With Dewey Redman on tenor sax & percussion, Charlie Haden on Bass & Paul Motion on drums & percussion. LP, Vinyl record album

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". CD

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

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

Pat Metheny on guitar with Jaco Pastorius, Mark Egan, Charlie Haden & Steve Rodby on bass, Bob Moses, Dan Gottlieb, Jack DeJohnette, Paul Wertico & Billy Higgins on drums, Lyle Mays on piano & synthesizer, Nana Vasconcelos on percussion & Pedro Aznar on acoustic guitar, bells & percussion. CD

Recorded in the Cathedral Of Ulm, with Elmar Daucher, Gunther Federer, and Nobuko Micus on resonating stones, with Stephan Micus playing shakuhachi, tin whistle, and stone chimes. LP, Vinyl record album

Steven Micus works here entirely on his own – in a record that creates these really beautiful sounds from a variety of different steeldrums, but in ways that are very different than any other use of the instruments! Micus often handles the instruments with the slow pace and careful tension of his other recordings – then brings in bits of elements from Eastern instruments – including dilruba, nay, sinding, and kortholt – sometimes mixed with a bit of his own voice, sometimes acting as voices on their own. The record clearly draws from global sources, but has nothing inherently global about it – as Micus really transforms everything in the echoey, open space provided by ECM. Titles include "Nomad Song", "To The Evening Child", "Morganstern", "Young Moon", "Yuko's Eyes", and "Desert Poem". CD

With Nils Petter Molvaer on trumpet, guitar, percussion and samples and help from Eivind Aarset, Morten Molster, Roger Ludvigsen, Rune Arenesen, Ulf WO Holand anhd Reidar Skar. CD

Paul Motian didn't always record that much as a leader, but the dates under his own name are always compelling ones – and quite a change from his more famous work with Bill Evans! This set is a sparkling showcase of original tunes by Motian – played by a shifting array of players that includes Charlie Haden on bass, Sam Brown on guitar, Keith Jarrett on piano and flute, and Leroy Jenkins on violin – all with a much freer, more out sound than you might expect to hear on ECM in later years. The set's one of the standouts from the time when the label was nodding more in the free jazz directions of some of their European contemporaries – and Motion proves to be a surprisingly great choice for the session. Titles include "Georgian Bay", "Ch'I Energy", "Rebica", "Conception Vessel", and "American Indian Song Of Sitting Bull". LP, Vinyl record album

Second ECM recording of Ornette Coleman alums, once again playing a handful of newer tunes as well as Coleman repertoire. Don Cherry's on trumpet and piano, Dewey Redman on tenor sax & musette, Charlie Haden on bass and Ed Blackwell on drums. While Coleman was delving into full-on electric ensemble playing with Prime Time at the time of this recording, this group maintains the spirit of th eoriginal harmelodic quartet. 6 tracks in all: "HappyHouse", "Mopti", "New Dream", "Rushour", "Broken Shadows" and "Playing". LP, Vinyl record album

A sound that we can only describe as Oregon – not the state, but the group – heard here in their unique 80s blend of acoustic and electric styles! There's a compelling blend of organic elements and more abstracted moments going on here – instrumentation that's folded into itself via ECM production, with a resulting sound that's sparklingly unique – and never in any of the too-commercial modes you might find from other sessions like this in the 80s. Players include Trilok Gurtu on tabla and percussion; Ralph Towner on guitars, pianos, and synth; Glen Moore on bass; and Paul McCandless on oboe, English Horn, soprano sax, and "wind driven synthesizers" – which sound mighty cool! Titles include "Twice Around The Sun", "Innocente", "WBAI", "Ecotopia", and "Leather Cats". 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

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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

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

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

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

Haunting sounds from one of the most overlooked musicians on ECM – bandoneon player Dino Saluzzi, an artist who easily made some of the most compelling work for the label during the 80s! Dino handles all instrumentation here himself – using bandoneon both in traditional ways, and in really experimental modes – and mixing it up with added percussion and flutes, plus just a bit of voice as well – all in a sound with echoes of older South American folk, tinges of European modernism, and a pan-global sensibility that's really unique. Titles include "El Rio Y El Abuelo", "Pasos Que Quedan", "Por El Sol Y Por La Lluvia", "Gabriel Kondor", "Kulturum Pampa", and "Agua De Paz". CD

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

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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

Features Steve Tibbetts on guitars – plus Marc Anderson on percussion, Marcus Wise on tabla, Jim Anton and Eric Anderson on basses, and Claudia Schmidt and Rhea Valentine on voice. CD

With Tibbetts on guitar, kalimba, and tapes, Marc Anderson on congas, steel drum, and percussion, Bob Hughes on bass, Tim Weinhold on vase, and Steve Cochrane on tabla. LP, Vinyl record album

A beautifully personal album from Ralph Towner – a set that's maybe got more going on than just a diary – as the whole thing has a very poetic approach to the sound, one that's really in keeping with the new modes of expression that Towner helped bring to ECM! There's a bit of overdub at times – so that Ralph also adds in a bit of piano and gong next to his more familiar work on 12-string and classical guitar – both instruments used in ways that are very different than the new acoustic underground that emerged in the 60s, and than most other jazz uses of the instruments too. It's almost as if Towner were learning lessons from Derek Bailey about unusual ways to approach the instrument – but then went off in more tuneful, melodic pursuits – on titles that include "Icarus", "Mon Enfant", "Dark Spirit", "Entry In A Diary", "Erg", and "The Silence Of A Candle". 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

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". LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful set of world jazz atmospherics from Collin Walcott – a set that features his work on sitar and tabla upfront, plus some other great ECM touches from John Abercrombie on guitar, Dave Holland on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums! The album works a lot better than other sessions of this type, and has really stood the test of time well – partly because the spacious approach used, which never hits you too over the top, nor sounds like a gimmicky or forced style of music. Titles include "Prancing", "Night Glider", "Scimitar", "Vedana", "Easter Song", and "Cloud Dance". 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

17th century pieces by Saccini, Cazzati, Corelli, Farina, Foscarini, Granata, and Horn. CD

Dark work from the quartet Bass Desires – a combo that draws heavily on the rumbling sounds of bassist Marc Johnson, then fills in the spaces with twin guitars from Bill Frisell and John Scofield, and also features a bit of drums from Peter Erskine! Some of the sounds here echo more abstract experiments in the left side of the jazz spectrum during the 80s – but they're taken into a bit stronger, straighter focus here – and recorded with enough ECM touches to make Johnson's music cross over in surprising ways. A few tracks are surprisingly tuneful, and titles include "Small Hands", "Thrill Seekers", "1951", "Prayer Beads", and "Sweet Soul". CD

A very hip lineup – conducted by pianist Alexander Von Schlippenbach, and featuring Benny Bailey and Kenny Wheeler on trumpets, Misha Mengelberg on piano, and Gerd Dudek on reeds! Three long tracks – two by Mengelberg! 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 quartet of works composed by Gavin Bryars – some of them a lot more jazz-based than some of his other work for ECM! There's a warmth and thoughtfulness here that comes through right away – sensitive sounds that still share some of the modernist tones with Bryars' more adventurous compositions, but which also link the record nicely back to an ECM jazz tradition as well. Players include Bill Frissell on guitar, Evan Parker and Stan Sulzmann on soprano sax, Ray Warleigh on alto, Alexander Balanescu on violin and viola, and Bryars himself on bass – and titles include "After The Requiem", "Alaric 1 or 2", "Allegrasco", and "The Old Tower Of Lobenicht". CD

Laidback and warmly chromatic work from Gary Burton – playing vibes in a group that also has Pat Metheny on guitar, Steve Swallow on bass, Eberhard Weber on acoustic bass, and Dan Gottlieb on drums. Titles include "Sea Journey", "Nacada", "The Whopper", and "Yellow Fields". LP, Vinyl record album

A rare non-Strata East 70s session from pianist Stanley Cowell – but one that still carries much of the same soul and spirit overall! The group here is a trio – with Stanley Clarke on bass and the wonderful Jimmy Hopps on drums – and the tunes themselves are perhaps a bit slower to get going than some of Cowell's creations on Strata, but they still often explode with freely lyrical energy and a great sense of creation. A few compositions are familiar from other records, but redone here with slightly different flavors – and Clarke plays a bit of electric bass on the set, which changes some of the pulse up a bit. Titles include "Emil Danenberg", "Miss Viki", "Cal Massey", "Astral Spiritual", and "Maimoun". LP, Vinyl record album

Solo cello by David Darling. CD

Evocative work from Jan Garbarek – a wonderful progression of modes he first began for ECM many years before, stretched out nicely in this more recent session. The album's significant in featuring some early work from Bugge Wessltoft on synthesizer – playing here before his later fame on the Jazzland label, on a date that makes a great bridge between the groundbreaking European forces of that label, and ECM. Other musicians include Rainer Bruninghaus on piano, Eberhard Weber on bass, Manu Katche on drums, and Nana Vasconcelos on percussion – and Ingor Antte Ailu Gaup sings just a bit on the record. Titles include "I Took Up The Runes", "Molde Canticle", "Buena Hora Buenos Vientos", "Rahkki Sruvvis", and "His Eyes Were Suns". CD

Moody atmospherics from the second wave of ECM – a spacious trio outing that features Charlie Haden on bass, Jan Garbarek on saxophones, and Egberto Gismonti on guitars and piano. With any other group of players, the setting might be a bit too spare and relaxed for our ears, but Gismonti really manages to work in some beautiful notes in the added room of the set – and Haden's basswork is exceptionally recorded, and tuned with that deepening sense of soul he brought to his later years so well. Garbarek's solos punctuate the quieter moments nicely – and titles include "Bailarina", "Magico", "Silence", "Spor", and "Palhaco". LP, Vinyl record album

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An expanded document 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. CD

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! LP, Vinyl record album

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

Arguably the last great album to come from the classic Pat Metheny collaboration with Lyle Mays – a record that's tightened up considerably from some of the group's earlier efforts, but which gives as its reward some wonderfully compelling tunes! Pat's still very much influenced here by a Brazilian fusion style – but he takes that approach, dismantles it, pulls out the best elements – and extrapolates them into a sound that's uniquely his own. Wordless vocals slide out on a few numbers, while guitar and keys sing alongside earthier percussion – in a style that's extremely evocative, and shows that even riding the top of his own success, Metheny was still more than willing to bring in new modes. Titles include "If I Could", "Forward March", "Yolanda, You Learn", "End Of The Game", and "Mas Alla". CD

A near-legendary album from Pat Metheny – the real birth of the "Metheny sound" on record, and a perfect example of the magically fluid groove that he crafted with keyboardist Lyle Mays! The sound here is hard to describe – and even harder when you try to pick out the individual keyboard and guitar bits – because the overall feel of the record is so well wrapped up and lyrically together, yet manages to do so without falling into any too-slick styles or cliched approaches to fusion. We're stunned at how much this one still delights us over the years, and the record still stands as a landmark in its field. Titles include "San Lorenzo", "Phase Dance", "Jaco", "Aprilwind", "Lonejack", and "Apriljoy". LP, Vinyl record album

A seminal record in the formation of the Pat Metheny sound of the 70s – a set that brings his wonderfully chromatic work on guitar into play with the piano of Lyle Mays – all at a level that's so stripped-down and spacious, you can easily hear all the genius as it unfolds! And yet the album's also markedly different from some of the other ECM material at the time – as Pat's really stating himself with some more personal ideas, a bit of warm tunefulness, and maybe just a slight current of sentiment – which is what makes the record so wonderful, and so different than some of his labelmates. The set also features Eberhard Weber on bass and Dan Gottlieb on drums – on titles that include "Lakes", "River Quay", "Watercolors", "Icefire", "Oasis", and "Sea Song". LP, Vinyl record album

A mighty tribute to bassist Eberhard Weber – done by a host of his ECM contemporaries from the 70s and 80s, in a mode that's similar to their great recordings too! The performance is a live one, which gives the spacious sounds a bit more edge than the usual ECM studio session – and the group sparkles with contributions from Pat Metheny on guitars, Jan Garbarek on soprano sax, Gary Burton on vibes, Scott Colley on bass, and Danny Gottlieb on drums – plus larger backings from the SWR Big Band, arranged and conducted by Michael Gibbs. Songs are all Weber originals, re-arranged – and titles include "Resume Variations", "Hommage", "Touch", "Tubingen", and "Notes After An Evening". CD

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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

Features Terje Rypdal on guitars, with Bjorn Kjellemyr on basses and Audun Kleive on drums – plus a bit of light strings on a few cuts! CD

Tomasz Stanko plays Krzysztof Komeda with a septet that includes Bernt Rosengren on tenor, Bobo Stenson on piano, Terje Rypdal on guitar, Palle Danielsson on bass, and Jon Christensen on drums. CD

Steve Tibbetts on guitars, kalimba & synthesizer, Marc Anderson on congas, drums & percussion, Bob Hughes on bass, Steve Cochrane & Marcus Wise on tabla & Tim Wein Hold on bongos, vase & bells. 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

Gianluigi Trovesi on alto saxophone, piccolo & alto clarinets, Marco Remondini on cello & electronics, Roberto Bonati on double bass, Marco Micheli on double & electric bass, Vittorio Marinoni on drums, Fulvio Maras on percussion & electronics, Beppe Caruso on trombone & Massimo Greco on trumpet & electronics. 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

Eberhard Weber on bass & keyboards with Jan Garbarek on soprano & tenor saxophones & selje flute & Michael DiPasqua on drums & percussion. CD

The third meeting of this world jazz ensemble, with Colin Walcott of Oregon on sitar, tabla and hammered dulcimer, Don Cherry on trumpet, organ and doussn'gouni and Nana Vasconcelos on berimbau and percussion. All three players have always had a very wide reaching approach to playing, even incorporating international elements in their less overtly "world music" projects, and this set finds them once again vibing well off each other. The tunes feature a wide open approach with improvised excursions on traditional and contemporary themes, with 7 tracks in all: "Goshakabuchi", "Hey Da Ba Doom", "Travel By Night", "Lullaby", "Trayra Boia", "Clicky Clacky" and "Inner Organs". LP, Vinyl record album

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". CD

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". LP, Vinyl record album

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

Featuring Jack Bruce, Marianne Faithfull, and Robert Wyatt on vocals, led by Mantler on trumpet and Rick Fenn on guitar, with backing by the Danish Radio Concert Orchestra conducted by Peter Kragerup. LP, Vinyl record album

Bassist Gary Peacock really transformed his sound in the 70s – thanks in part to the smaller settings and more open space of the ECM label – to a point where he was able to bring his approach back to a group setting with a really fantastic record like this! At the outside, the record might appear to be more conventional – but the players within really move with Peacock's energy and inspiration – slowly shaping the sounds in their own ways, with great work from Jan Garbarek on tenor and soprano sax, Palle Mikkelborg on trumpet and flugelhorn, and Peter Erskine on drums. Titles include "Lila", "Thyme Time", "Gardenia", "Introending", "Guamba", and "Requiem". CD

Features Palle Mikkelborg on trumpet and Jon Christensen on drums! 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

Louis Sclavis on clarinet & bass clarinet, Doninique Pifarely on violin, Marc Ducret on 6 & 12 string guitar & Bruno Chevillon on double bass. CD

An especially beautiful album from guitarist John Scofield – and one whose key strength lies in its title! The "Swallow Tales" here are all original songs by bassist Steve Swallow – many from years back, when Steve was a key member of the group of Gary Burton – but recast here in a very different light, thanks to the beautifully chromatic tone of John Scofield – a player with an equally strong sense of color as Burton, but who sets things out in a style that's uniquely his own, and which has been for decades! The mix of Scofield's guitar and Swallow's songs and basswork is wonderful – and drummer Bill Stewart knows just how and when to participate, really giving the two stringed players lots of open space, on titles that include "Portsmouth Figurations", "Falling Grace", "She Was Young", "Awful Coffee", "Eiderdown", "Hullo Bolinas", and "Radio". CD

With Tomasz Stanko on trumpet, Bobo Stenson on piano, Anders Jormin on bass and Tony Oxley on drums. 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

With Weber on bass, cello, and ocarina, Rainer Bruninghaus on piano and synthesizer, Peter Giger and Ralf Hubner on drums and percussion, and Ack Van Rooyen on flugelhorn. LP, Vinyl record album

The album's got trumpeter Kenny Wheeler as the leader, but the sound here is equally resonant with contributions from all members of the group – including the amazing John Taylor on piano, with Mike Brecker on tenor, David Holland on bass, and Jack DeJohnette on drums! The record's the kind of small group set that seems to embrace all the larger formations that Wheeler worked with earlier in his career – balancing a sense of individualism and larger sonic majesty in a perfect way – really giving Taylor the right sort of setting to unfurl with all his best imagination, and allowing Brecker to remind the world that he's still got plenty of sharper jazz chops away from the world of fusion. Titles include "Foxy Trot", "Ma Bel", "Three For D'Reen/Blue For Lou/Mark Time", and "WW". LP, Vinyl record album

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

One of the most earthy, organic offerings of the Herbie Hancock scene of the 70s – a session that's led by Headhunter reedman Bennie Maupin, and which also features Herbie on acoustic and electric piano – all in a sound that's quite different from his own work of the time! The tracks here have a very spacious, slow-building approach – a sound that's often quite stark at times, and not nearly as funky or soul-directed as you might expect. Maupin shows incredible sensitivity in his way of putting together a tune – letting things come together quite naturally, almost with the botanical quality you might expect from the title. Other players include Buster Williams on bass, Freddie Waits and Billy Hart on drums, Bill Summers on percussion, and Charles Sullivan on trumpet – all used quite spaciously and sparingly. Titles include "Esenada", "Mappo", "Excursion", "Past Is Past", "The Jewel In The Lotus", and "Song For Tracie Dixon Summers". CD

A record that's maybe one of the most tuneful, lyrical we've ever heard from guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel – and that may have a lot to do with the wonderful help in the trio from Scott Colley on bass and Brian Blade on drums! The tunes still have some of the abstract qualities of Muthspiel's other work, and certainly continue his very distinct exploration of color and tone – but there's this sparkle, almost a sense of joy about most of the numbers – very present when things are grooving and moving fast, but also really there in a sense of subtle bounce when they're a bit more mellow. The quality's a bit hard to describe, but it's there right from the start, and holds up beautifully throughout – on titles that include "Wondering", "Angular Blues", "Everything I Love", "Kanon In 6/8", "I'll Remember April", "Ride", and "Camino". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic reading of one of our favorite works from John Adams – inspired by poetry from John Donne and Emily Dickenson! CD

A live set from 1980 – and one that shows the Art Ensemble still able to capture some of the warmth and imagination from their early years. Most tracks are fairly long, and the group move through their usual panopoly of instruments along the way. Titles include "Urban Magic", "Sunprecondition Two", "Theme For Sco", "New York Is Full Of Lonely People", and "Ancestral Meditation". CD