicely on a set of jazz standards! Keith Jarrett on piano, Gary Peacock on bass, and Paul Motian on drums. CD

One of the leading lights of the ECM Records scene in the early 80s – bassist Marc Johnson, working here with his successful Bass Desires group! The lineup features some wonderful interplay on stringed instruments – Johnson's bass, and guitars from both John Scofield and Bill Frisell, the later of whom also plays a bit of guitar synthesizer, in very ECM-shaped lines. Drums are from Peter Erskine, who's well-heard when the moment allows – and titles include "Samurai Hee Haw", "Mojo Highway", "Thanks Again", "Bass Desires", and "Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair". CD

One of the most fantastic records we've heard from bassist Marc Johnson in years – a wonderful solo set that not only furthers Johnson's legacy as a musician, but also ties it to the larger ECM Records tradition – but without having Marc just swim in the same waters as his labelmates! Johnson's bass sounds very different here – a sense of tone that's very low and moody – which is obvious, for a bass, but with a very particular quality that sets the record apart from other efforts of this nature – as does some of the material on the set, which features a few well-chosen remakes that link Johnson's experiments with a longer history of jazz. These include versions of "Love Theme From Spartacus", "Nardis", and "Freedom Jazz Dance" – alongside other tunes that include "Yin & Yang", "Samurai Fly", "Life Of Pai", and "And Strike Each Tuneful String". CD

A trio session with Steve Kuhn on piano, David Finck bass, and Joey Barron. CD

A really fantastic ECM moment from pianist Steve Kuhn – one that brings a new sort of focus to the decade's worth of music he'd been recording for other labels – in the company of a quartet that features Steve Swallow on bass, Jack DeJohnette on drums, and Sue Evans on percussion! Swallow and DeJohnette are especially great here – and really bring new energy to some song ideas that Kuhn had been mulling over in previous years – expressed beautifully on both acoustic piano and Fender Rhodes – the latter of which is captured with a fantastic sort of sonic richness. Titles include his brilliant "Something Everywhere" – plus the cuts "The Young Blade", "Silver", "Trance", "Life's Backward Glance", and "A Change Of Face". 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

... CD

An unusual ECM title – features Ulrich Lask on alto and tenor, Meinolf Bauschulte on drums, and Maggie Nichols on voice! LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

Charles Lloyd on saxophone, flute and Chinese oboe, Bob Stenson on piano, Anders Jormin on double bass, and Billy Hart on drums. CD

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

Charles Lloyd on tenor saxophone, flute, and tarogato, John Abercrombie on guitar, Geri Allen on piano, Larry Grenadier and Marc Johnson on double bass, and Billy Hart on drums. 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

Charles Lloyd on tenor saxophone, Bob Stetson on piano, Anders Jormin on bass, and Ralph Peterson on drums. CD

Charles Lloyd on tenor saxophone & flute, Bobo Stetson on piano, Palle Danielsson on bass & Jon Christensen on drums. CD

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". LP, Vinyl record album

That's a slightly cheesy cover image for saxophonist Joe Lovano – and maybe for the ECM label, too – but the album is anything but, as Joe's working here with a very hip, very unusual trio that includes the great Marilyn Crispell on piano and Carmen Castaldi on drums! If anything, the album may well be one of Lovano's most avant moments – as he's very open with his sound, yet still manages to sound soulful in all the right ways – and also adds in a bit of tarogato and gongs next to his familiar, long-recorded tenor! Joe's given us so much greatness over the years, it would be easy for him to stick to his comfort zone – but he sounds especially wonderful here when he's really stretching out – with all the inventive energy we've come to love and expect from any record with Crispell's name, and which also has us really appreciating the talents of Carmen Castaldi too. Titles include "One Time In", "Seeds Of Change", "Razzle Dazzle", "Piano/Drum Episode", "Spirit Lake", "Rare Beauty", "Gong Episode", and "The Smiling Dog". CD

A brilliantly evocative album from Pat Metheny – one that's got a quietly epic feel, as Pat and group soar out across the American landscape in a set of tunes that subtly explore space and sound while still remaining wonderfully fluid. There's nothing forced here, and nothing too slick – just a magical blend of acoustic and electric sounds, touched with those mystical notes that seem to flow effortlessly from the hands of keyboardist Lyle Mays. Titles include "The Epic", "American Garage", "Cross The Heartland", "Airstream", and "The Search". LP, Vinyl record album

One of our favorite Metheny moments ever – and one of the few albums of his that we can go back to, and still enjoy heartily! The album's wonderfully stripped down – and features only guitar by Metheny, keyboards by Lyle Mays, and percussion and vocals by Nana Vasconcelos, all blended together with some sublime ECM production by Manfred Eicher, who's really got "the sound" in full effect here, pillowtizing all the instrumentation into wonderful washes of color and tone. The standout track is the 20 minute epic "As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls" – and other tunes include "It's For You", "Estupenda Graca", and "Ozark". CD

One of Metheny's seminal sides for ECM, in a trio with Jaco Pastorius and Bob Moses. 8 tracks in all, including "Bright Size Life", "Sirabhorn", "Unity Village", "Missouri Uncompromised", "Midwestern Nights Dream", "Ubiquity Road", "Omaha Celebration" and "Round Trip/Broadway Blues". CD