Paul Motian

Original edition on ECM / Trio Jazz Mania of the 1973 Japan-only compilation. With insert and obi.

Original edition on ECM / Trio Jazz Mania of the 1973 Japan-only compilation. With insert.

Original Japanese edition on Palo Alto Jazz of the 1984 album. With obi.

2003 release ** "This really might be the best sax-bass-drums trio of the last decade. It's that good. Tony Malaby is consistently engaging and adventurous, and Paul Motian is at his best. If I could write the Penguin Guide review of this, I just might give it a crown. At first I was really reminded of Joe Lovano (and this compares quite favorably to "Sounds of Joy", one of Joe's best), but now find Malaby a bit more nimble and adventurous. There are hints of avant, but this is totally straight,…

Big Tip! ** One-time pressing, strictly limited edition ** After more than three decades of whispered reverence among jazz cognoscenti, the complete story of Keith Jarrett's transformative return to his musical birthplace can finally be told. At The Deer Head Inn: The Complete Recordings, a sumptuous 4LP box set to be released in August 2025, captures every note from what may be the most emotionally resonant performance in the pianist's extraordinary catalog. On September 16, 1992, something ext…

Back in the mid 80's, Paul Motian, one of the greatest jazz drummers of all times, assembled one of the most inventive groups of the decade. Motian invited four highly individual players such as Joe Lovano and Jim Pepper on tenor sax, Bill Frisell on electric guitar and Ed Schuller on bass, and the result was a unique sound in perfect balance between post-Ornette free-bop and a new and spacier form of interplay. First released in 1987 "Misterioso" stands as a stunning example of modern jazz!

Return of the great American jazz trio that delivered the poll-topping "Nothing Ever Was, Anyway" in 1997. Material heard on "Amaryllis" is by turns thoughtful, touching, joyous and viscerally exciting. Some of the songs are well known – almost classics of new jazz – including Crispell’s "Rounds", Peacock’s "Requiem" and "December Wings, Motian’s "Conception Vessel". There are also a number of startlingly effective free improvised ballads. As leader Marilyn Crispell says, "There’s a great depth …

"The emerging credo of western society’s post-Beat counterculture was egalitarian and  anti-hierarchical, be the hierarchy social, political or on the bandstand. Evans and Ayler shared  the belief; only their lexicons were different. If hearing Spiritual Unity was akin, as Ted Joans  wrote, to someone shouting “Fuck!” in St. Patrick’s"   – Chris May

Frozen Reeds is proud to present the only recorded duo playing of two legendary musical figures. “This is one of those moments that we’re always hoping for, and it's so rare. And it's so hard to talk about, because it's so beautiful. It's like you're seeing some new species of plant that you never knew existed or something.” – Bill Frisell

ECM :rarum 16 (2004): nine Paul Motian compositions chosen by the drummer from six ECM albums recorded 1972-1987, with Keith Jarrett, Charles Brackeen, Bill Frisell, Joe Lovano, Paul Bley and John Surman.

Six-CD box of Paul Motian's first six ECM albums as leader, recorded 1972-1984 in New York and Ludwigsburg, with Keith Jarrett, Charlie Haden, Charles Brackeen, Bill Frisell, Joe Lovano and others. Old & New Masters series, 2013, notes by Ethan Iverson.

Paul Motian's second album as leader for ECM, released in 1975, with Charlie Haden (bass), Sam Brown and Paul Metzke (guitars) and Carlos Ward (alto saxophone). Recorded in May 1974 at Generation Sound Studios, New York.

Eight previously unreleased performances by Keith Jarrett (piano), Gary Peacock (double bass) and Paul Motian (drums), recorded live at the Deer Head Inn, Pennsylvania, on 16 September 1992, the same night as the 1994 album At the Deer Head Inn. Produced by Bill Goodwin.

Ben Monder's first ECM album as leader: solo electric guitar, duos with Paul Motian (October 2010, Sear Sound) and with Andrew Cyrille, plus trios with Cyrille and Pete Rende on synthesizer (December 2013, Brooklyn Recording). Produced by Sun Chung.

Live quartet recording by Lee Konitz (alto saxophone), Brad Mehldau (piano), Charlie Haden (double bass) and Paul Motian (drums), playing six standards without rehearsal at Birdland, New York, in December 2009. Produced by Manfred Eicher, released 2011.

Enrico Rava's quintet with Stefano Bollani (piano), Mark Turner (tenor saxophone, his ECM debut), Larry Grenadier (double bass) and Paul Motian (drums): nine Rava pieces and two group improvisations. Recorded February 2008, Avatar Studios, New York.