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S Lang 
Forum Senior Member
Joined: August 01 2005
Location: Australia
Status: Offline
Points: 441
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 Topic: ECM Catalog
Posted: October 09 2006 at 17:42 |
Thankfully, the Archives has room for a handful of noted artists that recorded major works for ECM, a German Jazz-oriented label. John Abercrombie, Pat Metheny springs to mind immediately.
ECM has a huge catalog and the style is consistently different and hard to describe. Quiet classy and intelligent music in general, a genre to itself.
With that in mind, it would perhaps warrant consideration to add the ECM catalog as a separate genre to the Archives? Any thoughts on that?
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Eetu Pellonpaa
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: June 17 2005
Location: Finland
Status: Offline
Points: 4828
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Posted: October 10 2006 at 02:45 |
There was an interview of the founder of the ECM label in the Finnish newspaper some years ago, and he described the great silence and feeling of space of the great lake on which shore he grew as a kid resembles the qualities he wants to get on his label. (!)
I'm happy to see these album here for reviewing, but I think that adding "real" jazz artists to a prog rock genre "jazz rock / fusion" is... hmm... interesting. Should the current jazz rock / fusion genre definition be updated, as I don't think that works of ECM are related to rock.
Sometimes includes progressive jazz. This style fuses traditional jazz arrangements, instruments, and performance style with elements of progressive rock. The result is usually instrumental jazz-rock with a somewhat more technical and complex edge. Very interesting to listen to - especially if you are a musician who marvels at the amazing virtuosity of some of these artists.
Edited by Eetu Pellonpää - October 10 2006 at 02:46
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Sean Trane
Special Collaborator
Prog Folk
Joined: April 29 2004
Location: Heart of Europe
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Points: 19667
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Posted: October 10 2006 at 04:03 |
While I agree that ECM has a superb pannel/roster of JR/F artistes, one must be careful not to include all artistes solely on his presence on this label, though.
As much as I like ECM, a good part of their catalogue is damn close to elevator music as well.
But I assume Stephen speaks of Steve Tibbets, John Surman and a few more.
But other great artistes such as Corryel, Phillip Catherine, the Brecker Brothers are also pênding inclusion.
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let's just stay above the moral melee
prefer the sink to the gutter
keep our sand-castle virtues
content to be a doer
as well as a thinker,
prefer lifting our pen
rather than un-sheath our sword
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S Lang
Forum Senior Member
Joined: August 01 2005
Location: Australia
Status: Offline
Points: 441
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Posted: October 10 2006 at 06:27 |
Both Eetu and Sean raise a good point.
The ECM works could be seen as far too experimental in the Jazz vein for a Prog-Rock site. Nevertheless, there is support for many ECM artists within here.
Elevator music? I would have perceived Windham Hill Records that tried to copy ECM, albeit in a more commercial manner as such. And they failed miserably. Is it a first?
Steve Tibbets? Sure. I have four of his albums, the first one being shamefully short and a least likely candidate for inclusion in ECM - yet it pleases me more than the following ones. John Surman is such an established veteran that any form of criticism is just not feasible. The question is, do they have sufficient interest here?
The others mentioned are also deserving due support, or at least public awareness raised for, no doubt.
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Dick Heath
Special Collaborator
Jazz-Rock Specialist
Joined: April 19 2004
Location: England
Status: Offline
Points: 12802
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Posted: October 10 2006 at 11:16 |
Indeed if we find a way of listing one fringe-related record label, then we should have mainstream prog labels (e.g. Vertigo, Harvest, Island, Charisma) there first - but that introduces too many headaches, for instance the parochial nature of record releases, e.g. Charisma and Island licensing to a number of different labels elsewhere in the world. BTW the first Return To Forever album was released by ECM in Europe and Polydor in the States.
I've been very fortunate to have been promoed by the UK's ECM distributor with about a tenth of ECM's releases in the last 20 years and heard a lot more. I have to say stating that ECM produce elevator music or muzak, it not my experience*. Indeed what ECM is best known for, European chamber jazz can't be confused with muzak.
*One exception  : Heiner Goerbel's Man in The Elevator, is typical in what ECM do well, that is issue albums completely at odds to what they are best known for. Here a musical play from an artist known on the fringes of RIO. One Shankar album was really Indian pop music, two Robin Williamson's Anglo-Celtic folk music albums, remix CDeps issued on behalf of Nils Petter Molvaer, come to mind as well as these sorts of exceptions to ECM's mainstream.
Edited by Dick Heath - October 10 2006 at 11:17
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Sean Trane
Special Collaborator
Prog Folk
Joined: April 29 2004
Location: Heart of Europe
Status: Offline
Points: 19667
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Posted: October 10 2006 at 11:24 |
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OK , time for me to explain what I meant. I certainly never meant to say that ECM went out of their way to record "elevator music" of course. It is just that some albums from well known artistes on their catalogue can have music (soft jazz fusion) that can resemble the type of music you'd hear on elevators.
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let's just stay above the moral melee
prefer the sink to the gutter
keep our sand-castle virtues
content to be a doer
as well as a thinker,
prefer lifting our pen
rather than un-sheath our sword
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philippe
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: March 14 2004
Location: noosphere
Status: Offline
Points: 3597
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Posted: October 10 2006 at 11:32 |
^ Excellent!!
They've got some really boring sh*ts but also some really nice indo-fusion items...nothing to do with it but my favourite from this catalogue is Meredith Monk.
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S Lang
Forum Senior Member
Joined: August 01 2005
Location: Australia
Status: Offline
Points: 441
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Posted: October 10 2006 at 16:46 |
 Dick Heath wrote:
One Shankar album was really Indian pop music |
True, that one with Caroline was definitely not typical of ECM and raised a few eyebrows...
Is elevator music written for elevators, or music played in elevators becomes elevator music? Which one was first, the chicken, or the egg...?  
I could think of many exceptionally fine works that could be used in elevators, primarily because the refined softness and as such being inoffensive to the general public. Pat Metheny Group (the album) for example.
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Zac M
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: July 03 2005
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Points: 3577
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Posted: October 10 2006 at 21:40 |
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I can say that I am for including more ECM artists. I don't really agree with the elevator comments, maybe it's just me...(I consider stuff like Yanni and Kenny G elevator music). Maybe, we can compile a list somewhere of possible ECM additions soon, that would be good.
I have "Turtle Dreams" by Meredith Monk, definitely one of the more interesting and unique albums I own.
By the way, I wonder why Olivier hasn't responded yet...I know he's a fan of ECM.
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"Art is not imitation, nor is it something manufactured according to the wishes of instinct or good taste. It is a process of expression."
-Merleau-Ponty
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Sean Trane
Special Collaborator
Prog Folk
Joined: April 29 2004
Location: Heart of Europe
Status: Offline
Points: 19667
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Posted: October 11 2006 at 03:59 |
Zac M wrote:
I can say that I am for including more ECM artists. I don't really agree with the elevator comments, maybe it's just me...(I consider stuff like Yanni and Kenny G elevator music). Maybe, we can compile a list somewhere of possible ECM additions soon, that would be good.
I have "Turtle Dreams" by Meredith Monk, definitely one of the more interesting and unique albums I own.
By the way, I wonder why Olivier hasn't responded yet...I know he's a fan of ECM.
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Olivier changed jobs recently, so I suppose the man is careful with spending time herez during workdays.
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let's just stay above the moral melee
prefer the sink to the gutter
keep our sand-castle virtues
content to be a doer
as well as a thinker,
prefer lifting our pen
rather than un-sheath our sword
|
|
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ECM Catalog
