Jazz /
Third Reel
Debut album of the bass-less Swiss-Italian trio Third Reel: Nicolas Masson (tenor saxophone, clarinet), Roberto Pianca (guitar), Emanuele Maniscalco (drums), sixteen composed and improvised pieces. Recorded February 2012 at the Auditorio RSI, Lugano.
Transylvanian Concert
Live duo recording by Lucian Ban (piano) and Mat Maneri (viola): pieces by Ban and Maneri, a joint improvisation and the spiritual Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen. Recorded 5 June 2011 at the Culture Palace, Târgu Mureș, Transylvania.
Travel Guide
Guitar trio album by Ralph Towner (classical and 12-string guitar), Wolfgang Muthspiel (electric guitar, voice) and Slava Grigoryan (classical and baritone guitar), with five pieces each by Towner and Muthspiel. Recorded August 2012 at the Auditorio RSI, Lugano.
Mira
Studio album by Arild Andersen (double bass, electronics), Tommy Smith (tenor saxophone, shakuhachi) and Paolo Vinaccia (drums), mostly Andersen originals plus Bacharach's Alfie, recorded December 2012 at Rainbow Studio, Oslo, produced by Manfred Eicher. ECM 2307, 2014.
The geographers
"It's a generalisation, but Sylvia Hallett scrapes and Clive Bell blows. Bell specialises in reed or pipe instruments from exotic locations, principally South East Asia. Hallett bought a saw for £2.49, mounted a bicycle wheel on a spindle and also plays the more frequently-sighted viola. Bell studied the shakuhachi flute in Tokyo, then lived in Thailand, where he familiarised himself with the brittle vibrations of the khene reed-pipes. This was the beginning of his love for blown instruments tha…
In Full View
Julia Hülsmann's trio with Marc Muellbauer and Heinrich Köbberling becomes a quartet with English trumpeter Tom Arthurs: band originals plus Feist, Fumi Udo and de Falla, recorded June 2012 at Rainbow Studio, Oslo, produced by Manfred Eicher. ECM 2306, 2013.
La notte
Ketil Bjørnstad's eight-part suite inspired by Michelangelo Antonioni, commissioned by and recorded live at the Molde International Jazz Festival on 21 July 2010, with Andy Sheppard, Anja Lechner, Eivind Aarset, Arild Andersen and Marilyn Mazur. ECM 2300, 2013.
Rava On the Dance Floor
Enrico Rava with the twelve-piece Parco della Musica Jazz Lab plays Michael Jackson songs in arrangements by Mauro Ottolini, recorded live at the Auditorium Parco della Musica, Rome, on 20 May and 30 November 2011. Produced by Manfred Eicher. ECM 2293, 2012.
Azure
Duo album by bassist Gary Peacock and pianist Marilyn Crispell: compositions by each, three free improvisations and a solo apiece, recorded January-February 2011 at Nevessa Production, Saugerties, NY, and self-produced. ECM 2292, 2013.
Outstairs
Fifth ECM album by the Christian Wallumrød Ensemble, a sextet with trumpet, tenor saxophone, Hardanger fiddle, cello and drums around Wallumrød's piano and harmonium, playing eleven of his pieces. Recorded at the Auditorio RSI in Lugano, produced by Manfred Eicher.
Trios
Carla Bley (piano), Andy Sheppard (tenor and soprano saxophones) and Steve Swallow (bass) play five Bley compositions, including three suites. Recorded in April 2012 at the Auditorio RSI in Lugano, produced by Manfred Eicher; Bley's first album as leader on ECM itself.
Songways
Stefano Battaglia's second trio album for ECM with Salvatore Maiore (double bass) and Roberto Dani (drums): ten Battaglia pieces inspired by imaginary places in literature and myth. Recorded in April 2012 at the Auditorio RSI in Lugano, produced by Manfred Eicher.
Sources
First album by Louis Sclavis's Atlas Trio, with Sclavis on clarinet and bass clarinet, Benjamin Moussay on piano, Fender Rhodes and keyboards and Gilles Coronado on electric guitar. Recorded in September 2011 at Studios La Buissonne, Pernes-les-Fontaines.
Matanë Malit
ECM debut of the Elina Duni Quartet: Albanian traditional songs and new pieces, with Elina Duni (voice), Colin Vallon (piano), Patrice Moret (double bass) and Norbert Pfammatter (drums). Recorded February 2012 at Studios La Buissonne, Pernes-les-Fontaines.
Mercurial Balm
Second ECM album by Food, Thomas Strønen (drums, electronics) and Iain Ballamy (saxophones), with Christian Fennesz, Eivind Aarset, Nils Petter Molvær and Prakash Sontakke. Recorded 2010-2011 at Cheltenham Jazz Festival, Victoria National Jazz Scene and Rainbow Studio, Oslo.
Small Places
Second ECM album by bassist Michael Formanek, eight original compositions played by his quartet with Tim Berne (alto saxophone), Craig Taborn (piano) and Gerald Cleaver (drums). Recorded December 2011 at Avatar Studios, New York.
Celebration
Live big-band album: Arild Andersen (double bass) as principal soloist with the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra directed by Tommy Smith, in new arrangements of ECM-associated pieces. Recorded October 2010 at Stevenson Hall, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Glasgow.
Within A Song
John Abercrombie Quartet tribute to 1960s jazz (Rollins, Davis, Coleman, Coltrane, Evans) with three originals: John Abercrombie (guitar), Joe Lovano (tenor saxophone), Drew Gress (double bass), Joey Baron (drums). Recorded September 2011 at Avatar Studios, New York.
Trio Libero
Debut of Trio Libero: Andy Sheppard (tenor and soprano saxophones), Michel Benita (double bass), Sebastian Rochford (drums), with originals, group improvisations and one standard. Recorded July 2011 at the Auditorio RSI, Lugano, produced by Manfred Eicher.
Equilibrium
ECM debut of the Benedikt Jahnel Trio: Benedikt Jahnel (piano), Antonio Miguel (double bass), Owen Howard (drums), seven Jahnel compositions. Recorded July 2011 at the Auditorio RSI, Lugano, produced by Manfred Eicher.