ECM titles for people who dislike the ECM sound

The first and only ECM title I own was purchased after becoming curious about its cover design and giving it a quick listen. I loved it immediately. As I later found out, it was one of the few ECM titles that sounds nothing like the ECM house sound. This was Keith Jarrett and Charlie Haden's Jasmine. The music was melodic, clear and the album was dynamic, with tracks of different character. The sound was dry and very intimate. I've now listened to this countless times immediately after waking up.

I really want to support the ECM label, I love their thoughtful packaging and design and the fact that they provide shelter for so many alternative artists that actually try to push music forward. However, I can't force myself into liking their house sound, which makes music sound distant, ethereal and relentlessly melancholic, across all artists.

Having said that, can you suggest ECM titles for people who dislike the ECM sound? I personally prefer guitar based groups, other than piano lead ones, but I don't really like the John Abercrombie's titles.

 

Pat Metheny Group, either Travels or First Circle.

 

Easy : AMM's It Had Been an Ordinary Enough Day in Pueblo, Colorado
And
The Music Improvisation Company (ie Derek Bailey, Evan Parker, Hugh Davies and Jamie Muir of later King Crimson fame), s/t.

Both are a far cry from ethereal and melancholic !

 

And the first PMG album and American Garage. Definitely Bright Size Life (probably my all-time favorite ECM title) and most other Methenys--80/81 and As Wichita Falls also come to mind.

Keith Jarrett Quartet Belonging and My Song and Jarrett's solo recordings esp. Staircase and Koln Concert.

The "classical" records like the Arvo Parts and Gorecki (one of, if not the, biggest seller ever for the label).

Chick Corea's records are great but pretty out there.

And many of the records from the beginning (early to mid-70s) were recorded before the ECM "sound" fully developed...

 

Me too, brother! One of my favorite records period.

 

I love nearly all of Pat's ECM work. Your recommendations are spot on.

 

Wolfgang Dauner's Output (1970) is fantastic. Not on cd, sadly.

 

EDIT :The Gorecki is actually on Nonesuch. A 4am brain fart...

 

Have you heard John Abercrombie's Timeless album? Jan Hammer and Jack DeJohnette are on it with him... great stuff

 

This topic is absurd.

Open your ears and your heart and mind will follow.

 

first ten that come to mind:

Dave Holland & Derek Bailey - Improvisations For Cello And Guitar
Marion Brown - Afternoon Of A Georgia Faun
Roscoe Mitchell - Far Side
The Music Improvisation Company
Evan Parker - Memory/Vision
Heiner Goebbels - Horstucke
Art Ensemble Of Chicago - Urban Bushmen
Lester Bowie - All The Magic!
Evan Parker - Drawn Inward
Heiner Goebbels - Der Mann Im Fahrstuhl

 

Try:

Tere Rypdal - Odyssey

Saudadeds - Trio Beyond
(Blistering live Tony Williams lifetime tribute with DeJonnette and Scofield)

Ralph Towner - Batik

Marc Johnson - Bass Desires

Keith Jarrett - Survivors Suite

Jan Garbarek - Witchi Tai To
(I know, Jan Garbarek, but this sounds more like a 60's blue note record than a icy reverb heavy Nordic one).

Charles Lloyd - Canto

 

I'll admit to a dislike of ECM's production and I've ignored most of its releases. I wouldn't be without these two early ones though:

Dave Holland - Conference of the Birds
Marion Brown - Afternoon of a Georgia Faun

 

Thank you guys for all the suggestions up to now.

I'm not really into Pat Metheny's guitar sound unfortunately.

I rarely enjoy albums with organ, but John Abercrombie's Timeless and Saudades from Trio Beyond seem very solid works that escaped the typical production from ECM.

However, from the ones mentioned, Charles Lloyd's Canto is the one that got my attention. That one also has Bobo Stenson on piano who also records as a leader for ECM. Check out his Bobo Stenson Trio works, just marvelous! Sounds like straight ahead jazz with just a few "wrong notes" (as an ex-girlfriend used to say) to give it an edge. Just what I was looking for! I've found this full concert on YouTube, live in a forest!



I've also found this analysis of someone's 40 favourite ECM recordings. It shows the covers and a small description listing the reasons why they are so special to the author. ECM: 40 favourites »

So, my own suggestion of a title for people who dislike the ECM sound is Cantando by Bobo Stenson Trio! It's a trio formation, which I love, it's still melodic with a bit of an edge and dissonance, the drummer is great with a very original style and the album has a little bit of everything in terms of moods.

 

Nik Bartsch/ Ronin

you can thank me later

 

Bobo Stenson appears on another title I mentioned above in Jan Garbarek - Witchi Tai To.

As you like the Bobo Stenson - Cantando release I would recommend the Marcin Wasilewski Trio releases Faitful and January. The same trio also played on a few Tomaz Stanko ECM releases as well.

 

Out of curiosity, what albums are considered to most exemplify the 'ECM sound'? I have a bunch of different titles on the label and they all sound quite different. The album covers on the other hand....

 

I’m confused — is what you’re saying you dislike as “the ECM sound” a musical style or a sonic signature?

I can understand not liking a lot of ECM’s most famous and best-selling albums because they’re “ethereal and relentlessly melancholic.” In fact, that’s a pretty good description of my all-time favorite ECM recording, Ralph Towner’s Solstice. But insofar as “the ECM sound” may be about the engineering, mixing, and mastering, I strongly disagree with your characterizations. Virtually every ECM album I’ve listened to sounds *great* — clear, distinct, highly dynamic, audiophile-grade stuff, with a lot of variation depending on what best serves the arrangements and instrumentation.. That includes some beautiful live recordings, too.

 

I'm a big fan of Bobo Stenson so I have all of his albums I think. Another pianist in a simlar vein is John Taylor.on the label. Rosslyn and Angel Of The Presence are reccomended. Also that Keith Jarrett/Charlie Haden album you like had a "sequel" released titled Last Dance. Both were recorded at Keith's house so that could be part of the reason it doesn't have that house sound of ECM. I will second that George Adams album also. Sam Rivers' Contrasts is another I would recommend. It is less edgy than his usual but it's not sterile sounding either.

I don't mind the house sound of ECM though I would agree that it is a bit sterile sounding. Like a particular instrument, that sound can help a particular album, i.e. some albums have an affinity to that sound imo. I couldn't listen to a steady diet of that house sound but like different foods or beverages, sometimes it hits the spot.

 

This ongoing stuff about the ECM sound continues to overgeneralize and conflate “sound” and musical styles. Calling ECM releases "sterile-sounding" strikes me as a fairly superficial and highly questionable impression.

I’d like to hear more examples of this perceived problem, and a clear account of whether it’s the sound of the recording or the musical performance that seems faulty.

I completely understand that a lot of people don’t dig ECM for various reasons, but this discussion is very blurry and non-specific so far. I will admit I think ECM is a fantastic and often visionary label that doesn’t deserve a lot of the casual guff it gets.

Here’s a comprehensive list of ECM releases, by the way.

 

Vijay Iyer - Break Stuff
Mark Turner Quartet - Lathe of Heaven
Sam Rivers - Contrasts
Steve Tibbetts -The Fall of Us All
Jack Dejohnette - Special Edition

 

I got into Tere Rypdal - Odyssey because of my love for Timeless by JA. If there is a "EMC" sound both these titles follow the tradition.

 

Certainly most Pat Metheny stuff is going to please you, I love Travels, 80/81 and Offramp

 

Well, here's one which I don't think is typical of ECM in sound OR style....