Thanks for the rec. I like ambient and textured stuff a lot, but I'd like to hear some ripping from him as well. I'll check out that one!
I discovered Northern Song (and Steve and Marc Andersen) back around when it came out and it's always been #1 for me, personally, when it comes to Steve Tibbetts. #2 is Safe Journey. I have a few of his other CDs on ECM from later in the 90's and while I enjoy them, nothing, for me, comes close to the space he created on Northern Song. And especially given the technology he used, I mean his brilliant use of tape loops! No one could ever do what he did then nowadays, regardless of the technology--the natural, analogue, organic, ambient sound he got on NS, he just owned it. Safe Journey is as good as Northern Song but it's just different; but the logical progression from NS seemed obvious to me at the time. I gotta say though, this video is so incredibly enjoyable to watch and listen to. Steve is indeed a full blown electric guitarist with all of the idiomatic skills on the Strat just like on his acoustics. His attention to sonic detail is mesmerizing and these guys were not phoning it in on Test. I had no idea they were so good live, and this session, which must be from the mid-80's? sounds as fresh as anything.
Bill Frisell/Thomas Morgan - Epistrophy (2019) ECM 2626, HiRes 24/96 this inevitably led me to revisit this one yesterday... Bill Frisell/Thomas Morgan - Small Town (2017) ECM 2525, HiRes 24/96 both albums recorded during the same live sessions at the Village Vanguard in March 2016, so no big surprises on the latest album "Epistrophy". It became a diptych, both albums heightens each other in meaning. Beautiful stuff, plain and simple. Nice choice of catalogue numbers, too. Makes me wonder what ECM 2727 is gonna be.
My copy of Larry Grenadier’s The Gleaners arrived today. What a sweet release, full of depth and longing. Highly recommended.
Today I received a copy of a German pressing of Collin Walcott's Cloud Dance. I've had the U.S. pressing for decades. Wow, it really illustrates – as good as the U.S. pressings can be – how much better the German pressings sound. It's like a veil was lifted and a compression filter disengaged.
The next set of "Touchstones" re-issues, out in May (some great albums here) 1024 Gary Burton / Chick Corea: Crystal Silence 1030 Gary Burton: The New Quartet 1032 Ralph Towner: Diary 1038 Country / Jan Garbarek: Red Lanta 1041 Jan Garbarek / Bobo Stenson: Witchi-Tai-To 1043 Bennie Maupin: The Jewel in the Lotus 1044 Julian Priest: Love, Love 1048 Paul Motian: Tribute 1052 Steve Kuhn: Trance 1120 Bill Connors: Mist & Melting 1128 Jack DeJohnette: New Directions 1160 Steve Swallow: Home 1193 John Surman: The Amazing Adventures ... 1230 Don Cherry / Ed Blackwell: El Corazon 1242 Miroslav Vitous: Journey's End 1339 Edward Vesala: Lumi 1352 Gary Peacock: Guamba 1373 Dave Holland Trio: Triplicate 1390 John Abercrombie / Marc Johnson / Peter Erskine 1464 David Darling: Cello 1577 Keith Jarrett: The Blue Note, 3rd CD 1744 Trygve Seim: Different Rivers 1752 Arild Andersen: The Triangle 1760 Enrico Rava: Easy Living 1906 Susanne Abbuehl: Compass
Are the ones that were originally analog getting AAA vinyl releases? That would go up to 1193 in this list (not sure about the 12xx titles).
Don't think so. The last batch of 25 were straight re-issues of the previous CDs (in cardboard mini-LP sleeves). No vinyl or high res. It's been a while since ECM re-released some classic titles on vinyl. Not sure why.
I don't even buy CDs, nor do I have a player connected to my stereo. If anything I rip them on my Mac Mini and serve the rips using Roon. It would be nice if these showed up in 24-bit on Qobuz.
Two of my favourites on there in the sublime Trance and the equally good Love, Love, and I've always really fancied getting the Bennie Maupin
Miroslav Vitous - First Meeting (1980) ECM 1145, recorded May 1979 with John Surman, Kenny Kirkland, Jon Christensen
I love this album, which I found in a beautifully disorganized record store in Seattle (one where you don't look for something specific, but randomly find things you didn't realize you needed...). Paul McCandless on winds, Dave Samuels-vibes, David Darling-cello, Ratzo Harris-bass, and the great Michael DePasqua on drums. Very understated, and with Eicher having a writing credit on one of the tracks!
Can you please say what the album is? The picture is too low res and your post doesn't indicate it either.
It's the s/t album by the group Gallery. One trivia note about this album: Michael Di Pasqua is wearing a Subway (the fast food sandwich chain) t-shirt in the back cover band photo. He was involved in running Subway along with others from his family.
Sorry about that! It's a self-titled album by Gallery. I think it's the only release by this particular group of musicians. It was released in 1982, and the catalog number is ECM-1-1206.
Yes! I love it. I think it's even better than Silent Light. "Mixed Blessing" is a masterpiece. To be honest, I was concerned about how the bandoneon was going to fit, but it really works; I'm even getting some vague (likely coincidental) whiffs of Penguin Cafe on some tunes! Only one I'm not crazy about is the title track - those drums!
I don't remember hearing of Subway until the 90's, but looking it up on Wiki, yes, it dates back to the late 60's.
Just grabbed a used vinyl copy of Julian Priester "love love". Gonna take it home and use my special cleaning regimen- mostly shoe polish (just kidding!!) and give her a spin. Never heard this one before but I know it's celebrated by certain folks so I'm excited to hear it. Happy weekend ECM fans!