Jazz & Improvisation / All styles

Second ECM album by Norwegian accordionist Frode Haltli, reworking Norwegian and Swedish traditional material with Arve Henriksen (trumpet), Garth Knox (viola) and Maja Ratkje (voice). Recorded December 2004, Rainbow Studio, Oslo; released 2007.

Second ECM duo album by Gianluigi Trovesi (piccolo and alto clarinets) and Gianni Coscia (accordion): songs and scenes by Kurt Weill, mostly from Mahagonny, with their own interludes. Liner notes by Umberto Eco. Recorded July 2004, Radio Studio DRS, Zurich.

Manu Katché's first album as leader for ECM: ten of his compositions played with Jan Garbarek (tenor saxophone), Tomasz Stańko (trumpet), Marcin Wasilewski (piano) and Sławomir Kurkiewicz (double bass). Recorded March and November 2004, Rainbow Studio, Oslo.

Second album by the Tord Gustavsen Trio: twelve compositions by Gustavsen (piano) with Harald Johnsen (double bass) and Jarle Vespestad (drums). Recorded January 2004, Rainbow Studio, Oslo; produced by Manfred Eicher.

Drums duo with Nicolas Field and Alexandre Babel. Nicolas Field, drummer. Performs music combining notation, improvisation and electronic processes. Studies in jazz, live electronics and composition in Geneva, den Haag and Amsterdam. Solo performances in den Haag, Amsterdam and Geneva. Alexandre Babel, born in Geneva. Studies drums in New York, classical percussion at the Geneva conservatorium and piano at home. Gets involved in different kinds of notated-unnotated contemporary music projects. H…

First ECM album by the Polish trio of Marcin Wasilewski (piano), Sławomir Kurkiewicz (double bass) and Michał Miśkiewicz (drums): originals, free improvisations and pieces by Björk, Wayne Shorter, Szymanowski and Stańko. Recorded March 2004, Rainbow Studio, Oslo.

Second album by Thomas Strønen's quartet Parish, with Bobo Stenson (piano), Fredrik Ljungkvist (clarinet, tenor saxophone) and Mats Eilertsen (double bass). Recorded April 2004 at Rainbow Studio, Oslo, produced by Manfred Eicher.

Second ECM album by Tomasz Stańko's Polish quartet with Marcin Wasilewski (piano), Sławomir Kurkiewicz (double bass) and Michał Miśkiewicz (drums). Recorded July 2003 at Rainbow Studio, Oslo, produced by Manfred Eicher.

Sacred song cycle by bassist Anders Jormin, commissioned for Västerås cathedral, with Lena Willemark (voice), Marilyn Crispell (piano), Karin Nelson (church organ) and Raymond Strid (percussion). Recorded May 2003 in the Organ Hall, Musikhögskolan, Gothenburg.

It has been purported that this release on the mighty No Fun imprint finds the estimable C. Spencer Yeh at the very summit of his powers, making his finest, most complete statement yet. As with the other Burning Star Core release from this week (Operator Dead... Post Abandoned on No Quarter) Yeh is joined by Robert Beatty, Gameboy records noisenik Mike Shiflet and Trevor Tremaine on drums. While Operator Dead is characterised by a near-ecstatic interpolation of krautrocking dynamics and wide ope…

Miroslav Vitous's 2003 ECM album with Jan Garbarek, Chick Corea, John McLaughlin and Jack DeJohnette, plus a brass trio on three tracks. Recorded March 2000 to March 2003 at Universal Syncopations Studios and Rainbow Studio, Oslo.

Keith Jarrett (piano), Gary Peacock (double bass) and Jack DeJohnette (drums) live on 16 July 2002 at La Pinède Gould, Festival de Jazz d'Antibes, Juan-les-Pins: six tunes by other composers and Jarrett's Up for It, released by ECM in 2003.

Paul Giger (violin, violino d'amore, viola d'amore, foot bells) with Robert Dick (flutes) and Satoshi Takeishi (percussion): solo pieces, duos and trios recorded 1995-2000 and edited at Big Ear Studio, Dübendorf, released by ECM in 2003.

Martin Speake (alto saxophone) with Bobo Stenson (piano), Mick Hutton (double bass) and Paul Motian (drums) in eight Speake originals, recorded in April 2002 at Rainbow Studio, Oslo, produced by Manfred Eicher, released by ECM in 2006.

Jon Balke (piano, keyboards) and the Magnetic North Orchestra, a septet with Per Jørgensen, Arve Henriksen, Morten Halle, Svante Henryson, Anders Jormin and Audun Kleive. Recorded November 2001 at Rainbow Studio, Oslo, released by ECM in 2002.

Trio of Dino Saluzzi (bandoneon), José María Saluzzi (acoustic guitar) and Palle Danielsson (double bass) playing nine Saluzzi compositions. Recorded November 2001 at Rainbow Studio, Oslo, produced by Manfred Eicher, released by ECM in 2003.

Steve Tibbetts (guitars, percussion) with Marc Anderson and Marcus Wise (percussion, tabla) and Jim Anton (bass). Recorded in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 2001 and released by ECM in 2002.

Anthology of Michael Mantler's work chosen by the composer: 22 tracks recorded 1968-2000 for JCOA, WATT and ECM, with Jack Bruce, Robert Wyatt, Marianne Faithfull, Carla Bley, Pharoah Sanders and others. Released by ECM in 2006.

Nine-part suite by John Surman (soprano and baritone saxophones, bass clarinet) with Jack DeJohnette (drums, piano) and the ten-piece London Brass, a BBC Radio 3 commission. Recorded live in June 2001 at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London. ECM 1802, 2003.

Twelve compositions by Tunisian oud player Anouar Brahem, written at the piano and played with François Couturier (piano) and Jean-Louis Matinier (accordion). Recorded July 2001 at Radio Studio DRS, Zürich, produced by Manfred Eicher. ECM 1792, 2002.

Thirteen-part suite by the Tomasz Stańko Quartet: Stańko (trumpet), Marcin Wasilewski (piano), Sławomir Kurkiewicz (double bass), Michał Miśkiewicz (drums), all compositions by Stańko. Recorded August 2001 at Rainbow Studio, Oslo. ECM 1788, 2002.

Trio album by Yves Robert (trombone), Vincent Courtois (cello) and Cyril Atef (drums), Robert's first ECM album as leader, seven of eight pieces by him. Recorded March 2001 at Piccolo Studio, Paris, produced by Manfred Eicher. ECM 1787, 2002.

Live recording by Keith Jarrett (piano), Gary Peacock (double bass) and Jack DeJohnette (drums): four free improvisations and When I Fall in Love. Recorded 26 and 28 July 2000 at the Royal Festival Hall, London; produced by Manfred Eicher, released by ECM in 2001. CD edition.

ECM debut of Swiss singer Susanne Abbuehl with Wolfert Brederode (piano, harmonium, melodica), Christof May (clarinets) and Samuel Rohrer (drums): settings of E. E. Cummings, songs by Carla Bley, Monk and Prabha Atre. Recorded November 2000, Rainbow Studio, Oslo. CD edition.

The Source (Trygve Seim, saxophones; Øyvind Brække, trombone; Per Oddvar Johansen, drums) with the Cikada String Quartet, Arve Henriksen, Frode Haltli and others. Recorded November 2000 at Rainbow Studio, Oslo; produced by Manfred Eicher. ECM, 2002. CD edition.

Solo double bass album by Anders Jormin, with six short pieces for brass quartet. Bass recorded 17 December 1999 at Artisten, Göteborg; brass recorded 2 October 2000 at Studio Bohus, Kungälv. Produced by Manfred Eicher, released by ECM in 2001. CD edition.

Rosslyn (ECM 1751) is John Taylor's first album as leader on ECM, a piano trio with Marc Johnson (double bass) and Joey Baron (drums), recorded in April 2002 at Rainbow Studio, Oslo, and released in January 2003.

Live duo concert by Charlie Haden (double bass) and Egberto Gismonti (guitar, piano), recorded 6 July 1989 at the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, Salle Marie-Gérin-Lajoie. Released by ECM in 2001. CD edition.

Charles Lloyd (tenor saxophone) with Brad Mehldau (piano), John Abercrombie (guitar), Larry Grenadier (double bass) and Billy Higgins (drums), recorded December 1999 at Cello Studios, Los Angeles. Ballads, spirituals and Lloyd originals. CD edition.

Second ECM album by Norwegian trumpeter Nils Petter Molvær, with Eivind Aarset (guitar, electronics), Audun Erlien (bass), DJ Strangefruit and Sidsel Endresen (voice). Recorded in Oslo studios in 1999, released May 2000. CD edition.

Solo album by Mat Maneri on acoustic violin and viola: his own compositions and pieces by Matthew Shipp, Joe Morris, John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy and Joe Maneri, recorded July 1999 at Gateway Studio, Kingston, produced by Steve Lake. CD, 2001.

Astrakan Café is a 2000 ECM album by Tunisian oud player Anouar Brahem with Turkish clarinettist Barbaros Erköse and percussionist Lassad Hosni, recorded in June 1999 at the Propstei St. Gerold, Austria, and produced by Manfred Eicher.

Recorded live at Théâtre Monnot, Beirut on 10 July 2005 at the 5th Irtijal Festival of Improvised Music. Mixed and mastered at The Experimental Sound Studio, Chicago. Limited edition of 1000 numbered copies

Quartet album by violinist Michael Galasso with Terje Rypdal (guitar), Marc Marder (double bass) and Frank Colón (percussion): sixteen Galasso compositions, recorded November 2002 and April 2004 at Rainbow Studio, Oslo. CD, 2005.

Duo album by Gianluigi Trovesi (piccolo, alto and bass clarinets) and Gianni Coscia (accordion): music by Fiorenzo Carpi, John Lewis, Luis Bacalov, a tango and originals, recorded February 1999 at Radio Studio DRS, Zürich. Liner essay by Umberto Eco. CD, 2000.

Sextet album by guitarist John Abercrombie with Dan Wall (organ), Adam Nussbaum (drums), Kenny Wheeler (trumpet, flugelhorn), Joe Lovano (tenor saxophone) and Mark Feldman (violin), recorded September 1998 at Avatar Studios, New York. CD, 1999.

Keith Jarrett alone at the piano in ten jazz ballads and folk songs by Gershwin, Ellington, Kern, Levant and others, recorded in 1998 at his Cavelight Studio in New Jersey while he was recovering from a long illness. Released by ECM in 1999.

Live recording by Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette, the Standards Trio, at Orchard Hall, Tokyo, on 30 March 1996: ten standards and bebop tunes, two of them flowing into Jarrett originals.

First duo album by Joe Maneri (alto and tenor saxophones, clarinet, piano) and his son Mat Maneri (acoustic and electric violins, electric viola), recorded October 1997 at Hardstudios, Winterthur, produced by Steve Lake.

Duo album by violinist Dominique Pifarély and pianist François Couturier: nine pieces, mostly their own plus Mal Waldron's Warm Canto, recorded April 1997 at the Festeburgkirche, Frankfurt, produced by Manfred Eicher.