The first ECM release produced by Manfred Scheffner was pianist
Mal Waldron's 1969 recording
Free at Last. The label went on to release recordings by many prominent jazz musicians, including
Paul Bley,
Jack DeJohnette,
Keith Jarrett,
Jan Garbarek,
Pat Metheny,
Gary Burton,
Chick Corea,
Charlie Haden,
John Abercrombie,
Dave Liebman,
Eberhard Weber,
Egberto Gismonti,
Dave Holland,
Terje Rypdal,
Stefano Bollani and
Ralph Towner. The label has also released recordings in the
world music genre by artists including
Steve Tibbetts,
Stephan Micus,
Codona,
Anouar Brahem,
L. Shankar,
Jon Hassell, and
Naná Vasconcelos. Manfred Eicher continues to take an active interest in the music released by ECM, acting as
producer of the vast majority of its recordings, although Steve Lake, Thomas Stoewsand, Robert Hurwitz, Lee Townsend, Hans Wendl and Sun Chung have also produced discs for the label. The typical ECM session is just three days: two days to record, one day to
mix. Many of the albums have been recorded with
Jan Erik Kongshaug (of Talent Studios and later Rainbow Studios) in Oslo, Norway, as sound engineer; other engineers have included Martin Wieland (who recorded Jarrett's "The Köln Concert"), James Farber, Stefano Amerio and, on classical recordings, Peter Laenger.
New Series and commemorative editions The
ECM New Series was created in 1984 to document Western classical works. It has released works by composers from the early (
Thomas Tallis,
Carlo Gesualdo,
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina) to the contemporary (
John Cage,
Elliott Carter,
Steve Reich and
John Adams). The series was initiated for
Arvo Pärt's record debut
Tabula Rasa, which Eicher recorded and produced in 1977, 1983, and 1984. Since then Pärt and Eicher have built a strong relationship: all works premiere on recordings for the label and all are done in presence of the composer. Keith Jarrett, better known as a jazz musician, contributed together with
Gidon Kremer amongst others to
Tabula Rasa. He later recorded several classical works by
Bach,
Mozart,
Shostakovich, and others for the series. The three albums
Music for 18 Musicians,
Octet/Music for a Large Ensemble/Violin Phase, and
Tehillim by Reich were recorded before 1984 (all with the composer performing) and were later moved to the classical department together with some by
Meredith Monk,
Thomas Demenga and
Harald Weiss. Several of John Adams' works from his minimalist period have been released through the label as well, including
Harmonium and
Harmonielehre. Over the years, many other works by contemporary composers such as
Valentyn Sylvestrov,
Tigran Mansurian,
Erkki-Sven Tüür,
Heinz Holliger,
Giya Kancheli,
György Kurtág, or
Heiner Goebbels as well as the soundtracks of several works by the filmmaker
Jean-Luc Godard have been issued on the
ECM New Series label. Interpreters who released records in classical genres include
Kim Kashkashian,
András Schiff,
Gidon Kremer, the
Hilliard Ensemble,
Thomas Zehetmair,
Carolin Widmann,
Till Fellner, Herbert Henck,
Alexei Lubimov,
András Keller,
Miklós Perényi,
John Holloway,
John Potter or most recently
Patricia Kopatchinskaja. On many releases, the orientations towards jazz and classical music of ECM are combined: For example, Garbarek's
Officium (1994) features him playing saxophone solos over the
Hilliard Ensemble singing
Gregorian chant, early
polyphony and
Renaissance works. Garbarek's work with guitarist Ralph Towner continued, and has been influenced by 20th century chamber music as much as by jazz-oriented material.
John Potter, formerly of the Hilliard Ensemble, recorded works by
John Dowland with jazz saxophonist
John Surman and others, and Surman's
Proverbs and Songs is a suite of choral settings of
Old Testament texts, recorded in
Salisbury Cathedral. The label has also released unique works that fit into no obvious genre at all (like the records of composer Meredith Monk). In 2002 and 2004, ECM released a series of compilation CDs titled
:rarum. Twenty of the label's artists were asked to compile a single CD of their work. (Garbarek's and Jarrett's compilations are double CDs.) Artists who contributed to this series are Keith Jarrett, Jan Garbarek, Chick Corea, Gary Burton, Bill Frisell, Art Ensemble of Chicago, Terje Rypdal, Bobo Stenson, Pat Metheny, Dave Holland, Egberto Gismonti, Jack DeJohnette, John Surman, John Abercrombie, Carla Bley, Paul Motian, Tomasz Stańko, Eberhard Weber, Arild Andersen, Jon Christensen. After working as a writer for
Melody Maker magazine, Steve Lake first joined the ECM-staff in 1978. While working predominantly for the writing department he now has also produced more than 40 records which are more in the experimental areas of jazz like ones of
Evan Parker,
Roscoe Mitchell,
Hal Russell,
Robin Williamson,
Joe Maneri or
Mat Maneri. Furthermore, he published the book
Horizons Touched: The Music of ECM (2007) with music critic/novelist
Paul Griffiths and made contributions to the books
Sleeves of Desire: a Cover Story (1996),
Windfall Light: The Visual Language of ECM (2010) and
ECM - A Cultural Archaeology (2012).
Recent developments in online distribution On November 14, 2017, ECM announced in a press release that its entire catalog would be made available for
streaming on all major music streaming platforms (Apple Music, Amazon, Spotify, Deezer, Tidal and Qobuz). Previously, ECM recordings had never been available for streaming, save for a few select compilations of major performers. In a press release on its website, ECM explained its decision: In recent years, ECM and the musicians have had to face unauthorized streaming of recordings via video sharing websites, plus piracy, bootlegs, and a proliferation of illegal download sites. It was important to make the catalogue accessible within a framework, where copyrights are respected. ECM further added that the physical recordings (CD & vinyl records) still constitute the "preferred mediums". == Exhibitions about ECM ==