10 not so famous albums of ECM from the 70’s I love like mad
- Julian Priester: Love, Love
- Edward Vesala: Nan Madol
- Mal Waldron: The Call
- Jan Garbarek: Sart
- Bennie Maupin: The Jewel In The Lotus
- Double Image: Dawn
- Bill Connors: Theme Of The Gaurdian
- Peter Rühmkorf: Kein Apolloprogramm für Lyrik
- Stanley Cowell: Illusion Suite
- Barre Phillips: Three Day Moon
With the exception of Stanley Cowell‘s little gem that I only heard once at a friend‘s cabin on Amrum, around 1975, each of these albums stayed with me from start on, as well aged vinyl, or, later, the cd version. For instance, no one can tell me the second album from Jan Garbarek was somehow popular. SART, for example, is an electrified killer album, influenced by some of these North Men experiencing „electric Miles“ in NYC, in his prime time (and prime time was all the time from 1969 til 1975), then transforming it into a spectacular Nordic Neon / Nordic Noir zone. Of course, AFRIC PEPPERBIRD was killer, too. By the way, Bennie Maupin’s THE JEWEL IN THE LOTUS, gets a well-deserved reissue in ECM‘s Luminessence series, later this year. (In spite the label’s history of cover designs, you can like this one with the lotus and the portrait for nostalgic reasons only.) Speaking of fusion, The Call is „tripped-out space jazz of the very highest order“ to quote a recent essay in Aquarium Drunkard on that nearly forgotten masterpiece. (This is is a list to make time fly by while waiting inside „Nudel Manufaktur“ for freshly made Fettuccine, and will probably disappear within hours or days.)
Ein Kommentar
flowworker
Peter Rühmkorf (1929-2008) was among the most influential postwar writers of his native Germany, winning every major literary prize for his prolific output of essays, poetry, plays, and prose. Yet despite having given spoken performances on stage with pianist Michael Naura and vibraphonist Wolfgang Schlüter for over three decades, his only appearances on record in such a configuration were captured via two rare ECM “SP” albums from the late seventies. I was beyond fortunate to be offered these two albums off the shelves while visiting label headquarters for the first time in Munich, and the die-hard fan will want to seek them out. Going beyond mere sound structure or program music, Rühmkorf was rather looking for something harmonious between the spheres of language and sound production, and on these long-out-of-printers I think got rather close to that ideal.
(Tyran Grillo)