My first ECM record was Pat Metheny's 80/81 back in the day. Since then I have enjoyed the music of very fine artists from John Abercrombie to Eberhard Weber. One of my favourite early ECM songs is Loft Dance off of Dave Liebman's Drum Ode.
By coincidence, I just found a used copy of that at my local shop, for only $6.99. I'll have to spin it.
Colin Valon Trio - Danse with bassist Patrice Moret and drummer Julian Sartorius . I'm a big fan of Sartorius and he doesn't disappoint here.
Barre Phillips - Call Me When You Get There (1984) ECM 1257 - recorded February 1983 at Tonstudio Bauer, Ludwigsburg One of the truly great solo bass albums on ECM, next to Dave Holland's "Emerald Tears" and Eberhard Weber's "Pendulum". A lot of "Reichian layers" on this... recommended for Steve Reich fans.
I can recommend artists, (Too many CD's /Albums and too little Time) , that are in constant rotation for me : Jan Garbarek, John Abercrombie/Quartet, Arve Henriksen, Terje Rypdal, Manu Katche, and ALWAYS Jon Hassell . Everyone, in my opinion, should own Jon Hassell 's "Last Night the Moon Came Dropping its Clothes in the Street "
Actually, that's a good idea... Jon Hassell - Last Night The Moon Came Dropping Its Clothes In The Street (2009) ECM 2077 - A2/B2/C2 FK (cut by Frank Kirschner at Celebrate Records)
I know this might be kind of hard to believe, but only recently have I listened to Ralph Towner. I have the cd he did with Abercrombie 5 years Later and I just recently received My Foolish Heart which I really enjoyed. What other albums would be recommended for Ralph Towner? Thanks.
If you really enjoy solo guitar albums, I'd recommend "Diary" (1974) and "Anthem" (2001) for starters. Imo, "Anthem" is an absolute masterpiece or to quote from an ECM review: "It is, quite simply, one of the finest solo guitar recordings to come out of ECM’s studios." (for further readings and to get an overview check this out: between sound and space: ECM Records and Beyond ). As you have already listened to "Five Years Later", I also warmly recommend the obvious: check out Abercrombie/Towner's first effort "Sargasso Sea" (1976). It's an undeniable ECM classic. A lot of people name this album as their first contact to either Towner or Abercrombie. Besides the "all guitar" albums, it depends what your preferences are regarding the line-up. To name a few: "Batik" (1978) with Eddie Gomez (bass) and Jack DeJohnette (drums), "Solstice" (1975) with Eberhard Weber, Jan Garbarek and Jon Christensen (also a stone cold classic but more saxophone dominated by Jan Garbarek), his collaborations with Gary Burton (vibraphone) are nice as well: "Matchbook" (1975) for example Well, I've listed almost every 70s album by now, but what really blew me away more lately was his album with trumpet player Paolo Fresu "Chiaroscuro" from 2009... Awesome! But in the end... you can't go wrong with Ralph Towner albums... your choice! Cheers.
^ Plenty of good recommendations above. I'd add Solstice: Sounds and Shadows. RT's new album My Foolish Heart, consisting of all solo material, is also very good.
Dans les arbres - Canopée (2012) ECM 2278 - recorded 2010/11 One of my favs of the last ten years. I could listen to it all day long, all night too. Kind of "electro-acoustic ambient" (if there is such a thing).
I picked up a Miroslav Vitous lp First Meeting with Kenny Kirkland, John Surman and Jon Christensen. I am looking forward to spinning this after I clean it. Speaker of Towner, I picked up two Oregon albums on the Vanguard label. They need cleaning too but they were only $4 and $5. A friend saw Towner in SF last week and enjoyed it though it was a short set and he didn't play 12-string. Well he is in his 70s, right?
Tonight I had a friend over and he played for me "Samurai Hee-Haw" from Marc Johnson's Bass Desires and I fell in love...I need to get this one!
Some of my favorites are, David Torn - Cloud About Mercury Terje Rypdal - Odyssey Terje Rypdal - Whenever I Seem to be Far Away Jan Garbarek - Sart Ralph Towner - Solstice Ralph Towner - Diary Barre Phillips - Journal Violone II Scott
