In Praise of ECM/Your Favorite ECM Guitar Album(s)

[Jimmy blue note]

Kenny Wheeler was one of the most talented composers in the ECM family. His haunting fluegelhorn playing and the way he could take a stellar band and impart his own spacious sound. Also some of my favourite playing by John Abercrombie.
Deer Wan
Widow in the Window

[maxsmith]

“Deer Wan” - another beautiful album and one of the cassettes in the Atlanta treasure trove described at the start of this thread. I love the original Abercrombie Quartet with Richie Beirach, but Abercrombie really shines in a different way without a pianist; his comping becomes more mobile and conversational and full of countermelodies.

Or maybe you can just hear him better…

Kenny Wheeler was one of the most talented composers in the ECM family. His haunting fluegelhorn playing and the way he could take a stellar band and impart his own spacious sound. Also some of my favourite playing by John Abercrombie.
Deer Wan
Widow in the Window

[burchyk]

Bright Size Life for making me a jazz convert within the first few bars on the first listen.

[maxsmith]

I heard and enjoyed “Pat Metheny Group” and “New Chautauqua” quite a bit before coming across “Bright Size Life” - recommended by a bass player friend, btw. That album, along with “80/81” and “Rejoicing” really made me a true fan of Metheny as a guitarist and improviser. Again, another player who really shines without a pianist, another heir to Jim Hall.

Bright Size Life for making me a jazz convert within the first few bars on the first listen.

[supersoul]

Night-Glo by Carla Bley with Steve Swallow.

Hiram Bullock on guitar, but it's really an ensemble album, not an improv burner.

I bought it after seeing Carla Bley and Steve Swallow play a duet on the TV show Night Music. The album was a cut-out and I thought the cover was great. I was about 16 and in the early stages of teaching myself about jazz type music.

It's a weird album. It's sensual and groovy, almost sexual at times, almost like cheesy elevator music but then with strange, dense horn arrangements. It's a bit of an outlier in the normally cerebral ECM world. It was released on ECM/Watt, so it's more like ECM just distributed it.

I would attach a picture, but the upload function seems to be on the fritz right now. It really is a great cover.

[marcwhy]

The problem with ECM is there are too many great albums (with and without guitar), so it's hard to choose "favorites!" My latest music purchase (sorry, no guitar) is Mark Turner's new album, "Return from the Stars" -- wonderful stuff!

[Christian Miller]

Anything with Ralph Towner has to be up there

[Christian Miller]

Extensions (Dave Holland) with Kevin Eubanks

[maxsmith]

The problem with ECM is there are too many great albums (with and without guitar), so it's hard to choose "favorites!"

So true, so true…

[maxsmith]

Anything with Ralph Towner has to be up there

Agreed. How about two guitar geniuses for the price of one?

[Flat]

Their follow up album Five Years Later is really great too. John was kind enough to sign my LP jacket after a show one night.

[Christian Miller]

Agreed. How about two guitar geniuses for the price of one?

i should have a listen to that. I don’t really know Abercrombie’s work very well.

[Bach5G]

A favourite ECM was Michael Gibbs’ 7 Songs for Quartet and Orchestra. Gary Burton Quartet with Mick Goodrick. Lovely, profound music.

[marcwhy]

i should have a listen to that. I don’t really know Abercrombie’s work very well.

He has several "organ trio" albums with Dan Wall and Adam Nussbaum -- wonderful stuff!

[Doctor Jeff]

Night-Glo by Carla Bley with Steve Swallow.

Hiram Bullock on guitar, but it's really an ensemble album, not an improv burner.

I bought it after seeing Carla Bley and Steve Swallow play a duet on the TV show Night Music. The album was a cut-out and I thought the cover was great. I was about 16 and in the early stages of teaching myself about jazz type music.

It's a weird album. It's sensual and groovy, almost sexual at times, almost like cheesy elevator music but then with strange, dense horn arrangements. It's a bit of an outlier in the normally cerebral ECM world. It was released on ECM/Watt, so it's more like ECM just distributed it.

I would attach a picture, but the upload function seems to be on the fritz right now. It really is a great cover.

Yes, cool album cover. She had some good ones back in the day. (I just found out that she and Steve Swallow were and I guess still are romantic partners. That might explain all the intimacy in the photographs from their records.)

I always thought she was European. I was surprised to find out she was American, born in Oakland. She worked as a "cigarette girl" at Birdland when she moved to NYC as a young woman.

I will have to give her stuff a good relisten. What I noted when I first listened to her was that she was rarely the center of the music. She often played organ in the background and rarely soloed. Her genius was in songwriting and arranging.

She's still kicking at 80 years old.

[Christian Miller]

Well, it turns out some chilled out ECM jazz is perfect for a nice leisurely base run, so I've been enjoying In Pas(s)ing today. It's striking just how much Mick anticipates the sound of contemporary jazz guitar that has become standard and given how he taught everyone I suppose it's really no surprise.

(sorry Jimmy Blue Note, this is the bit where I say what you've been saying for years as if I thought of this idea just now haha)

The compositional approach on In Pas(s)ing is very nice. I daresay I'll hear more as I get deeper into these recordings.

I notice tonally Mick's guitar sonically (well not just sonically) is very similar to Bright Size Life. Do I remember hearing Pat was unhappy with his tone on that record? Again I'm thinking there's something of an 'ECM jazz guitar tone' or house production style. I'm glad the approach to recording the bass has evolved somewhat though, its not immune to Gomez-syndrome (poor old Eddie, a fab bassist forever associated with a recorded tone he has no responsibility for lol.)

[kris]

New album of John Scofield will be interesting.

[maxsmith]

I notice tonally Mick's guitar sonically (well not just sonically) is very similar to Bright Size Life. Do I remember hearing Pat was unhappy with his tone on that record? Again I'm thinking there's something of an 'ECM jazz guitar tone' or house production style.

I think all the ‘70s/‘80s ECM guitarists got a big lush cavernous reverb whether that was a part of their usual sound or not. As you say, it was just part of the label’s house style. I love it. I heard Goodrick and Abercrombie and Metheny on ECM at a time when I thought pretty much all jazz guitar was fairly dark and dry. And in contrast to the fusion guys with their overdrive and rock oriented tones, a lot of the ECM guitar records had big beautiful clean tones, drenched in reverb. It was an attractive alternative.

[Litterick]

[Average Joe]

Abercrombie's Tactics

If we're talking ECM sans guitar, I'm going with the Dave Holland Quintet albums from around the turn of the century

[mr. beaumont]

A recent guitar on ECM record I love is Sco's "Swallow Tales."

[maxsmith]

I love Abercrombie’s organ trio records - not your stereotypical greasy chicken shack blues bash.

“Timeless” is still my favorite Jan Hammer performance (“Wired” with Jeff Beck is a close second).

Abercrombie's Tactics

If we're talking ECM sans guitar, I'm going with the Dave Holland Quintet albums from around the turn of the century

[Satishk]

chris potter what a player!

[Satishk]

A recent guitar on ECM record I love is Sco's "Swallow Tales."

yes good choice, i know it!

[st.bede]

As I kid, I would go to used record stores and randomly buy used jazz albums. I remember going with the bass for our garage band to the store. I picked up a Jeff Beck album Wired or Blow By Blow and asked him about it. He adamantly said I would love that one. He was correct. Other random albums I found was, Pat Metheny Bright Sized Life and Mick Goodricks In Pas(s)ing. I loved those albums. I would say from the first time till today, In Pas(s)ing would be a desert island type of album.