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Anders Jormin has been a vital contributor to music on ECM over the last fifteen years, a powerful presence on recordings by Charles Lloyd , Don Cherry, Bobo Stenson, Tomasz Stanko and Jon Balke. “In winds, in light” turns the spotlight on Jormin as composer-arranger. Written in response to a commission to compose new sacred music, and setting exceptional poetry for Lena Willemark to sing, the musical concept expanded as Anders' unique quintet toured it through Sweden. Subsequently, the album was recorded in the large and resonant Organ Hall of the Gothenburg Music Academy.

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Jormin, hailed by Down Beat as "a treasure ­ everything a bassist should be", has excelled on numerous ECM recordings with Bobo Stenson, Charles Lloyd, Don Cherry, and Tomasz Stanko. Solo pieces and compositions for brass quartet feature on"Xieyi", his first album under his own name for the label. The songs for bass mine the widest possible sources: Scandinavian religious hymns by Sibelius and Söderblom, Ornette Coleman's "War Orphans","Gracias a la vida" by Chile's Violetta Parra, tone poems by Swedish composers, a children's song, and improvisations by Anders.

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While the Italian and Dutch jazz scenes seem to have garnered all the attention lately, the French jazz scene has a strong presence, as this CD can attest. The frenetic accordion of Richard Galliano and the clarinet work of Michel Portal are the perfect complement for each other on this live album, recorded in Paris in May of 1996. The duo performs a collection of Astor Piazzolla, Hermeto Pascoal, and original tunes that blur the lines between world music and jazz. Pascoal's "Chorinho Pra Ele" is reminiscent of Carl Stalling, or perhaps the neo-alpine folk of Die Knodel. Piazzolla's "Libertango" is a squeeze-box duet, with Portal on bandoneon. Galliano-penned tunes are introspective, while Portal's swing. All in all, even with the countless tango and Piazzolla-related collections, it's a recommended record. Be sure to play it loudly; it just gets better with volume. --Jason Verlinde

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An interesting set of inside/outside music with a bit more energy than the more stereotypical ECM set, this set of five originals is performed by pianist Steve Kuhn (who was really developing his own original sound around this time), Steve Slagle (heard on alto, soprano and flute), bassist Harvie Swartz, and drummer Bob Moses. This is a fine release that was soon overshadowed by Kuhn's collaborations with singer Sheila Jordan. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide

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In this beautiful duo album by two of Italy’s most creative musicians, roles are frequently overturned, as lyrical percussion shades into electronics and texture turns to melody. Stefano Battaglia reminds us that the piano is also a percussion instrument and Michele Rabbia is sensitive to all the tonal implications of drums and cymbals. The musicians play with and without scores in material that is variously open-form, tightly-controlled, inspired by folk idioms, by liturgical music and by art installations. Battaglia allows beautiful themes to ripple through the work, and sounds are given room to blossom. Duets for piano and percussion have long represented an important zone in the work of Stefano Battaglia (in the early 1990s, he collaborated with both Tony Oxley and Pierre Favre). Since 2000, Michele Rabbia has been Battaglia’s principal percussionist, appearing on both of his previous ECM releases – “Raccolto” and “Re: Pasolini” – as an ensemble member and fellow improviser. On “Pastorale” the musicians shape the music together.

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The chemistry within the quartet contributes to the exciting feel of the session; and this is particularly true of the rapport between McCandless and Lande, whose exchanges crackle and scintillate throughout. SHAPESHIFTER is aptly named--stylistically it ranges all over the map, encompassing blues, impressionistic idylls, avant clatter, and sinuous, soothing light jazz. There is a little something for everyone here, putting SHAPESHIFTER alongside the best of McCandless's work.

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Born in Athens Vassilis Tsabropoulos, who is considered to be one of the greatest Greek pianists, started playing the piano from a tender age. A prodigy, was winning music competitions from the age of ten, and after graduating from the Athens National Conservatory, continued his studies on an Aristotle Onassis Scholarship at the Paris Conservatory, the Salzburg Academy and the Julliard School, with great teachers including Rudolf Serkin and Tatiana Nikolayeva.Tsabropoulos was an early achiever, winning the UNICEF competition when he was only ten. His distinctions and awards are too many and many are his collaborations with Orchestras in Greece and Europe, performing an ever-expanding repertoire in both recitals and concertos.

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The Norwegian saxophon player, Jan Garbarek had an early breakthrough into the elite of modern jazz in the 60's, due to his extensive cooperation with Keith Jarrett. His name is listed next to the big names from the U.S. and is associated with the birth of an original european sound in jazz.
His tone is clear, indipendent, ascetic and pure. "The north and nature, song and mystery" are what Garbarek calls his origins and these are his unrefutable heritage. If it wasn't for his strong inner connection with Norwegian folklore, he wouldn't be able to integrate Brasilian and Asiatic influences as convincingly as he does.

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Leader plays percussion, flutes, harp. With Finnish friends in duo to large-ensemble contexts. Each cut features different instrumentation, one is solo Vesala. Charlie Mariano (as), Juhani Aaltonen (sax) stand out. ~ Michael G. Nastos, All Music Guide

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Avant-garde jazz with a difference, the difference being the dueling stand-up basses of Europeans Bobby Burri and Olivier Magnenat. Doran founded OM with Fredy Studer, Urs Leimgrumber, and Bobby Burri in the 1970s; this ensemble recorded for ECM Records. He and Studer also worked together on a Jimi Hendrix tribute project in the 1990s. Doran has worked with a number of well-known free jazz and avant-garde musicians such as Marty Ehrlich, Robert Dick, Ray Anderson, Han Bennink, Albert Mangelsdorff, Louis Sclavis, Marilyn Mazur, Herb Robertson, John Wolf Brennan, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, and Carla Bley. Doran founded New Bag in 1997, and toured the world from 1998 to 2000 with the ensemble.

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Recorded in Paris, Kyle Eastwood's Metropolitain achieves an original jazz sound that combines the tradition of his father, Clint's record collection with a new generation of influences. He hasn't fallen prey to any gimmicks of style and is carving out his own musical voice with elements that combine to appeal to a broad audience. Anyone who has seen a movie recently will realize that modern jazz remains a big partner in bringing emotions to life.

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These October 1979 sessions by David Darling were the first of his solo career chez ECM. This CD is in the same league as later material, like "Cello" or "Dark Wood", except that it contains a bit more of what i'd call "musical exploration" - common to many ECM discs from that era (e.g., the second track "Bells and Gongs" with its use of percussions). Albeit dissimilar, his solo playing is as effective as Dave Holland's in his dazzling "Life Cycle" (ECM 1238). A number such as "Clouds" overtly anticipates the then-to-come, twelve years later, "Cello" album. That i would label avant-garde, in some ways. From the very first track ("Slow Return") to the closing title cut, a cool musical journey of motion and stillness, sometimes just like caught between dusk and daylight, unveils an autumnal Zeit und Raum admirably captured by the clear recording of a virtually flawless Manfred Eicher's production. amazon.

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First ECM solo album from the Norwegian violinist who has gained many friends for his work with the Christian Wallumrød Ensemble. Økland’s solo music is strongly inspired by the rich Norwegian fiddle tradition and its freedom, variation and individuality, yet what he plays is not purely ‘folk music’ rather a reinvention of folk forms, with free improvisation and contemporary composition also powerful influences. The ‘personality’ of the instruments themselves is also an inspiration: on “Monograph” Økland makes the most of the ‘drone’ qualities of the viola d’amore and the Hardanger fiddle (he plays both old and modern models) as well as an old violin from 1700, in a recital of subtle and melodic invention.

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Percussionist Alex Cline's first album as a composer demonstrates, right out of the gate, the man's knack for conjuringtimeless, elemental music. Minimal ambience opens most tracks, with Cline's love of Asian percussion evident via gongs and Tibetan singing bowls. In "Emerald Light", these bowls create a meditatively soothing yet wholly alien radio signal,paving the way for Aina Kemanis's hauntingly clear "la la" vocals which entwine seamlessly with the brooding strings of Jeff Gauthier's violin. Eric Von Essen's sadly bowed bass on "Accepting the Chalice" speaks of the deep connection between the sorrows of the universe and free jazz.

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The fifth ECM disc from Parker’s Electro-Acoustic Ensemble whose pioneering work has effectively established a model for a new kind of improvising chamber orchestra, creating fresh colours from the blending and contrasting of acoustic instruments and live electronics. The latest edition of the group adds some new members – two Americans, Ned Rothenberg and Peter Evans, both well-known to followers of improvised music, and a Japanese musician, Ko Ishikawa – and expands the horizons still further. With more acoustic instruments in the mix, the group now embraces both the ancient and the modern: Ko, for instance, plays exclusively the sho, the archaic bamboo mouth organ, which sounds thoroughly futuristic when processed by the Ensemble’s sonic scientists. Similarly, the borders between improvisation and composition are dissolved in this music: “The Moment’s Energy” features an extended new work commissioned by the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival.>

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