Ten of my favourite albums on ECM Records 

Once you go into the ECM wormhole it's hard to get out. Amazing label.

Some of my favorite guitarists and their best albums are on ECM. Terje Rypdal chasers, Bill Frisell look out for hope and bass desires, David Torn cloud around mercury, Steve Tibbetts safe journey, Pat Metheny bright size life, Raoul Bjorkenhiem volition, Egbert Gismonti sol do meio dia, John Abercrombie timeless, Eivind Aarset dream logic, etc.

Crystal Silence has been my favorite album almost since it was released. I was a young teenager back then. The telepathy between these two musicians was incredible.

ECM is a label with so much great releases, that if I could afford it, I would buy every new release without hearing them. And lets not forget the incredible new musicians recording on ECM. Michael Formanek, Craig Taborn, Dominique Pifarély, Julia Hülsmann, Marilyn Crispell, Tim Berne and plenty more.

I did study guitar with Bill Connors for 6 months back in 1979. I was 19 and a big fan (still am). His solo album on ECM Theme to the Gaurdian had come out. It soon became clear that he seldom stayed within the diatonic scale. He preferred the melodic minor, harmonic minor, harmonic major, whole tone and diminished scales. That was where he lived! For the most part I find the same to be true of most ECM artist's. And I love that!

I had a roomate that was all about ECM and had these albums mentioned. They really are comforting listens and I'm glad I was introduced to them. Thanks for bringing up pleasant memories!

Love the ECM and ECM New Edition labels, introduced me to a lot of fantastic music both Jazz and Classical. First one I brought back in the day was David Torn's Cloud about Mercury, mostly because being a big King Crimson fan and Bill Bruford and Tony Levin were on it. Then brought Mark Isham stuff before buying Eberhard Weber's albums on ECM. Since those days my ECM collection as grown, biggest amount of albums from one label I have, easily. Arvo Part lead me to explore the ECM New Series and I have a load of those too, some beautiful and interesting music. Greatest label ever bar none.

The Dave Holland album is phenomenal! The sound that comes out of Steve Coleman's alto sax is one of a kind. All of the compositions are superb! I have around 130 titles and that one is near the top.

ECM is an amazing world, later I also liked Jazzland Records, they have a unique take on modern music as well.

Collin Walcott's 'Grazing Dreams' and Eberhard Weber's 'Yellow Fields' were the albums that opened the ECM floodgates for me back in the 70s. Arild Andersen's 'Shimri' is another favourite. Stephan Micus has made some atmospheric one-man, multitrack world music albums for the label. My Desert Island Disc is an ECM recording - 'Gesualdo, Tenebrae' by the Hilliard Ensemble. Thanks for the video, Andy.

I have all but one of those ten...you are a man of extraordinarily good taste.

I remember hearing Bass Desires’ cover of Resolution on the car radio when it came out. I literally had to pull off the road. They disproved the axiom, “You can’t cover Coltrane.” You’re too young, Andy, to remember when the first Gateway album came out, or it would have been on your list.

I love ECM recordings and album covers. They have some great stuff….

I love Oregon and Towner...great to see them mentioned Gismonti too...wow

Another great selection. Just for the record here's mine: Open Land, John Abercrombie. Extensions, Dave Holland. Gateway Trio, John Abercrombie, Dave Holland, Jack DeJohnette. 80/81, Pat Metheny. Full Force, The Art Ensemble of Chicago. The Great Pretender, Lester Bowie. New Directions, Jack DeJohnette. Bass Desires, Marc Johnson. Shades of Jade, Eliane Allias. Nobody Told Me, L Shankar. My Song, Keith Jarrett. Etc.

Thanks for turning me onto Fluid Rustle! What a trip!

guitarist terje rypdal has a load of great albums on ecm

Great selection.Here's my 10 : 1- Keith Jarrett : Survivors Suite 2- Chick Corea/Gary Burton : Lyric Suite for Sextet 3- Jan Gabarek : Witchi -Tai- To 4- Eberhard Weber : Yellow Fields 5- Ralph Towner : Solstice 6- Michael Naura : Vanessa 7- Gary Burton : Ring 8- Pat Metheny Group : Pat Metheny Group 9- John Abercrombie : Timeless 10- Art Ensemble of Chicago : Full Force

Great video, learned about some stuff I didn't already know about. However, I'm a bit surprised that our favorites didn't coincide at all. My favourite ECM albums are (probably): 1) Ralph Towner, Solstice (with Garbarek, Weber and Christensen) -- probably the best Ralph Towner album (on ECM, anyway), worth the price just for Nimbus. 2) David Torn, Cloud About Mercury (with Isham, Levin and Bruford) -- bought it new in 1987, thought I'd died and gone to heaven. Previous Man is the best track. 3) Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays, As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls -- the title track gives me goose bumps all over, and September 15th always makes me cry. 4) Pat Metheny Group, Travels -- one of the all-time greatest live albums -- Are You Going With Me? the most emotional guitar solo of all time, As Falls Wichita is amazing 5) Eberhard Weber, The Colours of Chloe -- I bought this used on a road trip up the West Coast of the US, and I think I listened to it about 17 times on that trip. No Motion Picture!!! 6) John Abercrombie Quartet, Arcade (with Beirach, Mraz and Donald) -- five of the most perfect tracks you'll ever hear -- Nightlake is probably the highlight for me. 7) Charles Lloyd, Hyperion with Higgins, and The Water is Wide (with Mehldau, Abercrombie, Grenadier and Higgins) -- these are actually two albums -- TWIW was the main one and HWH was additional material from that session. This was one of the last (if not the last) albums that Billy Higgins played on before he died. I prefer Hyperion -- it has some amazing tracks. I've collected a lot of Charles Lloyd albums, and these are the best of all. I saw this group live (without Mehldau and with a different drummer) at the Cultch in Vancouver, BC (a pretty intimate space) and it was two weeks after 9/11 -- the mood was a little bit somber, but the music was fantastic. Anyway, I could go on. I hope there was something in my list that you hadn't heard before.

Been an ECM fan since I discovered Fluid Rustle in high school. The ten ECM albums I’ve probably listened to the most are .. Fluid Rustle - Eberhard Weber Gnu High - Kenny Wheeler Keith Jarrett Trio Vol. 1 - Keith Jarrett Trio Widow in the Window - Kenny Wheeler Quintet Points of View - Dave Holland Jumpin’ In - Dave Holland Deer Wan - Kenny Wheeler Nice Guys - Art Ensemble of Chicago Colours of Chloe - Eberhard Weber Azimuth ‘85 - Azimuth Thanks for the video!

I can't keep it ten favorites, or even 20... just off the top of my head I ran into a list of 11, and that was before getting to Dave Holland, or Egberto Gismonti, or Charlie Haden, or Paolo Fresu, or Edward Vesala (will sneak in "Lumi" here as the masterpiece) or how man others? LOL. Anyway, 11 came to me quickest..... Paul Motian - It Should have Happened a Long Time Ago - the intro to the band with Bill Frisell and Joe Lovano. Amazing. And other Motian records. Arid Andersen - A Molde Concert - live record, still with the ECM sound. (I believe Frisell’s debut recording, too - or close to it - can you see a theme already?) David Torn - Cloud About Mercury - another genius, original guitarist, here with the new King Crimson rhythm section, and Mark Isham on trumpet Jon Hassell - Power Spot - one of the greatest composers of the 20th and 21st (so far) centuries, one of the great American composers of all. Passed just recently, RIP. Again, several other records could substitute here. John Surman - Saltash Bells. Late period Surman (who was just about an equal partner with McLaughlin on John McLaughlin’s debut, Extrapolation, all those years ago). Solo, overdubs, something of jazz improv and something almost like Arvo Part “tintinnabulation” period. Great record, solo as can be. Jack DeJohnette - Special Edition - one of the great drummers, leading a great band. Fantastic version of Coltrane’s “India” with David Murray and Arthur Blythe on saxophones. Terje Rypdal/Miroslav Vitous/Jack DeJohnette - s/t and a followup. Hard to pick where to even start with Rypdal, so many great records (and most on ECM). John Abercrombie/Dave Holland/Jack DeJohnette - Gateway, Gateway 2, and the later reunion, Homecoming (which would probably be my pick). Just dayyum. Abercrombie’s another one with a dozen records that could be recommended, here. Charles Lloyd - Canto. “Spiritual jazz” as Andy has referred to it, of the highest order. I think there were like 9 masterpiece records in a row that Lloyd did for ECM. Keith Jarret trio - The Cure. SO many Jarrett records on ECM, so many of the “Standards Trio”, too. With Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette. To me, this live record shows them at their most psychically connected, and shows Jarrett at his most ebullient. Still too much vocalization, but there’s a danger with Jarrett records. Steve Tibbetts - Safe Journey. Another brilliant, original guitarist. Dude hangs out in Minnesota, far away from a lot of the influence of what other artists were doing. Could also have put the more aggressive “The Fall of Us All” here, or the earlier Yr (which wasn’t originally on ECM, but was re-realeased on ECM).

The original Jack Dejohnette Special Edition is still one of my all time faves. I think their rendition of Central Park West is perfection.

Weber's Colours of Chloe could have been in your fusion list ;)

Belongings has got to be my favorite, great call, it's so iconic and the cover art is part of the music. My other favorite all time ECM recordings are two of Jan Garbareks quartet; "It's ok to listen to the great voice W Dave Torn, E Weber and Michael Di Pasqua (a huge favorite of mine on drums). Wayfarer w Bill Frisell, J Christensen and Weber. Gary Burton's "Dream So Real" W Bob Moses, S Swallow, M Goodrick & P Metheny is another favorite,. Keith Jarret's Bremen/Lausanne concert and John Abercrombie's Timeles W De Johnette, Jan Hammer are all the very top of the list for me. Cheers

Loving the recommendations in the comments. My 1st ECM experience was Steve Reich "Music for 18 Musicians" in about 1979. This "minimalism" altered my concept of music... what it is, what it can be. Here's my ranked ECM list, acknowledging the Garbarek and Towner bias: 1) Solstice 2) Return to Forever 3) Rypdal/ Vitous/ DeJohnette 4) Dis (Towner & Garbarek duet) 5) 5 Years Later (Towner & Abercrombie duet -- sequel to "Sargasso Sea") 6) Eberhard Weber: every album from Colours of Chloe to Little Movements 7) Hymns/ Spheres (K Jarrett extemporization on 18th century German pipe organ) 8) Photo with Blue Sky, White Clouds... (Garbarek 1979 -- one of the purest of all Jan's albums) 9) Bright Size Life 10) Music for 18 Musicians (Steve Reich). Honorable mentions: 11) Belonging (Jarrett & Garbarek w/ Danielsson and Christensen) 12) Timeless (Abercrombie) 13) Octet (S. Reich) 14) As Wichita Falls, So Falls Wichita Falls (Metheny & Mays) 15) Red Lanta (Garbarek & Art Lande, improvised "neo-baroque" duets). The quality of ECM is truly astonishing!

Wow, man! Loved how you mentioned the Jarrett organ works (Hymns/Spheres). That recording takes me into outer space, other dimensions, electronic realms, etc. all done on a church organ for cryin' out loud! lol

Andy, great video thanks for your recommendations. There is so many artists and albums on ECM it's difficult to know where to start. I will check them all out :)

What a cool video. A great selection of artists to be sure.

I'm a Big Fan of ECM records going way back to the late 70s A newer Great ECM release in the 2002 release Anouar Brahem Le Pas Du Chat Noir. The sound of this recording is unbalivable

Just found this, two years after. A great choice, even my list would be almost entirely different. :)

My fusion dude: must include David Torn "Cloud About Mercury."

A year in so I'm slightly late to the party. What a selection. My top ten would have to include Terje Rypdal (The Norwegian Jeff Beck). I would struggle with a favourite but I'll go with Waves. Other albums naturally would include Pat Metheny (Offramp or New Chautauqua), John Abercrombie (Gateway, to include Jack DeJohnette and Dave Holland), Keith Jarrett (Koln Concerts or the Sun Bear Concerts), John Surman (Road To Saint Ives or the Reverend Absalom Dawe album), Gary Burton (anything and everything. A massive fan), Ralph Towner (Solo Concerts), Eberhard Weber (Pictures Of Chloe), some of the collaboration albums such as Afric Pepperbird and finally anything with Jan Garbarek and so many more to choose from. I have a fair collection of ECM as you can probably tell :)

I will look these up, thanks. I have owned the AEOC lp and it is great….also one of my top ten or twenty favourite jazz lp’s of all time is David Holland’s Conference of Birds which I’m pretty sure is ECM. Just astounding.

It's so difficult to choose 10 albums from a catalogue as vast as ECM's but you made a nice selection, Andy. Jarrett's Hymns/Spheres is also a personal favourite. One of the most important ECM releases, in my opinion, is the reissue of Jimmy Giuffre's three amazing early Sixties albums with Paul Bley and Steve Swallow. Although these recordings predated ECM, they had been difficult to track down before ECM reissued them as 1961. In particular, Free Fall is a stunning album. Of the current crop of ECM artists, I'm a big fan of Nik Bartsch's Ronin.

A couple of my absolute favorites: Tomasz Stanko Quartet/Suspended Night and Crispell, Peacock, Motian/Nothing ever was , anyway.

I bought so many ECM albums but I think my favorite is Ring by the Gary Burton band (maybe quintet). Festuring Pat Metheny, Eberhard Weber, and another great bassist Steve Swallow. Anyway, thanks for the memories and covering this fantastic label. 👍

Also Terje Rypdal...brilliant

Some must-hear ECM albums are the four "Gateway" albums by John Abercrombie (guitars); Dave Holland (bass); and Jack De Johnette (drums). Also, Ketil Bjornstad's The Sea and The Sea 2 are excellent.

Nordic Quartet recorded 1995 and featuring John Surman, Karin Krog, Terji Rypdal and Vigleik Storass is a somewhat strange but wonderful, interesting album on the ECM label . It is a uniquely atmospheric album and one of the most compelling albums in my collection. BTW I feel that Jeff Beck's work during the 'Who Else' era and subsequent albums was definitely influenced to some degree by the playing of Terji Rypdal .

Terje Rypdal’s Odyssey was my introduction to ECM. I heard a track on a college radio station in 1980 and bought the album the next day. My favorite artist is another guitarist, Steve Tibbetts.

Andy, you're holding one of my favourite albums your hands!

Very good choices. This list was difficult to make... so I came up with these 10 (plus an Honorable Mention): 1) Ralph Towner “Solstice” 2) Ralph Towner “Solo Concert” 3) Jan Gabarek: ”It’s Ok to Listen To The Gray Voice” 4) Eberhard Weber: “Silent Feet” 5) Egberto Gismonti: “Solo” 6) George Adams “Sound Suggestions” 7) Miroslav Vitous “First Meeting” 8) Pat Metheny Group : “Travels” 9) John Abercrombie Quartet: “Arcade” 10) Ralph Towner, Eddie Gomez, Jack DeJohnette: “Batik” and 11) Terje Rypdal / Miroslav Vitous / Jack DeJohnette (1979).

Andy - for recent ECM Check out Mathias Eick. The Midwest album is my personal fave. 'Ravensberg' also amazing. For early stuff, Eberhard Weber is my man. Colours of Chloe being my fave... but all the 70s and 80s records are ace. Individual artwork with the Eberhard Weber albums as well. Clear why Kate Bush chose him for those seminal 80s albums.

Mr. Edwards, you had obviously broken into my record collection 🙂 Almost everything you showed I own or have owned. Your description of the ECM motive and aesthetic was spot on. ECM has always been "that other musical world" that most people know nothing about. I probably came late into the ECM game around 1981, after I joined the Air Force and started spending hours of my spare time combing through college town record store jazz bins. That's when I graduated from progressive rock/fusion/jazz/classical/world music to the uncategorizable (and back and in between). I'm sure we're both pleased to see that ECM is still alive and showcasing great artists. I'm not going to list 10 but I will state who, to me, have been the paragons of ECM (you've already mentioned most of them) Keith Jarrett, Ralph Towner/Oregon, Eberhard Weber, Pat Metheny, Dave Holland, Egberto Gismonti, John Abercrombie and a salute to all the artists associated with them on various ECM recordings (Paul McCandless, Ranier Bruninghaus, Lyle Mays, Trilok Gurtu, Nando Carniero, Markus Stockhausen, etc.). If you haven't checked out this new artist (new compared to those previously mentioned) I would urge you to do so...Kristjan Randalu, a wonderful pianist who's working with a wonderful guitarist (that you probably already know of) named Ben Monder, on his recording called Absence. Even though your video is a year old, and I'm just discovering it... thanks for stirring up impressions.

Bass Desires too...what a list!

Thanks so much for this, Extensions and Jumpin' In (Dragon and the Samurai!) were the first to blow me away. It was Mal Waldron trio nn '69 who was the first for ECM!

Great list Andy. Good to know that you mentioned Egberto Gismonti here! I would have included as my personal choice, Kenny Wheeler´s Angel Song (1997) as well as Eberhard Weber´s Later that Evening (1982).

SOME INTERESTING CHOICES....I HAVE TAKEN NOTE AND WILL ENJOY LISTENING TO THEM ALL IN PART OR COMPLETE

Looking forward to this one!

The band Oregon is on ECM. I love them.

Terje Rypdal rocks, swings, fuses, composes, etc.

I love Dave Holland's Conference of the Birds.

yes marc johnson played with Bill Evans right at the end. He married Eliane Elias. Sound of Summer Running and Shades of Jade are also good ones.

Great video on this wonderful label. I'm not seeing much love in the comments for the late Tomasz Stanko, beautiful Polish trumpet player who made a whole series of marvellous albums for ECM.

So many great albums on the ECM label. I couldn't possibly pick ten, you're a brave man. I own tons of them and love 'em all.

One ECM album I can think of that's always overlooked is Mike Nock's 'Ondas'.

Fluid Rustle! Yes! With Bonnie Herman ( the daughter of Bernard Herman of Alfred Hitchcock fame) and Norma Winstone. an exquisite album... unique.

Brilliant video again ! A few of my dozens of favorite are The George Gruntz concert jazz band Rainer Bruninghaus Freightweigt Peter Erskine Juni

There are so many releases from ECM that I hold dear. One of my favorite albums, the one switched me to Jazz was Chick Corea's Return to Forever with Flora Purim. Beside the ones mentioned in the video, some that come to mind that I still listen to: Gnu High by Kenny Wheeler, Timeless by John Abercrombie, and Open to Love by Paul Bley.

Garbarek too...you're safe, I'm staying subscribed xD

I'm getting on a bit and remember going to the music department of my provincial library and poring over the racks looking for different stuff, to find out what was going on in the world. Yea, I remember this ECM thing. Pre internet you couldn't read up on stuff but I could see it was a 'thing'. Art Ensemble if Chicago was one of them, that solo piano concert thing too. Jan Garbarek? Decades ago. Memories.

Hi Andy , i have just found your channel, loving your energy (rants). I am also a zappa fan too. Regarding the ECM video thank you there is more than a few albums on this list, that i will be watching on my ebay. The ECM albums i have been enjoying are Terje Rypdal What comes after. Lathe of Heaven by Mark Turner Quartet , OVERPASS Marc Johnson, ELECTRA Arild Andersen Group, Arve Henriksen plays on this. Probably my favourite album is THE ASTOUNDING EYES OF RITA by Anouar Brahem, just beautiful. Andy i think we meet a few time but i just can't remember the details, i am a brumie . Thanks again

Great selection Andy, I own them all mainly on vinyl. I only miss the great Kenny Wheeler masterwork Gnu High!

Conference of the Birds (Dave Holland, Anthony Braxton, Sam Rivers, Barry Altschul.) Also props to Belonging byJan Garbarek & Keith Jarrett

"If Mountains Could Sing" is a good choice, in my estimation. So is"Bright Size Life", "Bass Desires" and "Ana". All good choices, in fact. I think that you are on to something, Andy. ;))

I agree with Who’s To Know. It’s a phenomenal album. The sound is massive. Never forget when I first put the needle down on it. Another wonderful one is Making Music with Zakir Hussain, Jan Garbarek, and John McLaughlin. That is mint x

Ten... Impossible!!!! I've been an ECM fan since 1975 and this label is one of my main musical influences. Let me see if I can come up with a list on the spot. In no particular order: 1. Marion Brown- Afternoon of a Gerogia Faun 2. Chick Corea- Piano Improv: Volumes 1 & 2 3- Gary Burton & Steve Swallow- Hotel Hello 4- Old and New Dreams 5- Keith Jarrett- Sun Bear Concerts 6. Jack Dejohnette- New Directions 7. Kenny Wheeler- Gnu High 8. Eberhard Weber- Fluid Rustle 9. Bennie Maupin- The Jewel in the Lotus 10. Tomasz Stańko- Leosia

Nice choices, Andy! A sale bin at a small record shop combined with dumb luck made me buy half a dozen ECMs purely on the appeal of their covers. I was 18 at the time, and had no clue who Pat Metheny was (Bright Size Life), let alone Enrico Rava (The Plot). An album by Dave Holland was among the choices (Conference of the Birds). To this day Dave Holland has remained my favourite bass player of all time, and is possibly the reason why John Wetton is my favourite bass player in rock. That common ground being their idiosyncratic robustness I so love about them both. It's why I bought an acoustic bass and have doodled on it ever since. Purely for fun, but also a much much better list of 10 favourite ECMs (straight poker face), I suggest the following albums - as a compliment to Andy's list: Garden of Eden - Paul Motion (shockingly beautiful); Witchi-Tai-To - The Bobo Stenson quartet with Jan Garbarek (When a band is in the zone); Yellow Fields - Eberhard Weber (exotic, lush, and hypnotic); Solstice - Garbarek/Towner/ Weber/ Christensen (arguably the first record with the classic ECM 70's sound); Cloud Dance - Collin Walcott, but allied with Holland, Abercrombie, and DeJohnette (Margueritte - the definite version of this Oregon song and one of my favourite pieces of music ever written); Power Spot - Jon Hassell (Africe, the jungle, invade our Urban centers, the genius at work); Pat Metheny Group - Pat Metheny Group (the Pat Metheny Group at it's freshest and most joyful before they eventually turn into the Pat Metheny Molases Muzak Group); Solo Concert - Ralph Towner ( It's only one guitarist on stage! Spirit Lake is what you leave behind for humanity before you die); Dreams so Real - Gary Burton ( just a classy and intelligent expression of pure music); Conference of the Birds ( A barrage of Free Jazz that is rhythmically crisp, unyielding and in your face, interrupted by one of the most beautiful ballads you'll ever hear anywhere, in any genre). Cheers, everyone!

I have a LOT of ECM. It's a good place to start w/jazz if you like what they do; with a new album or unfamiliar artist you sort of know what you're getting but can still be surprised.

Do not forget John Surman Upon Reflection.

All great ECM LPs Andy. I would have definitely added Old and New Dreams (self-titled) and I Only Have Eyes For You by Lester Bowie's Brass Fantasy to this list. They are my two favourites, but there are so many incredible LPs to choose from. (live) In Montreal by Charlie Haden and Egberto Gismonti, Gateway (John Abercrombie, D. Holland & J. DeJohnette), Cycles by David Darling, Le Pas Du Chat Noir by Anouar Brahem, Special Edition by Jack DeJohnette all come immediately to mind. Thanks for alerting me to that L Shankar LP, it's very enjoyable listening.

I'm still exploring their catalogue so my list is bound to change if such brilliant music can be ranked at all. Here are some of my current favourites: John Surman and Jack DeJohnette- The Amazing Adventures Of Simon Simon, an absolutely hypnotic album Charlie Haden, Carla Bley, Liberation Music Orchestra- The Ballad Of The Fallen- intense, political with beautiful quiet moments in between Keith Jarret- The Koln Concert- This one kinda started it all. I knew this album even before I knew anything about ECM Dave Holland Quartet- Conference of The Birds- The chemistry between the players is unreal here. So brazen, so free Arvo Part- Tabula Rasa - This is one of the albums that got me more into classical music and opened up a whole new world for me. Terje Rypdal, Miroslav Vitouš, Jack DeJohnette - To Be Continued - Another stratosphere David Darling- Circles- This one really cemented my love for ECM because of its blend of jazz and classical, some oriental influences thrown in the mix. The melodies stay with you and all the players are wonderful David Darling, Terje Rypdal, Ketil Bjørnstad- The Sea. Epic melodies here, I wouldn't even know how to classify this masterwork and albums like these is what makes ECM stand out from most other jazz labels. Miroslav Vitouš - Emergence, a bass solo album might sound like a tough proposition but Miroslav has a very unique and melodic way of expressing himself on the instrument. Another great journey Keith Jarret- My Song - A stellar performance by his European Quartet. I particularly love Garbarek's atmospheric saxophone

Thanks for recommending Fluid Rustle. What a great album.

Thanks, will check them out

About the solo records.. Egberto Gismonli solo is one of my most played together with some of the Rypdal stuff. Ralph Towners Works album another favourite. When it comes to the more experimental stuff Pierre Favre and Tamia's La nuit.. le jour is a fantastic but odd one. And Paul Gigers Chartres album

Here are my mine. 1 - Keith Jarrett - Köln Concert. 2 - Zakir Hussain - Making Music. 3 - Art Ensemble of Chicago - Full Force 4 - Art Ensemble of Chicago - Urban Bushman 5 - Chick Corea Piano Improvisations. 6 - Pat Metheny Group - First Circle. 7 - Ralph Towner - Travel Guide 8 - John Surman - The Amazing Adventures of Simon Simon. 9 - L Shankar - Vision. 10 - Gavin Bryars - After the Requiem.

Nice video Andy! I used to live in Oslo where one of the main ECM studio was and got to know a lot of the musicians there. I recall one evening sat at a table with Jan Erik Kongshaug and a few other ECM stalwarts watching John Taylor with Marilyn Mazur... I had to pinch myself :) I have about 50 or so ECM LPs which is nothing really considering the size of the catalogue. Favourites would be (including their subsidiary label JAPO): Rainer Bruninghaus : Friegeweht (astonishing LP with a beautiful blend of synths, Kenny Wheeler and Jon Christensen) Manfred Schoof: Scales and Light Lines (incredible music with free jazz vibe) Arild Andersen 4tet : Green Shading into Blue (wonderful piano from Lars Jansson esp!) Eberhard Weber: Colours of Chloe Gary Burton: Passengers Steve Eliovson: Dawn Dance (such an incredible album from an unknown guitarist) Collin Wallcot: Cloud Dance/Grazing Dreams Julian Priester: Polarization Azimuth: Azimuth (really unique album) Dave Liebman: Drum Ode (fantastic fender rhodes fusion LP. I'm missing many from my list but those are (off the top of my head) some of my favourites at least! :)

Great video , nice knowledge

Great list. Belonging is great, but I would've included Survivors Suite - What a great album. Timeless by John Abercrombie is also a classic album (with Jan Hammer!) Thanks!

Thanks for Bass desires !!! I was thinking everybody had completely forgotten about that amazing album !!! :) And, of course, Pat with Jaco ...With these 2 albums you have got my 100% support Andy. :)

Always nice to hear people talking about ECM. Check out Cuneiform Records for a totally different set of great artists. As for my own ECM top ten: Rypdal/Vitous/DeJohnette Gary Peacock: Tales of Another Sinikka Langeland: Starflowers Haden/Garbarek/Gismonti: Folk Songs Kenny Wheeler: Around 6 Bobo Stenson Trio: Underwear Art Lande: Rubisa Patrol Tsabropoulos/Andersen/Marshall: Achirana Louis Sclavis: Acoustic Quartet Anouar Brahem: Thimar

Weber...YES!!! I'm buying you a pint!

When I was first getting properly into jazz and especially jazz rock fusion just after the turn of the new millenium, ECM released their Rarum series of compilations which were a great introduction to solo Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett, Jan Garbarek, Pat Metheny, John Abercrombie, Bill Frisell, Terje Rypdal, Eberhard Weber - fantastic way to get a feel for and introduction to some great artists, many of whom I went on to delve more into - like Pat Metheny (although I had already been a fan of his Still Life (Talking) album) and Keith Jarrett and Terje Rypdal who produced fantastic almost straight ahead rock instrumental guitar tracks alongside complex near classical recordings, and did a couple of albums with fellow Norwegian guitarist Ronnie Le Tekro from hard rock band TNT. One of the things that really stood out to me across all those Rarum albums was the sound quality, absolutely fantastic throughout. From ECM I then veered off into some of the artists on the ACT label, most notably the Esbjorn Svensson (rip) Trio - superlative and wonderfully recorded piano trio. Going to have to get hold of a copy of that Marc Johnson album with Frisell,Scofield and Erskine though, as it sounds great.

Coming from prog and fusion in the mid’70s, ECM music was the first "acoustic" (well, sort of)jazz I got into. I heard a song from Gary Burton’s “Passengers” (with Metheny, Weber and Swallow) and loved it. That led to Metheny (all of them but “Bright Size” is great), Rypdal (“Odyssey”), Garbarek (“Densere”), Towner (“Solstice”), Weber (love “Fluid Rustle” and Colours), Jarrett’s quartet. So much great stuff. Kinda lost track of ECM in the ‘80s, but got back into it with the Holland and Charles Lloyd records.

Thanks Andy,another cool video. You attempted the impossible on this one! ECM has such a high benchmark for producing great music you could probably pick ten albums from the catalogue at random and have a credible top ten. Nice to see 'Extensions' get a mention, I think that it's my favourite Kevin Eubanks performance, he seems to bring a little extra fire on that one. In the spirit of things here are ten of my faves on the label ( in no particular order). 1.Zakir Hussain - Making Music. Its John Mclaughlins only appearance on ECM and with Jan Garbarek and Hariprisad Chaurasia contributing it is pretty much a no brainer. 2. Bennie Maupin - The Jewel In The Lotus. Fans of Herbie Hancocks Mwandishi Should check this one out. Herbie on keys and the great Billy Hart on drums. A shimmering heat haze of an album. 3. Charles Lloyd - Lift Every Voice. A wonderful double CD. John Abercrombie plays a blinder on guitar. Lloyd plays with the grace and depth of a true master. 4.Steve Tibbets - The Fall Of Us All. A guitarist who deserves to be much better known. A huge panoramic sound. Play it loud. 5. Keith Jarrett - The Melody At Night With You. There is no shortage of solo piano work on ECM from Keith but this record for me stands out as unique. Less expansive than his normal ruminations on standards, he pares everything down creating a work of heartfelt, concentrated beauty. Essential. 6.Ralph Towner - Solstice. Desert island fare. Towner, Garbarek, Weber, and Christensen weave their magic in this 70's classic. One of the most representative albums the label has ever released. 7. Codona - Codona. Don Cherry, Colin Walcott and Nana Vasconcelos combine to create magic. World music made before world music was a thing. 8. Eberhard Weber - Yellow Fields. An ECM classic that never dates. Widescreen pastoral beauty from a bassist who deserves as much credit for fretless playing as Jaco. I play this one more often than the rest of his excellent recordings. 9. Kenny Wheeler - Gnu High. Simply great jazz from the wonderful Mr. Wheeler. Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette on bass and drums.That man Jarrett on the piano. You can;t go wrong. 10. Michael Mantler - Movies. This one is on WATT, ECM;s subsiduary label. A gem of a record by Viennese trumpeter Mantler. Taught jazz rock that features Larry Coryell dancing out front with restraint and laser beam precision. Oh yeah. you also have Tony Williams beating the skins. Must have!

My teacher Art Lande did several great albums on ECM. Red Lanta, Rubisa Patrol, Gary Peacock’s “Shift in the Wind” to name a few.

My first exposure to ECM records was listening to Terje Rypdal's 'Waves' in Orpheus Records, Portsmouth in 1978. This is a very important album to me (along with MO's 'Birds Of Fire') as it introduced me to a whole new area of music. If you listed all the fantastic artists who record or have recorded for ECM, you'd go on for ever. My favourite record label. Your videos are great. Keep up the good work.

I have decided that in the event that I lose all my physical music I will start again just collecting ECM. Don’t know if you mention him but Kenny Wheeler on ECM has been a revelation. Art Ensemble of Chicago? Excellent! You know your stuff sir. Keith Jarrett?There’s a great new interview with Rick Beato on hear. Just getting my phone to download these albums.

Good list. Would add John Abercrombie Timeless. I was lucky enough to see AEOC, Pat Matheny and Keith Jarrett over the years. Also went to ECM 50th anniversary concert in NYC in 2019.

Completely forgot to mention Michelle Makarski violin artist who introduced me to the music of Hartke, Harbison, Carter, and many other refreshingly contemporary composers, like a breath of fresh air. She also did some recordings with Keith Jarrett including his violin sonata on ECM's "Bridge of Light". I've said this before - some of the most interesting modern music is jazz mixed with classical.

just a suggestion: Double Image: Dawn (ECM 1146) - especially discovered Michael DiPasqua as a drummer here.

My ECM Top 10: 1. Ralph Towner / Solstice 2. Keith Jarrett / Staircase, Hourglass, Sundial, Sand 3. Eberhard Weber / The Following Morning 4. John Abercrombie Quartet / Arcade 5. Bennie Maupin / The Jewel in the Lotus 6. Steve Tibbetts / Safe Journey 7. Steve Reich / Music for 18 Musicians 8. Egberto Gismonti / Solo 9. Meredith Monk / Do You Be 10: Terje Rypdal, Miroslav Vitous, Jack Dejohnette / 1st Record...OK -these go to 11! - 11. John Adams / Harmonium for Large Orchestra and Choir...OK - 1 More: 12. Paul Bley w/ John Surman, Bill Frisell, and Paul Motian / Fragments

Good list but I would have included one of the albums by Gateway (Abercrombie, Holland, Dejohnette)

Very interesting list.. I would have had Eventyr as my Jan Garberek choice and I would definitely have included John Abercrombie. Maybe While we're Young with Dan Wall and Adam Nussbaum.. My Metheny choice would have been As Falls Wichita for 2 reasons; Its a kind of cross between Bright Size Life and 80/81 (my other fav Metheny joint) and it's his high water mark (for me) with Lyle Mays (RIP). My Jarrett albums would have been Standards Live and Koln Concert. I would have left out Fluid Rustle (much as I love it) on the grounds that Bill Frisell himself pans it in his biography (Beautiful Dreamer by Philip Watson). Fantastic video otherwise. Thanks brother ..

John Abercrombie - 1975 "Timeless"

If I was going to pick a Shankar ECM Album it would be Vision From 1984 with Jan Gararek & Palle Mikkelborg. Now that is Jazz / Ambiant And a much more palatable Album. And a Great One.

Just found your channel, subbed

Great vid Andy. Would be great if you did a vid on Pi recordings, they have put out some amazing albums.

I got one word for this video "Travels"

Again late to the party, and just want to say I love all your vids (again). Oh, and btw: Its "TUR-yuh Rip-dal." The dude is Norwegian , not Spanish! And as far as ECM artists, you've apparently neglected one of the greatest of all as far as prog-meets-fusion: Steve Tibbetts. Very surprised you didn't mention him.