ECM Press Releases for New Items

[GA Russell]

 

1.  Jean-Louis Matinier & Kevin Seddiki - Schumannsko 04:51         2.  Jean-Louis Matinier & Kevin Seddiki - Après la Pluie 03:37         3.  Jean-Louis Matinier & Kevin Seddiki - Les Berceaux 03:22         4.  Jean-Louis Matinier & Kevin Seddiki - Rêverie 03:19         5.  Jean-Louis Matinier & Kevin Seddiki - Miroirs 03:11         6.  Jean-Louis Matinier & Kevin Seddiki - Greensleeves 03:57         7.  Jean-Louis Matinier & Kevin Seddiki - Feux Follets 02:27         8.  Jean-Louis Matinier & Kevin Seddiki - Chanson d’Hélène 03:46         9.  Jean-Louis Matinier & Kevin Seddiki - In C 04:39         10.  Jean-Louis Matinier & Kevin Seddiki - Derivando 02:10         11.  Jean-Louis Matinier & Kevin Seddiki - Sous l’Horizon 04:13

ECM       Jean-Louis Matiner, Kevin Seddiki Rivages   Jean-Louis Matinier: accordion Kevin Seddiki: guitar   Release date: April 17, 2020 ECM 2617 B0032002-02  UPC: 6025 086 4800 7                                                            Accordionist Jean-Louis Matinier has long been a creative presence on ECM recordings, heard with the groups of Anouar Brahem (on Le pas du chat noir and Le voyage de Sahar), Louis Sclavis (Dans la nuit) and François Couturier (Nostalghia, Tarkovsky Quartet), as well as in duo with Marco Ambrosini (Inventio). Now comes the first documentation of a new endeavor, with guitarist Kevin Seddiki, whose far-reaching musical imagination matches Matinier’s own. Seddiki, who makes his ECM debut here, studied classical guitar with Pablo Márquez, and has also worked with many improvisers across the idioms - from jazz to transcultural projects. The range of music addressed on Rivages runs from Gabriel Fauré’s “Les Berceaux” to the traditional “Greensleeves” to compositions and improvisations by both of the protagonists.   The accordionist and guitarist first met almost a decade ago at France’s Royaumont Abbey, long a center for intercultural exchange and study. Jean-Louis Matinier was subsequently part of a group Kevin Seddiki assembled with percussionist Bijan Chemirani, vocalist Maria Simoglou and viola da gamba player Paolo Pandolfo. Later, Matinier and Seddiki performed in trio with Chemirani. “The more we played together the clearer it became that we had to go into a deeper musical conversation in duo, exploring sounds and colours and orchestral possibilities of our instruments.”   The concept they have since described as “chamber music open to the world” flowered naturally over the course of several years. Seddiki: “We would meet regularly to play, in France or in Germany. Taking time to work on the music. Bringing up ideas, and focussing on space, textures, balance.” In similar manner, the repertoire for Rivages came together gradually. “We might read through a piece for voice and piano, like ‘Les Berceaux’, or build up a composition around one rhythm and texture. ‘In C’ is an example of this.”   Seddiki’s approach to rhythm - and the sometimes percussive nature of his guitar work - has been influenced by his studies of the Iranian hand drum the tombak, or zarb, which he also plays in concert. An affinity for the breathing quality of instruments of the accordion family, meanwhile, is evident in his biography; early in his performing life, he accompanied bandoneon master Dino Saluzzi, and his first album as leader (Il Sentiero, 2012) featured Daniele Di Bonaventura.   With Matinier the rapport was instant: “We share really specific ideas about sound and rhythm.” The two musicians are able to exchange thoughts as they move through a very broad range of moods and idioms – the opening track on Rivages, for instance, draws upon both a Bulgarian traditional melody and a theme from Schumann - or take the plunge into total improvisation. On the present album, “Miroirs”, “Feux Follets” and the solo guitar piece “Derivando” are all improvisations, each with a strong feeling for form.   Kevin Seddiki: “It’s very rare, to meet at this place in between written music, improvised, older and new music...but with a lot of common vocabulary.”   Jean-Louis Matinier, who has worked in ensembles from small groups to orchestras, played as a member of France’s Orchestre National de Jazz, and accompanied Juliette Gréco on numerous tours, welcomes the challenges of the duo format, and his other duo partners have included Marco Ambrosini, Renaud Garcia-Fons and Michael Riessler. As he once said, the duo context “allows great freedom, an immediate reaction, a total dialogue, an appreciation of silence and of time.”   Rivages was recorded in April 2018 in the acoustically responsive Auditorio Stelio Molo RSI in Lugano and produced by Manfred Eicher.   The Matinier-Seddiki duo is on tour in the coming months. Dates include:   March 14       Mirror Concert Hall                           Bratislava, Slovakia March 17       Sargfabrik                                         Vienna, Austria   April 23          Studio l’Ermitage                             Paris, France April 25          Théatre de l’Alliance Française     Paris, France May 28           Green Hours Festival                      Bucharest, Romania May 29           Opus Jazz Club                                Bucharest, Romania May 30           TIFF                                                   Cluj-Napoca, Romania June 2-5         L’estive Scène Nationale                Foix, France June 7            Jazz Club Le Taquin                        Toulouse, France June 18          Jazz Club                                          Regensburg, Germany July 15-17      Festival Radio France                     Montpellier, France August 6-11   Festival de Saint-Céré                    Saint-Céré, France October 3       Rhino Jazz Festival                         St. Etienne, France

[GA Russell]

ECM

The release date for Rivages has been postponed to May 29th.

Jean-Louis Matinier and Kevin Seddiki - Rivages
release Date:  May 29, 2020

Jean-Louis Matinier: accordion; Kevin Seddiki: guitar

Accordionist Jean-Louis Matinier has long been a creative presence on ECM recordings, heard with the groups of Anouar Brahem (on Le pas du chat noir and Le voyage de Sahar), Louis Sclavis (Dans la nuit) and François Couturier (Nostalghia, Tarkovsky Quartet), as well as in duo with Marco Ambrosini (Inventio). Now comes the first documentation of a new endeavor, with guitarist Kevin Seddiki, whose far-reaching musical imagination matches Matinier's own. Sedikki, who makes his ECM debut here, studied classical guitar with Pablo Márquez and has also worked with many improvisers across the idioms, from jazz to transcultural projects. The range of music addressed on Rivages runs from the traditional "Greensleeves" to Gabriel Fauré's "Les Berceaux" to compositions and improvisations by both of the protagonists. Rivages was recorded at Lugano's Auditorio Stelio Molo Studio in April 2018, and produced by Manfred Eicher.

[GA Russell]

 

John Scofield Makes ECM Debut with Longtime Friend and Mentor Steve Swallow on Swallow Tales, Available June 5 via ECM   Listen Now to "Hullo Bolinas"   Guitarist John Scofield celebrates the music of his friend and mentor Steve Swallow in an outgoing and spirited recording, made in an afternoon in New York City in March 2019 – “old school” style as Scofield says, acknowledging that more than forty years of preparation led up to it. Scofield was a 20-year-old student at Berklee when he first met and played with bassist Swallow, and they have continued ever since, in many different contexts.    “I love these songs,” says Scofield of the selection of Swallow compositions explored here – a broad range including tunes that have become standards, as well as some lesser-known works. The rapport between Scofield and Swallow is evident in every moment. Scofield: “Sometimes when we play it’s like one big guitar, the bass part and my part together.”    Behind the drum kit, Bill Stewart is alert to all the implications of the interaction. “What Bill does is more than ‘playing the drums,’” Scofield says. “He’s a melodic voice in the music, playing counterpoint, and comping, while also swinging really hard.” The guitarist himself plays with fire and invention throughout: “These two giants bring out the best in me.”   Swallow’s compositions, Scofield notes, “make perfect vehicles for improvisation. The changes are always interesting – but not too interesting! They’re grounded in reality with cadences that make sense. They’re never just intellectual exercises, and they’re so melodic. They’re all songs, rather than ‘pieces.’ They could all be sung.”   Swallow Tales opens with “She Was Young,” a tune introduced on Steve Swallow’s ECM album Home in 1979, where it was indeed sung, by Sheila Jordan. A number of the tunes addressed here – including “Falling Grace,” “Portsmouth Figurations,” and “Eiderdown” – belonged to the 1960s repertoire of Gary Burton’s groups. Scofield, who had admired them from the outset, studied them with Burton and the composer in the early 1970s, by which point Swallow had made the transition from double bass to bass guitar, creating a new voice for himself on the electric instrument. When Scofield launched his own recording career, Swallow was in his trio (with Adam Nussbaum on drums). Touring widely the guitarist and the bassist fine-tuned their musical understanding, a process continued in many other configurations over the years. Scofield appeared on Steve’s XtraWatt album Swallow in 1991, for instance, and Swallow is on numerous Scofield recordings – including the recent Country For Old Men, which also featured Bill Stewart. A close associate since the early 1990s, drummer Stewart had played in Scofield's quartet with Joe Lovano, and gone on to join the guitarist in many journeys over varied musical terrain.   John Scofield has recorded for jazz labels including Impulse, Blue Note, Verve, Emarcy and Gramavision. ECM appearances to date have been infrequent but distinguished; they include two albums with Marc Johnson’s Bass Desires group – Bass Desires (recorded 1985) and Second Sight (1987) – in which the guitarist shared frontline duties with Bill Frisell. On Shades of Jade (2004), a third Marc Johnson album, Scofield is heard alongside frequent colleague Joe Lovano. The live double album Saudades (recorded in 2004), meanwhile, features Scofield as a member of Trio Beyond, alongside Jack DeJohnette and Larry Goldings, reassessing the songbook of Tony Williams’ Lifetime. Swallow Tales is the first of his ECM recordings to feature the guitarist as bandleader.   John Scofield on Swallow Tales: track-by-track   She Was Young One of Swallow's most beautiful tunes, originally set to a Robert Creeley poem. There’s a great long coda, where we really stretch.   Falling Grace Probably Steve's most famous tune and the form exemplifies Swallow’s preference for circular. Bill plays more straight eighths and Steve gives a great example of "broken time" bass playing that really cooks.   Portsmouth Figurations  I first heard this on Gary Burton’s classic Duster album when I was in high school. We free it up here on the guitar solo and go to some interesting places.   Awful Coffee Swallow originally wrote this as an up-tempo tune but I slowed it down for this performance and Steve likes it.   Eiderdown Swallow’s first composition! It’s been recorded often and it’s one of my favorite tunes to stretch out on. I think this version is particularly gritty and includes a great drum solo.   Hullo Bolinas Steve wrote this lovely, tricky waltz when he left NYC to live in Northern California as a young man. One of Steve’s prettiest songs.   Away A beautiful ballad that has a very short form and includes a written intro that is only played once. Very unusual.    In F Here Steve borrowed the harmony from Cole Porter and wrote a head that features drum breaks. Bill, as usual, leaps to the occasion and kicks butt.   Radio The harmony on this one is ridiculously hard to solo on but I’ve known it for 40 plus years so no excuses. This is another example of Steve’s “broken time” bass playing and Stewart sounds like he’s having fun breaking it up with him.   Watch the Teaser for "Hullo Bolinas"   John Scofield · Swallow Tales ECM · Release Date: June 5, 2020   For more information on John Scofield, please visit: JohnScofield.com | Facebook | Instagram       For the Preferred Artist      ‌ ‌ ‌   # # #

[GA Russell]

 

Jean-Louis Matinier accordion Kevin Seddiki guitar                                       Accordionist Jean-Louis Matinier has long been a creative presence on ECM recordings, heard on albums of Anouar Brahem, Louis Sclavis and François Couturier, as well as in duo with Marco Ambrosini. Now comes the first documentation of a new endeavour, with guitarist Kevin Seddiki, whose far-reaching musical imagination matches Matinier’s own.  Sedikki, who makes his ECM debut here, studied classical guitar with Pablo Márquez and has also worked with many improvisers across the idioms, from jazz to transcultural projects.  The range of music addressed on Rivages runs from the traditional “Greensleeves” to Gabriel Fauré’s “Les Berceaux” to compositions and improvisations by both of the protagonists.     [ PREORDER ] Avishai Cohen trumpet, effects, synthesizer Uzi Ramirez guitar Yonatan Albalak guitar, bass Aviv Cohen drums Ziv Ravitz drums, live sampling    “We’re all coming from jazz, but some of us left it earlier”, Avishai says, summing up the stylistic reach of his cohorts. “Everyone’s bringing in their backgrounds, and that becomes part of the sound of the band.”  Textures from electronica, ambient music and psychedelia are part of the blend, so too grooves and beats from rock, pop, trip-hop and more. A wide-open approach is also integral to the Vicious vision. [ BUY ] Wolfgang Muthspiel guitar Scott Colley double bass Brian Blade drums                                             Wolfgang Muthspiel, whom The New Yorker has called “a shining light” among today’s jazz guitarists, returns to the trio format with Angular Blues, the Austrian’s fourth ECM album as a leader, following two acclaimed quintet releases and his trio debut. Like Driftwood – the 2014 trio disc that JazzTimes dubbed “cinematic” and “haunting” – Angular Blues finds Muthspiel paired with longtime collaborator Brian Blade on drums; but instead of Larry Grenadier on bass, it’s Scott Colley, whose especially earthy sound helps give this trio its own dynamic. Muthspiel alternates between acoustic and electric guitar and, along with his characteristically melodic originals – including such highlights as the bucolic “Hüttengriffe” and pensive “Camino” – he essays the first standards of his ECM tenure (“Everything I Love” and “I’ll Remember April”), as well as his first-ever bebop rhythm-changes tune on record (“Ride”). Angular Blues also features a single guitar-only track, “Solo Kanon in 5/4,” with Muthspiel’s electronic delay imbuing the baroque-like rounds with a hypnotic glow.  [ BUY ] Carla Bley piano Andy Sheppard tenor & soprano saxophones Steve Swallow bass                                                  “Musical mastery of a rare order” is how The Telegraph recently described the unique, collective sound of Carla Bley’s long-standing trio. This striking album of three suites of new music begins with a stoical blues, at first melancholic then hopeful. The second piece is full of plenty of Bley’s dark wit, and the third explores the notion of call-and-response. Throughout, Carla’s distinctive piano is beautifully framed by Swallow’s eloquent, elegant bass guitar and Sheppard’s yearning saxes. [ BUY ] Oded Tzur tenor saxophone Nitai Hershkovits piano Petros Klampanis double bass Johnathan Blake drums                                                 This is the ECM debut of New York based, Tel Aviv born saxophonist Oded Tzur, a strikingly original player and musical storyteller. His graceful and fluid tenor sax sound has been influenced by studies with bansuri master Hariprasad Chaurasia, and the concept of raga is subtly embedded in his elegant compositions, played with verve and imagination by his outstanding Israeli-Greek-American jazz group. [ BUY ]  © *2020 ECM Records US, A Division of Verve Music Group. All rights reserved.

[GA Russell]

 

Marcin Wasilewski Trio Recruits Tenor Saxophonist Joe Lovano for Arctic Riff, Available June 26 via ECM   Listen Now to "Vashkar" from Arctic Riff   The first-time creative teaming of Poland’s Marcin Wasilewski Trio and US tenorist Joe Lovano brings forth special music of concentrated, deep feeling, in which lyricism and strength seem ideally balanced. The alliance plays tunes by Wasilewski and by Lovano, as well as Carla Bley’s classic “Vashkar,” plus collective improvisations with strong input from all four players. Produced by Manfred Eicher, Arctic Riff was recorded at Studios La Buissonne in the south of France in August 2019.   The album opens with Wasilewski’s rubato ballad “Glimmer of Hope” which, the composer explains, is “based mainly on one motive moving through some tonalities. I was very curious to hear how it would sound with Joe’s tone.” The piano gently prepares for the saxophone’s entry, and Lovano’s very first phrase – underpinned by Michal Miskiewicz’s soulful brushwork – establishes the sensitive atmosphere of intense listening that characterizes the session.    Carla Bley’s “Vashkar” follows, a tune interpreted in many different ways over the last half-century. Wasilewski, who first heard it on the album Footloose by the Paul Bley Trio with Steve Swallow and Pete LaRoca, finds new possibilities inside the world that Carla Bley's theme opens up: “I really like Carla’s compositions, and I wanted to play 'Vashkar'’s beautiful melody with Joe.” Lovano bears down authoritatively on that melody before the Polish trio unravel some of its implications. The tenorist had performed Carla Bley’s music as a member of her band in 1983 and, in 1986, with Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra, but the present recording marks a first encounter as player with “Vashkar.”    “Cadenza” is the first, and at nine minutes the longest, of the collective pieces shaped in the moment on Arctic Riff. “On each of our recordings we’ve tried to explore musical areas that we haven’t documented before. There was no preconceived plan at all for the improvised pieces, but just as we were concluding a musical statement together on ‘Cadenza,’ I had the feeling that it might be good to take it a little further. In that second, I heard Manfred saying through the headphones, ‘Marcin, please continue.’ That was a special moment, and helped to make the whole thing, spontaneously, a better piece of art.”   Wasilewski’s elegant ballad “Fading Sorrow” finds ways to keep the music fresh inside the song format. Slawomir Kurkiewicz’s bass feature here, soloing against Wasilewski's subtle chording and discreet drums, is a highlight. Kurkiewicz is also to the fore in the free piece “Arco” which, as its title implies, takes off from his bowed bass entry. “Free improvisation is a very rewarding experience based on mutual trust and openness,” says Kurkiewicz. “As a working trio we’ve played freely many times and It was so touching to see Joe jumping right in there with such directness and clarity. It is great to hear his voice in such a context.” Lovano’s strengths as a player include his enthusiastic capacity to embrace all the things that jazz has been, including its traditional, modern and experimental expressions.   Lovano's sly, jaunty tenor sets up “Stray Cat Walk,” soon joined on its nocturnal prowl by Kurkiewicz's bass and Miskiewicz’s drums. Miskiewicz: “The beauty of Joe’s melodies and his amazing rhythmical flow encourage you as a musician to be more creative and spontaneous.”   “L’amour fou” is a piece Wasilewski wrote to showcase Lovano’s skills in a fast tempo context; the working title was “Crazy for Lovo.” The tune’s author has a bright sparkling solo here, too, after which Lovano takes flight, buoyed by the spirited rhythm section, and Miskiewicz also has a brief, adroit solo.   “A Glimpse” is a kaleidoscopic free miniature of shifting focus, highly alert throughout. Miskiewicz: “From my point of view it's necessary to be deeply concentrated on each single note, and to predict somehow what may happen in the next second, few seconds or sometimes imagine the whole sequence.”   A second version of “Vashkar” grants more of the solo space to Lovano. Lovano: “’Vashkar’ is a beautiful, expressive piece of music. Each of the two versions has its own feeling, structure and exploration. I’m glad Manfred decided to include both takes. Carla’s music is inspired and inspiring – and I would say the same for the music we created on Arctic Riff.”   Lovano wrote “On the Other Side” for the session, “as a contrast to Marcin’s compositions.” It’s a swinging free flowing piece with a specific sequence of events to be followed: “The drums set up the theme which is a question-and-answer exchange between the tenor and drums and the piano trio. A piano and drums duo follows, then adding bass into a trio moment without piano. Piano then re-enters, leading to the final theme with embellishments. The outcome was just what I was hoping for. “   And, finally, there is Wasilewski's “Old Hat,” a moving ballad in classic jazz style, with tender solos from both Wasilewski and Lovano, its title referencing both the nostalgic flair of the piece and Joe’s penchant for vintage headgear.   * * *   The Wasilewski Trio’s members have been playing together since high school days in Koszalin, Poland; the present line-up was established in 1993. Marcin Wasilewski, Slawomir Kurkiewicz and Michal Miskiewicz first recorded for ECM as members of Tomasz Stanko’s quartet on the album Soul of Things in 2001, soon followed by Suspended Night and Lontano. Previous ECM albums in trio format are Trio (2004), January (2007), Faithful(2011), and Live (recorded 2016, released in 2018). For Spark of Life (2014), the trio was joined by Swedish saxophonist Joakim Milder. Wasilewski, Kurkiewicz and Miskiewicz also appear on Norwegian guitarist Jacob Young’s album Forever Young (2013).   Joe Lovano made his ECM debut in 1981 with Paul Motian’s Psalm. Further recordings with the Motian/Lovano/Frisell are It Should have Happened A Long Time Ago, I Have The Room Above Her, and Time And Time Again. Lovano has also recorded for ECM with John Abercrombie (Open Land, Within A Song), Marc Johnson (Shades of Jade, Swept Away), and Steve Kuhn (Mostly Coltrane). 2019 saw the release of two critically-acclaimed recordings with Lovano – Trio Tapestry, introducing Joe’s trio with Marilyn Crispell and Carmen Castaldi, and Roma, a live album with Enrico Rava, Giovanni Guidi, Dezron Douglas and Gerald Cleaver.   Marcin Wasilewski Trio feat. Joe Lovano · Arctic Riff ECM · Release Date: June 26, 2020   For more information on Marcin Wasilewski, please visit: MarcinWasilewskiTrio.com | Facebook        ‌ ‌ ‌   # # #

[danasgoodstuff]

'Arctic Riff', is this part of a new Truth in advertising campaign from ECM?

[GA Russell]

The Suspended Harp of Babel features revelatory performances of the choral music of Estonian composer Cyrillus Kreek (1889-1962). Kreek’s pieces, incorporating graceful settings of psalms and folk hymns, are juxtaposed here with instrumental fantasias and interludes created for this recording by Marco Ambrosini. Under the direction of Jaan-Eik Tulve, the Vox Clamantis choir - whose previous ECM recordings have addressed works of Arvo Pärt, Erkki-Sven Tüür and Helena Tulve as well as Gregorian chant- prove to be ideal interpreters of a music poised between old and new. The Suspended Harp of Babel was recorded in Tallinn’s Transfiguration Church in August 2018.

© *2018 ECM Records US, A Division of Verve Music Group. All rights reserved.