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Home , Afric Pepperbird, Arild Andersen, David Virelles, Gary Peacock, Jacob Young (musician), Jakob Bro

NOVEMBER 2019

ON THE COVER

26 ECM Records BART BABINSKI In Search of the Sublime BY JOSEF WOODARD Established in 1969, ECM Records has become one of the most respected labels in . In honor of the label’s milestone anniversary, DownBeat travels to to sit down with the head of the label, , for a discussion about his 50-year journey and his unique approach to recording. We also check in with numerous artists 26 who have recorded for ECM over the decades. Vijay Iyer (left) and producer Manfred Eicher during the FEATURES June 2014 recording sessions for the pianist’s trio album Break Stuff Cover collage, clockwise from upper-left: Charles Lloyd photo by Michael Jackson; by Hyou Vielz; by Richard Termine; cover art for the album Return To Forever; Jack DeJohnette by Tom 34 Crosscurrents Trio Copi; Vijay Iyer by Lynne Harty; by Hyou Vielz; box set package for The Art Ensemble Of Chicago Stylistic Convergence And Associated Ensembles; Enrico Rava by Eddy Westveer; by Jimmy Katz; by Michael BY THOMAS STAUDTER Drong; Tomasz Stanko by Andrzej Tyszko; Carla Bley by D.D. Rider; Manfred Eicher by Kaupo Kikkas. 38 Keb’ Mo’ Blues Progression BY BOB DOERSCHUK 42 Nubya Garcia Generous Collaborator BY JOHN MURPH

85 Fall/Winter 50 Ahmad Jamal 53 Ted Nash 59 Maria Chiara Argirò 60 Monty Alexander Festival Guide

DRUM SCHOOL DEPARTMENTS

63 Drum Sets of the Stars 76 Master Class 8 First Take 64 Matt Wilson: BY HENRY COLE 10 Chords & Discords Sound Awareness 68 : 78 Transcription 13 The Beat Making the Kit ‘Sing’ Jack DeJohnette Drum Solo C. ANDREW HOVAN 72 Kendrick Scott: 47 Reviews Instruments of Peace 80 Toolshed 106 Blindfold Test John Pizzarelli John Pizzarelli

6 DOWNBEAT NOVEMBER 2019 First Take BY BOBBY REED ©DANIELA YOHANNES/ECM RECORDS

Jack DeJohnette (left), and Keith Jarrett ECM’s Golden Anniversary THE PHRASE “VAST IN SCOPE” CERTAINLY mance by the Art Ensemble of Chicago, the applies to the ECM Records catalog. In celebra- groundbreaking collective that has a long histo- tion of the label’s 50th anniversary, we take an ry with ECM. Our Reviews section includes cri- in-depth look at a company that has released tiques of new albums on the label by trumpeter more than 1,600 albums. The huge ECM catalog Enrico Rava with saxophonist Joe Lovano; pia- includes jazz and classical music, as well as many nist Ethan Iverson’s quartet with trumpeter Tom works that defy easy categorization. Harrell; and a collaboration between trumpet- The Munich-based label Edition ofer and pianist Yonathan Avishai. Contemporary Music—widely known by its We also have a feature on the Crosscurrents acronym, ECM—has a devout following around Trio, which has a terrific new album on Edition the world. As longtime readers know, ECM is a Records titled Good Hope. Each member of the frequent winner in the Record Label category of group—bassist , tabla master the annual DownBeat Critics Poll, and the head and saxophonist Chris Potter— of the label, Manfred Eicher, is a perennial win- has recorded important works for ECM. ner of the Producer category in that poll. Our Fall/Winter Festival Guide has details Who, exactly, is Manfred Eicher? The prolif- on festivals around the world, including several ic and enigmatic producer was profiled in the that will feature tributes to ECM. 2009 documentary Sounds and Silence, which Play the game “Six Degrees of Separation gave many fans a glimpse of an artist whom they from Manfred Eicher” and you’ll wander into previously had known only as a name listed in some intriguing pathways. For example, Eicher the credits of hundreds of albums. DownBeat has worked with Paolo Fresu, who has recorded wanted to find out what drives Eicher. So, for our with Carla Bley, who frequently has collaborat- cover story, journalist Josef Woodard traveled ed with Steve Swallow, who has played duo con- thousands of miles and spent several months certs with Julian Lage, who has recorded with conducting interviews with Eicher and numer- Nels Cline, who is a member of Wilco. (This par- ous artists who have recorded for ECM. lor game could go on for hours.) The network of musicians who currently We hope our article on ECM provides you record for ECM—or who have worked with with a deeper understanding of Eicher’s aes- the label in the past—is quite extensive, as evi- thetic, and perhaps a greater appreciation for the denced by this issue of DownBeat. In our Drum breadth of the label’s cultural accomplishments. School section, we talk gear with Peter Erskine And we hope you’ll smile when you see the (whose credits appear repeatedly in the ECM old-school ECM T-shirt that DeJohnette is catalog), and we present a transcription of a Jack sporting in the 1976 photo in our cover collage. DeJohnette solo from one of the many brilliant (Details about this collage are on page 6.) ECM albums he has recorded in a trio with pia- If you’re anything like us, reading about nist Keith Jarrett and bassist Gary Peacock. ECM will inspire you to revisit a few of its land- In The Beat section, there’s a review of the mark albums—and to check out some of the Chicago Jazz Festival, which hosted a perfor- label’s new releases. The journey continues. DB

8 DOWNBEAT NOVEMBER NOVEMBER 2019 2019 By Josef Woodard | Photo by Bart Babinski

search for the heart of the ECM Records oper- Eicher hardly is chained to his desk. Moving between ation leads to a small, quiet space located on studios and coordinating recording sessions around A the second floor of a compound in an indus- the globe has made him inherently itinerant. In Peter trial section of Munich, . Here, in visionary Guyer and Norbert Wiedmer’s 2009 documentary, label head Manfred Eicher’s peaceable central office— Sounds and Silence: Travels with Manfred Eicher, the filled with audio equipment from different eras—the label head admits, “I like to travel. Music has no fixed producer and curator of the ECM aesthetic plots his abode.” company’s moves. At 50, the label thrives, releasing about 50 albums Nearby, the bustle of the Autobahn serves as a each year. And the catalog features a who’s who from reminder of an extant urbanity. But, aptly, a sitting the world of creative music: pianists Keith Jarrett, position in Eicher’s office affords a deceptively bucolic Chick Corea and Vijay Iyer; guitarists Pat Metheny, view of a canopy of trees that surrounds the building, John Abercrombie and Jakob Bro; bassists Charlie ECM’s home base since the 1970s. Part of what makes Haden, Dave Holland and ; vibra- the ECM story such an important one within jazz and phonist ; vocalist/composer Meredith classical circles is the label’s magical blend of timeless Monk; saxophonists Charles Lloyd and Jan Garbarek; introspection and contemporary sophistication. trumpeters Enrico Rava and Tomasz Stańko; and On many ECM albums, one hears the calm of the bands, such as Oregon and the Art Ensemble of trees alongside the thrush of the traffic. Chicago. Fifty years ago, Eicher co-founded Edition of In 1984, Eicher—who started his career as a classi- Contemporary Music, better known as ECM. The cally trained double bassist—launched the New Series, label has issued more than 1,600 titles and earned a a dedicated classical line, spotlighting such names as sterling reputation among fans, critics and concert Arvo Pärt, György Kurtág, and presenters the world over. During a conversation with . To date, Eicher has won three Grammy DownBeat, Eicher reflected on the past, present and awards, all for his production work on classical future of the imprint, which topped the Record Label recordings. category in the 2019 DownBeat Critics Poll. Eicher Eicher explained how he maintains a balance also topped the poll’s Producer category. between jazz and classical music. “One line deals with Stepping into the Eicher epicenter can evoke a sense music created primarily through improvisation,” he of reverence for those familiar with the producer’s said. “The other line starts from the carefully realized work: The space feels like a temple of deep listening. score. Both approaches are important to me—form Despite the appeal of such a personalized space, and freedom. I benefited from one and the other.”

26 DOWNBEAT NOVEMBER 2019 NOVEMBER 2019 DOWNBEAT 27 Manfred Eicher (foreground) with (standing), Pat Metheny and . ©DEBORAH FEINGOLD/ECM RECORDS

In Munich, Eicher invited DownBeat to a archives line the walls, and another area 1969, at Tonstudio Bauer in Ludwigsburg, West savory Italian dinner at a humble restaurant belongs to the design station for the label’s leg- Germany. It became the first ECM release, with close to his home near the Isar River. Also along endarily subtle and refined album cover graph- early partner Manfred Scheffner (who died in was Steve Lake, an ECM mainstay since the late ics, currently created by Sascha Kleis, in col- September at the age of 79) listed as producer. 1970s, who has had a variety of roles: writer, laboration with Eicher. (Previous designers ECM’s 50th anniversary has been celebrat- organizer, conceptualist and sometimes pro- include Barbara Wojirsch and Dieter Rehm.) ed at numerous festivals this year, including the ducer. The dinner discussion ranged from the In a rare touch of whimsy, the room also Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, Tennessee, the label’s history to Eicher’s rural upbringing in houses a female mannequin sporting an ornate Healdsburg Jazz Festival in California and the the German town Lindau, on Lake Constance, cap once owned by drummer-bandleader Paul Montreal Jazz Festival. near the Switzerland and Austria borders. That Motian (1931–2011), who recorded influential More celebrations are forthcoming. One formative setting partly could account for his ECM albums in a trio with guitarist will be at the Deutsches Jazzfestival Frankfurt taste for music that is earthy, open and folkloric. and saxophonist Joe Lovano. in Germany on Oct. 23–27. SFJAZZ in San Describing his ECM experience, Eicher “Paul was a good friend,” Eicher said, “and a Francisco will salute the label Oct. 24–27, with mused that, despite the international profile great musician whom I’d admired since Bill performances by 10 acts; Jazz at Lincoln Center afforded by various high-profile distribution Evans’ Village Vanguard recordings [1961]. in will present an ECM tribute Nov. deals, he has enjoyed remarkable artistic free- [1973] marked Paul’s debut as 1–2; The Jazz Festival will spotlight dom. “I’ve had great luck in being able to do a composer and leader. I’m glad to have encour- ECM Oct. 17–20 in Skopje, Macedonia; and what I want, without answering to anybody, aged him on that path.” Flagey will present the “ECM 50th Anniversary with no corporate boss in the back,” he said. On the office’s far end, ECM’s founding Weekend” Nov. 21–24 in Brussels, Belgium. “We’ve been able to keep it going all this time.” (and funding) partner Karl Egger’s health food Despite the numerous tributes, Eicher Lake added, “This is one of the great inde- and wine company LaSelva has a showroom admitted, “I’m not a celebration kind of guy. pendent labels.” combining its products with an ECM record We will do a few things [to mark the anniver- Whereas other record company headquar- store, with a small performance space attached. sary], but I mostly want to do the work, and just ters might flaunt a sense of flashy style, ECM’s The night before DownBeat’s visit, the ECM- let people [hear the music]. ... That’s the most Munich hub shuns extraneous frills. While aligned duo of cellist Anja Lechner and guitar- important thing.” leading a tour of the Munich offices, label pub- ist Pablo Márquez performed there. In a 1975 Saturday Review article, writer licist Christian Stolberg asserted that Eicher Egger, who ran the Elektro-Egger record Chris Albertson noted that Eicher’s “sensible “loves things functional, and that’s it. I think he store, played a key role in the label’s origin approach to jazz recording, perceptive ear, ven- wants to use the money for the productions and story, offering Eicher a seminal record-mak- turesome spirit, sensitivity, and stringent tech- not for show.” ing opportunity. The result: pianist Mal nical demands are widely appreciated now, but In one large room, cabinets with massive Waldron’s Free At Last, recorded on Nov. 24, they will be even more appreciated in years to

28 DOWNBEAT NOVEMBER 2019 come.” True enough. such frequently called-upon engineers Last January, the celebratory year as Jan Erik Kongshaug in , Grammy commenced with a two-night, ECM mini- winner James Farber in New York and fest, part of Manhattan’s Winter Jazzfest, others. “Together,” Eicher explained, “we at (Le) Poisson Rouge. The roster includ- worked on developing a sound, and an ed pianist , trumpeter Ralph appreciation of space and silence. We were Alessi, drummer and the looking for a sound that was transparent, duo of Iyer and Craig Taborn. detailed and lucid.” Eicher, who tends to eschew public Further along in the creative process, ©CLAIRE STEFANI/ECM RECORDS appearances, traveled to New York for the Eicher emphasizes the importance of occasion, which was sandwiched between sequencing and shaping the final program. two other important matters: He visit- “It’s like film editing,” he said, “telling a ed the rural New Jersey home of longtime story and giving a rhythm to a project.” friend Jarrett, whose health issues have An avid cineaste who co-directed the interrupted his music-making, and he 1992 filmHolozän and has worked with Producer Manfred Eicher (left) produced a recording session by trumpet- iconoclastic director Jean-Luc Godard, and classical violist Kim Kashkashian er Wadada Leo Smith. Eicher has also cited his admiration for Amid a busy Gotham weekend, Eicher French filmmaker Robert Bresson. sat down in the lobby of his Midtown Eicher’s reverence for storytelling hotel, over a pot of tea, and spoke about his helps explain why the album concept is adventures. still so important to him, regardless of the Regarding his perspective after 50 format. ECM finally joined the stream- years, Eicher offered a pithy assessment of ing revolution in November 2017, eas- For a jazz-centric record label to launch a classical the ECM manifesto, as such. “It is all about ing a once-firm disinclination to break series might seem like a stretch, but for ECM, the curiosity,” he said. “It began that way and I up an album’s continuity. “Young people 1984 birth of the New Series imprint seemed near- am still pursuing that. I am always search- don’t understand the power of the album,” ly inevitable. Classical elements long had been a ing for new sounds.” Eicher said ruefully, “which is too bad. An part of the ECM world: Its roster included gifted art- Soon after the 1969 Waldron record- album is like a film or a play, presented ists working in the realm of “new music,” and pro- ing, Eicher was drawn deeper into offi- in a certain way, with an overall sense of ducer and label head Manfred Eicher is a classically cially starting a label, though without any rhythm, dynamics and a story being told.” trained bassist. particular role models: “It was more a sim- Back in Munich, ECM’s export man- By the early 1980s, Eicher explained, “We had ple matter of following my musical inter- ager Heino Freiberg—part of the team for already recorded Steve Reich—such as Music For ests. This gradually led to what was per- 30 years—was in his office, laying out the 18 Musicians and Tehillim—and on ceived as the label’s ‘identity.’ But there chronology of ECM’s technology and plat- ECM. But I wanted to make records of scored music, wasn’t a grand plan. I just wanted to make form history, moving from vinyl to CDs, compared to the improvisational music of most of some recordings and had some ideas about and then, eventually, to digital streaming the ECM catalog. Very early, I discovered Arvo Pärt.” sound in mind.” on platforms like Spotify. The Estonian-born composer’s Tabula Rasa, featur- Acoustics and the recording process “ECM has been trend-setting in many ing pianist Keith Jarrett, became an immediate and have been central ECM concerns. Eicher’s fields,” Freiberg said, “but in this very spe- lasting success for the New Series. aesthetic involves a sonic landscape of cial case [of streaming], we followed a lit- Among the loftiest artists involved with the purity, the judicious use of silence and tle bit.” label is classical pianist Sir András Schiff, who said, an insistence on live tracking rather than The album format, Freiberg said, “My relationship with ECM and Manfred Eicher is excessive takes, overdubbing or other pro- “remains important—the order of how deeply satisfying. It’s a very lucky collaboration, duction trickery. you present the music, but also, from the in these distracted times. I would not like to work Eicher’s studio techniques and his very beginning, how to present it, graph- with any of the ‘big’ record companies.” malleable “producer” role entail the criti- ically. [Eicher] wanted to have nice pack- Since 1985, violist Kim Kashkashian has been a cal art of “attentive listening,” paying close aging and not any kind of short-mind- NH\ ƓJXUH LQ WKH VXFFHVV RI WKH 1HZ 6HULHV +HU attention to details and the structure of the ed artist photo or instrument. Manfred extensive discography includes Kurtág & Ligeti, a musical experience. introduced typography, photography and 2002 album that earned her a Grammy. “I believe in going with a plan,” he said, painting, and this was a way to consider According to Kashkashian, one of the distin- “but also being open to whatever might this as an artifact.” guishing characteristics of the New Series is that happen unexpectedly in the studio, in the One recent ECM “artifact” of note is it showcases both modern and historic repertoire. improvisational process. Sometimes, you the Iyer-Taborn duo’s The Transitory “Representing contemporary composition is an have to stop and start again, if it’s not com- Poems. The pair sat down with DownBeat important part of any interpretive musician’s role ing together or working. at ECM’s New York office the day after in the world,” she said. “It’s a bit like ‘telling the “Each project brings its own demands, their high-profile Winter Jazzfest con- news,’ instead of always living in a museum of such as whether to use a studio with iso- cert. They belong to a coterie of New York- older works.” lation for the musicians or to put them all based pianists, including Ethan Iverson She expressed a deep respect for Eicher’s in the same room, or whether to use a stu- and , who have become part intense focus on quality: “This work is his entire dio at all—compared to, say, a church, as of the ECM roster in the 21st century. life, and it takes most of his conscious thought, we have done many times with the New These two, though, aren’t tethered to aesthetic and spiritual drive. The library of music Series projects.” “a stylistic thing,” according to Taborn. UHŴHFWVWKLVXWWHUFRPPLWPHQWŐ ŋJosef Woodard Key sonic collaborators have included “It’s just very personal approaches, and I

NOVEMBER 2019 DOWNBEAT 29 ©ROBERTO MASOTTI/ECM RECORDS ©DEBORAH FEINGOLD/ECM RECORDS

Don Cherry with Eicher ©BART BABINSKI/ECM RECORDS

Clockwise, from lower left: Gary Peacock, (left), Eicher, David Virelles and Jack DeJohnette, Eicher and Keith Jarrett during the 2016 recording sessions for Virelles’ album Gnosis

think [Eicher] got excited by that.” Concert [1972] and Dave Holland’s Conference whatever he told me.” Iyer added, “It doesn’t feel like any one of us Of The Birds [1973]. ECM has done more to disseminate the is a marginal outlier. Actually, we’re all outliers, a “As a bassist, I played in 1970 with Leo Smith “Norwegian jazz” sound to other countries— group of nonconformists.” and Marion Brown in their Creative especially the United States—than any other As sidemen, Iyer and Taborn made their Improvisation Ensemble [documented by Theo label, beginning in the ’70s. ECM recording debuts with saxophonist and Kotulla in his filmSee the Music]. And I still “My choice of Norwegian musicians was Art Ensemble of Chicago co-founder Roscoe work with Wadada: Next year we’ll put out a new very selective,” Eicher said, citing saxophonist Jan Mitchell—Taborn on Nine To Get Ready (record- album by him.” Garbarek as a prime example. “The four players ed in 1997) and both pianists on Far Side (record- On the ECM-dense January weekend in of [Garbarek’s 1970 album] — ed in 2007). Their debuts as ECM leaders arrived New York, trumpeter , 40, spoke to Jan, [guitarist] , [bassist] Arild with Taborn’s 2011 solo album, Avenging Angel, DownBeat about his ECM path. Eick is one of the Andersen, [drummer] —had a and Iyer’s 2014 album Mutations. Both have most popular of ECM’s more recent Norwegian big influence on the music that followed. For a since released ECM albums in varied contexts contingent—a list that includes saxophonist long time, Oslo seemed a good place to record and idioms. , trumpeter and and develop ideas, because it was so far from the Iyer appreciates the label’s broad scope: keyboardist Christian Wallumrød. center of the jazz scene. And the studio became “Given the fact that [trumpeter] Lester Bowie’s After playing on guitarist ’s my home—Talent Studio, and then the first Avant Pop, [tabla player] Zakir Hussain’s album 2004 ECM album, Evening Falls, Eicher invit- Rainbow Studio, with Jan Erik Kongshaug.” Making Music, and [pianist] András Schiff play- ed the trumpeter to record his own work. Eick’s But if there is a flagship ECM artist, it is ing Bach exist under one umbrella, there’s noth- ECM debut, The Door, was released in 2008. Jarrett, whose first ECM title was the 1972 studio ing wrong with anything that we propose here. Working with Eicher was both exhilarating solo album Facing You. A few years later, Jarrett We have to keep reminding ourselves that this is and a bit nerve-racking. “He’s one of my idols,” recorded his most popular album—also ECM’s a vast spectrum of music.” Eick said. “I was trying not to think of the his- most celebrated title: The Köln Concert. The Iyer and Taborn’s connections to Mitchell tory that he has had his hands on, and all that he landmark solo piano improvisation opus was reinforce ECM’s many links to the Art Ensemble has meant to me. It took me a couple of albums to recorded on Jan. 24, 1975, at the Opera House in of Chicago and the Association for Advancement really relax. Maybe after we had a few glasses of Cologne, Germany. Today, it has sold millions of of Creative Musicians. Eicher noted, “We record- wine and went out and had dinner, and he came copies and appeared on many “Best Jazz Albums ed musicians from the AACM from the early and met my family, he became human. of All Time” lists. days of ECM onwards. Anthony Braxton plays “That was the biggest challenge for me, per- Jarrett’s ECM discography, upward of 70 on [saxophonist] Marion Brown’s Afternoon Of sonally, just to relax and to trust myself and my titles, chronicles his so-called “American” quar- A Georgia Faun [1970], the fourth ECM album, own opinions in the context of working with tet with Haden, Motian and saxophonist Dewey and would soon reappear on Circle’s Paris Manfred.” With a laugh, he added, “I would do Redman; his “European” quartet with Garbarek,

30 DOWNBEAT NOVEMBER 2019 Christensen and bassist ; While at the FIMAV festival in the Standards Trio with drummer Jack Victoriaville, Quebec, this year, where he DeJohnette and bassist Gary Peacock, as delivered a remarkable solo set, Phillips well as numerous solo works. Among his recounted the origins of End To End. A classical releases are works by Bach, such as seasoned solo bass concert performer with The Well-Tempered Clavier and Six Sonatas a handful of solo bass albums—including For Violin And Piano, a collaboration with his 1984 ECM album, Call Me When You Michelle Makarski. Get There—Phillips approached Eicher “It’s impossible to sum up in a few sen- about another solo venture. tences what Keith and his music have meant “For me, it would be some kind of full to me personally and to ECM as a label over circle,” Phillips said. “I started so many the decades,” Eicher said. “We have been things with Manfred in the ’70s. I called proud to present the full range of his music, him up and he said, ‘Yeah, I want to do it which is, by any definition, a unique body of tomorrow.’ That surprised me very much, work from a master of spontaneous inven- because he’s such a busy man. We made tion.” He added, “We have a great trust in the record. I made the music. He made the each other.” record. I have to be clear about that.” Early on, there were many bases of During July’s Festival in compatibility. “[Jarrett] was very much into , Bill Frisell, 68, sat in his hotel’s classical music,” Eicher said, “but also the lobby, in plain view of the adjacent music of Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan. Early Romsdal Fjord, recounting his history The cover art for —the 2016 ECM album on, I wrote a letter to Keith, before Facing with ECM. Early on, Frisell earned the featuring dynamic interplay among drummer Jack You. I was proposing he make a record with sobriquet “ECM house guitarist,” via side- DeJohnette, saxophonist Ravi Coltrane and bass- Jack DeJohnette and Gary Peacock.” man roles with Garbarek, Weber and oth- ist Matthew Garrison—is a photograph depicting For 1976’s Hymns/Spheres, Jarrett ers. He recorded three leader albums for brushed-on smudges of glue left by workers on a improvised on an organ at the Benedictine ECM in the 1980s before becoming frus- wall at an Edinburgh, Scotland, construction site. Abbey in Ottobeuren, Germany. Eicher trated with creative control issues, later The image was shot on a whim in 2015 by Korean worked the organ’s many stops: “He was recording for Nonesuch, Savoy and OKeh, photographer Woong Chul An as he passed the site. playing and telling me which stops to pull and recently signing with Blue Note. Only later, he commented in a recent text message, at which times.” Before a duo concert with bassist did he realize what he had captured: a “free-spirit- In a 1995 interview (with this writer), Thomas Morgan, Frisell recalled a fate- ed, unfettered, wild and totally improvised image.” Jarrett reflected on ECM’s role in his ful 1981 gig at Moldejazz with Arild But when Manfred Eicher, the producer and career: “The ability to find somebody who Andersen, which virtually marked the head of ECM, saw the image, he knew what he had: heard what I was doing and let the for- launch of his initial ECM chapter. Three DVKRWWKDWZRXOGUHŴHFWWKHLPSURYLVDWRU\VRXORI mat be determined by me, basically, was decades later, apart from appearances with In Movement, and he moved quickly to collect it. what I needed. So, if there wasn’t anyone Motian, Gavin Bryars, and “The photo was just waiting in the archive, not too like Manfred—in my case, that’s who there , the ECM/Frisell drought long, before it was used for Jack’s cover, after we was—I don’t know what would have hap- ended in 2017, when he and Morgan recorded the music in New York,” Eicher wrote in a pened otherwise. teamed up for duo album Small Town and recent email. The recording took place in October “On the one hand, the story might its 2019 follow-up, Epistrophy. 2015 and, the following May, the album was have been different and I might not have Frisell asserted that the catalyst for the released, adorned by the photo; both are sublimely been able to do what I’ve done. On the recent ECM reunion was New York-based textured expressions of free-spiritedness. other hand, I know how early I felt that I Sarah Humphries, head of the label’s U.S. An’s photo so powerfully evokes the music— was going to be doing something. I just operations, who was wowed by the duo while retaining an air of mystery—that one might wasn’t sure when. I knew that my work and determined to release it on the label. think a lengthy analysis had preceded its choice. would be of value. I don’t know if I ever “She’s like an angel,” Frisell effused, “a Not so, Eicher said. Nor is that the case generally would have found the outlet, so in that true, incredible mediator, in this world of regarding ECM’s half-century of cover art: “There is case, there would have been a horrible dif- men trying to be the tough guy. She’s the no guiding principle, beyond trying to make covers ference between the beginning that I did last person who would ever draw attention that we like. Intuition is paramount.” And where have and the nonbeginning that I might to herself.” does intuition lead him? “The idea is never to illus- have had.” Frisell, strongly influenced by ’70s trate (if possible), but to offer a layer that parallels One striking recent ECM release was ECM albums, yearns to correct a mis- or counter-points in some way.” veteran bassist Barre Phillips’ solo proj- conception, explaining, “I have trouble In addition to the evocative covers, much care is ect, End To End. (Interestingly, ECM also when people say ‘the ECM sound.’ There devoted to the packaging of ECM albums—a prime released Larry Grenadier’s solo bass album is something about just being in a big example being The Art Ensemble Of Chicago And The Gleaners on Feb. 15.) room and there’s space. To me, the ECM Associated Ensembles, a 2018 box set that houses Eicher noted, “I knew Barre already sound is also like Columbia records from 21 CDs and an elegant, 300-page booklet. before ECM began and admired his play- the early ’60s, or early records. ... For ECM’s visual elements, Eicher has main- ing. Hearing him together with Dave Or when Miles played one note and then tained the unity of vision that helped earn him sin- Holland inside an NDR Workshop project he waits for five minutes, then hits anoth- gular status among producers. Economic concerns led to [1971’s] and er one. Or Monk. It’s about waiting for a are not much of a factor: “The costs have never held a working relationship that extended over second [rather than] running your mouth us back from what we wanted to do.” —Phillip Lutz half a century.” off. It’s not ‘the ECM sound.’ It’s a sensibil-

NOVEMBER 2019 DOWNBEAT 31 ©LUC JENNEPIN/ECM RECORDS ©JEAN-PIERRE LARCHER/ECM RECORDS

Louis Sclavis has a long history with ECM Records.

Eicher with Arvo Pärt in Rouen, France

ity about space. Manfred is definitely sen- NMDS “ended up having to distribute The word “touchstone” dates back to the 15th cen- sitive to that. Manfred’s records.” She added, “In those tury, denoting a special black quartz used to test “When you’re on the same wavelength, days, I guess none of us had any money. the quality of gold alloys via the streaks left behind it’s so amazing to have [Eicher] in the stu- Manfred would sleep on our couch when on its surface. While the term has retained its met- dio, because it’s like his life is on the line. he was in New York. Everything was pret- aphorical use as a criterion by which the quality of When I’m playing, with every note, I feel ty relaxed.” something—in this case, music—is measured, it feels like my life is on the line. That’s where he’s Today, Bley’s WATT releases are part especially apt in the context of ECM Records. at. It’s that intense. You can’t say that about of the ECM catalog. Lately, she has opted ,Q(&0UHOHDVHGLWVƓUVWDOEXPLQWKH everybody. His commitment to it is really to focus on making music—away from Touchstones series. Numbering 40 in total, each about the music.” the music business aspect—releasing trio album was a world unto itself. It only feels appro- Backstage at July’s Montreal Jazz albums on ECM, proper, with Eicher priate that ECM should revisit the idea this year in Festival, Swedish pianist , as producer. (Her trio bandmates are celebration of half a century of creative operation 75, took time before a dazzling, poetic solo her life partner, bassist Steve Swallow, with a Touchstones series called “50 for the 50th.” concert to reflect on his long ECM connec- and saxophonist .) “We Like its predecessor, this new set provides tion, dating back to 1971. figure [Eicher has] got some kind of a opportunities for avid listeners to revisit old Of Eicher, Stenson, who has released magic formula,” she said, “and if we just friends and a platform for novices to discover new several trio albums on ECM, including shut up, he’ll do it for us. ... Manfred is ones. Label stalwarts, such as pianist Keith Jarrett 2018’s Contra La Indecisión, said: “I would absolutely sure of himself and sure of his and bassist , rest comfortably along- call him a real producer. He really wants reasoning. He knows how he feels about side such outliers as pianist Mike Nock. to be a part of the process and what is hap- something and he makes sure that’s One distinctive album in the set is David pening. His main thing is to get the cre- what he does.” Darling’s Cello (1992), which features the titular ative things out of the musicians. He might While ECM’s massive, diverse catalog instrument in both its acoustic and custom 8-string come running out into the studio saying, defies easy description, one recurring electric forms. Floating blissfully between jazz ‘Yeah, keep that. Go on.’ He is very much thread has been an inward, meditative and classical, Cello treats the border around either involved in every production. and even spiritual quality. In some cases, genre as permeable, as so many other artists under “Normally,” Stenson continued, “you the musical contexts have dealt direct- producer Manfred Eicher’s purview have. record for two days and then you make ly with liturgical music, religious tradi- Among those gleefully blurring genres is reed- the whole thing ready on the third day. tions and matters of spirituality, especial- ist Louis Sclavis, whose quintet effort Rouge is Everything should be ready by then. On ly in the music of Pärt, Bach and various included in the new Touchstones series. Released mixing day, [Eicher is] really busy with the treatments of Norwegian hymns—and LQLWZDVKLVƓUVWDOEXPIRU(&0 sound and also the order [of tracks in the Armenian hymns on pianist/vocalist “It was my doorway into this famous label,” program].” Areni Agbabian’s latest album, Bloom. Sclavis said, “and the beginning of a very long Another artist deeply connected to Is ECM, in ways implicit or otherwise, story. Over the years, it has become more and more ECM and Eicher is influential keyboard- an inherently more spiritually charged important for Manfred and I to work together. It’s ist-composer Carla Bley. A stubborn- enterprise than other record labels of note? vital for an artist to have a label that follows all your ly resourceful artist who launched her Eicher clarified, “It’s ‘spiritual’ in that iterations. In addition to helping me and so many own label, WATT, along with a model music addresses matters of the spirit— RWKHUDUWLVWVƓQGWKHLUPXVLFDOSDWKVUHFRUGLQJIRU DIY project, the New Music Distribution but it also addresses every other aspect of ECM has the added advantage of placing your music Service, Bley recently recalled her pre-DIY existence. The ‘mission’ is simply to release LQWRKDQGVDOODURXQGWKHZRUOG>(LFKHU@ƓJKWVWR days. “I remember asking Manfred, ‘Me music that matters, or what I think mat- keep [titles in print], so something you recorded 30 and Mike [Mantler] just made this album. ters. Music that has meaning for us and, years ago is still available. This means the world to Would you like to put it out on your label?’ we hope, for others.” me, as I consider every album I’ve done to be equal- He wrote back and said, ‘No.’ I remember A final, open-ended question: What’s ly important on a personal level.” —Tyran Grillo that,” she said with a chuckle. next? According to Bley, in the mid-’70s, “Tomorrow,” Eicher said. DB

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