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In depth gig review: ECM at 50: Jazz at Lincoln Center, Rose Theater, November 1, 2019

In 1969, the landscape of music was changing greatly-- Woodstock was a cultural force, the Beatles released Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the first Santana album ushered in a sort of Latin, jazz-rock hybrid, and Americans were reacting strongly to the senselessness of the Vietnam war. The culture was changing, Eastern religions became a fascination as were mind altering drugs which helped Westerners gain new perspectives into the universe. Jazz and improvised music as a whole were changing with the seismic shifts of Miles Davis' Bitches Brew and Emergency by the Tony Williams Lifetime, which preceded the groundbreaking Davis recording by several months. Jazz-rock, soulful Hammond organ based jazz, and free jazz had all carved their unique paths. That same year, a new label out of Germany founded by a trained classical bassist named Manfred Eicher, who also had worked at Deutsche Grammophon made waves on the scene. Edition of Contemporary Music, it's initials commonly mistaken for Eicher Creative Music, or European Classical Music, has arguably changed the face of boundary pushing music more than any other label over the past fifty years. ECM is known for a crystalline recording clarity, frequently found in classical music, a chamber music like focus, and a cinematic bent to albums, akin to film, one of Eicher's passions.

Contrary to popular belief, as journalist and ECM scholar John Kelman has noted, there is not really an “ECM sound”. Critics of the label have frequently cited the heavy reverberant quality of many recordings as being distant and icy-- rather it would be more appropriate to say that while there are traits and a certain aesthetic that contributes to the label's recordings, there are plenty such as Jan Garbarek's Afric Pepperbird that have a very present immediacy with a fairly dry sound. ECM helped establish through the recordings of Paul Bley, Chick Corea and especially Keith Jarrett, a new way of looking at solo piano, that has permanently changed the jazz landscape. ECM brought attention to an entire generation of post Wes Montgomery guitar innovators: Ralph Towner, John Abercrombie, Terje Rypdal, a then relatively unknown prodigy from Lee's Summit Missouri with wild, shoulder length hair and a winning smile named Pat Metheny, sound sculpturist David Torn and Bill Frisell. The label also helped expand on an approach to ride cymbal playing that blended the intricacy of bebop, with a straight eighth note feel that allowed the rhythm to somehow swing and float simultaneously popularized by Norwegian Jon Christensen and Jack DeJohnette. The label has also explored many cultures from Brazil, North Africa, and most recently Israel. And last but not least, the label set a new precedent with album art the same way Blue Note, Impulse and CTI had. Striking text only or covers with evocative landscape photos with uniform fonts are art pieces in themselves. The sometimes startling 5 seconds of silence that begins each CD, demands that the listener pay close attention to the music within.

On November 1st at Jazz At Lincoln Center's Rose Theater, in the first of two days in New York City, ECM celebrated it's past, present and future. The two and a half hour concert packed a dizzying array of ECM and ECM associate artists that provided a concise snapshot of everything that has made the label enduring. The evening's roster was studded with an impossible array of all stars and label newcomers: Egberto Gismonti, Ravi Coltrane, Larry Grenadier, Avishai Cohen, Enrico Rava, Bill Frisell, Joe Lovano, Shai Maestro, Nik Bartsch, Andrew Cyrille, Anja Lechner, Wadada Leo Smith, Meredith Monk, Vijay Iyer and Jack DeJohnette among others. Unlike some retrospective concerts which are quick summations of hits the musicians, allowed between one and three selections in specific configurations, used the pieces as launching pads for exploration, keeping with the label ethos. There were some notable absences, Pat Metheny, Terje Rypdal, Manfred Eicher himself who could not make the trip, the recently retired Jarrett, Jan Garbarek, and Gary Peacock to name but a few who had such a major impact, but those who were there, more than made up for it.

Egberto Gismonti, non pareil Brazilian pianist and guitarist who has been a major figure in Brazilian music and guitar, opened the concert on piano and seemingly fit an entire history of Brazilian music styles in relative brevity. Recent label signee, saxophone veteran Joe Lovano, pianist Marilyn Crispell, and drummer Carmen Castaldi who appeared on Trio Fascination earlier this year, gave a spirited rendition of “The Smiling Dog” that found Lovano's breathy, woody, impassioned tenor phrases framed by Crispell's tone clusters and jabs, Castaldi's spattering cymbals, rim clatters, and painterly snare and tom strokes building to a slow burn. The elongated interpretation added considerably more heat than the version that appeared on the recording. Vijay Iyer and Wadada Leo Smith built upon their fascinating and excellent duo album A Cosmic Rhythm Within Each Stroke by engaging in an enthralling duet blurring the line between new music and improvisation. Iyer probed with a variety of textures from acoustic piano and Fender Rhodes, grounded eighth note pulses freeing the legendary trumpeter, hunkered over in a near squat, bell in microphone to roam with signature legato lines, and carefully considered asides. Smith straightened from his bent position, and stood stock still with his horn, making the silence count as much as the notes, as Iyer continued to mine abstract shapes and textures, returning from Rhodes to piano. Smith reached for a golden Harmon mute on the floor, and utilized some amusing wah wah trumpet effects that traveled back to the earliest history of jazz trumpet through a thoroughly post modern prism.

Bill Frisell and Thomas Morgan reprised Paul Motian's “It Happened A Long Time Ago”, Frisell's trademark neck bending of notes veered them off into space as his solo contained much thoughtful meditations. Morgan's rich tone and backing brought to mind the sorely missed late Charlie Haden whose label contributions were immeasurable. Wadada and legendary drummer Andrew Cyrille joined them on stage for two tracks from Cyrille's Declaration of Musical Independence, and besides Smith's sparkling trumpet, and an incredibly attuned Frisell, Cyrille showed exactly why he has been one of the most important figures in jazz with his unmistable ability to color and orchestrate on the drums as if the cymbals and drums were a large canvas.

Over the past few years, ECM has had a huge Israeli contingent with important albums coming from Avishai Cohen, both in quartet and duo with pianist Yonathan Avishai. Though the duo just released the wonderful Playing The Room, the pair appeared as a quartet with bassist Barak Mori and drummer Ziv Ravitz, who replaced Nasheet Waits (playing later in the evening) for an aggressive, power packed “Shoot Me In The Leg”. Cohen's composition burst with the energy of New York jazz; it was the kind of performance that could only exist in the post Wynton Marsalis, Young Lions era. Cohen played with whalloping energy and purpose, occasionally pointing the bell of his horn into the piano to add extra reverberation and resonant qualities. Ravitz added further heat with well timed explosions.

As mentioned a bit earlier, ECM frequently draws the line between new music and improvisation. For those who may be curious reading this review unfamiliar with the term, new music refers to classical music composed by living, modern composers. Though the pieces can be composed in styles such as romantic, baroque or classical styles, very often new music challenges listeners pushing at the boundaries of form, instrumentation or what music is. Swiss pianist Nik Bartsch and his bands Ronin and Mobile specialize in a minimalist influenced form called ritual groove music. Bartsch carries on a tradition of minimalism at ECM most famously espoused by Steve Reich and (to an extent) Meredith Monk,. With Ronin or Mobile it is updated with grooves that attract newer listeners. There is a heavy African element to the intense, precise metronome like grooves, which change over time through the pianist's shouted verbal cues. Bartsch, coming to the stage dressed in all black, looking like a cross of a martial arts master with something out of The Matrix played a solo version for the first time of “Modul 5”. The concentrated performance captured the essence of his main band, nothing was missing. Craig Taborn also offered a spikier take on solo piano in the avant garde realm making for refreshing contrast.

Ravi Coltrane, Matthew Garrison and Jack DeJohnette took to the stage to close the concert's first half for a searing “Serpentine Fire”, the Earth, Wind and Fire classic the trio collective recorded on their 2016 In Movement. DeJohnette, who has been the most recorded drummer on ECM (first appearing with Keith Jarrett on Ruta And Daitya in 1971) has a synergy with Coltrane and Garrison that is magical. They can literally go anywhere with the level of trust and camaraderie, and they certain went everywhere on “Serpentine Fire”. Garrison bolstered the lengthy rubato introduction with Hendrixian distorted bass, fuzzed out leads traipsing atop looped backgrounds set for himself. DeJohnette, behind his slick camouflage finish Sonor kit, added a shower of well placed cymbal work, punctuating with loud crashes on his Sabian Encore model China, and crash cymbals. His patented rumbling tom free falls adding a beautiful tension underneath Garrison and Coltrane's sopranino saxophone. By the time the drummer entered into a groove, things moved from a slow burn to an ecstatic frenzy, DeJohnette engaging in his love of rock and funk with displaced brilliance, the tune brought Rose Theater to it's feet.

In the second half, Ethan Iverson and Mark Turner explored more of their chamber duo camaraderie found on Temporary Kings with Iverson proudly displaying his ECM shirt to the audience at tune's end. By far, as excellent as all the music was, the most touching of the music all evening was Meredith Monk's rendition of “Gotham Lullaby” first heard on her masterpiece Dolmen Music, her ECM debut from 1980. As a vocalist, performance artist, and new music composer, the soon to be 77 year old Monk is singular and has influenced a legion of vocalists who employ extended technique, including Bjork, and label mate Theo Bleckmann, a Meredith Monk Vocal Ensemble alumnus that appeared on two recordings. The poignancy of “Gotham Lullaby” was made all the more poignant when she dedicated the piece to the healing of the earth and when one considers the context of the piece. Understanding the context of Monk's pieces can greatly aid in appreciation and sparking the listeners imagination for their own mental images. The piece was originally written in 1979 for a stage adaptation of Fear and Loathing adapted by long time collaborator, Ping Chong titled Fear and Loathing in Gotham. Chong, one of the most important and influential figures in interdisciplinary performance, and one of the leaders in providing a forum for Asian American artists, based the non narrative play on a white officer tracking down an Asian serial killer. Though Monk has since revised some of the wordless syllables that appeared on the original recording, the warmth of her rich alto range had lost none of it's emotive power. Knowing the theme of the original play, her wild, intense, frightened ululations were even more chilling. Besides Anja Lechner, she represented the ECM New Series side of the label, focusing on groundbreaking works of classical and new music.

Ravi Coltrane returned to the stage donning tenor saxophone with Ralph Alessi on trumpet, Andy Milne on piano, Drew Gress on bass and Mark Ferber on drums for “Iram Issala” from Alessi's Imaginary Friends. This is a great quintet, and the rapport Alessi and Coltrane have dates to the latter's lone Blue Note recording Spirit Fiction in 2012 where the trumpeter appeared on several numbers. Their soaring perfect fourth based line at the end of the piece was magisterial as they became one. The piece shifted through several moods during the solos, and by the time they reached the unison phrase it was purely cathartic. To finish the evening, Joe Lovano returned with Enrico Rava who had flown in from Italy with pianist Giovanni Guidi, and the group was completed by Dezron Douglas, one of New York's bass A listers, and Nasheet Waits on drums. The band looked at “Interiors” and Lovano's “Fort Worth” heard on their dynamic new album Roma. Waits, who replaced Gerald Cleaver for the concert was a marvel on the hard swinging Ornette Coleman inspired Lovano composition. Rava brought a very interesting texture on flugelhorn, much different than Tom Harrell, who recorded an earlier version of the tune on Quartets: Live At The Village Vanguard in 1996. Rava and Lovano were quite playful in collective dialogue, and Waits unbreakable strength ride beat spurred them on. Giovanni Guidi as he does on Roma revealed himself as an improviser of remarkable depth, as the two pieces tapped into a blusier, hard swinging side of his musical personality. His Avec Les Temps from earlier this year showed a richer compositional voice and orchestrative acumen with tenor saxophone and guitar added to the ensemble.

With it's 50th Anniversary gala, ECM provided something of a rarity in the modern concert era. Very rarely do people get to see so many of the label's legends and stars in such a carefully organized event. ECM had presented festival nights as did CTI and Blue Note in the 70's, but a label concert package today is not often found. The November 1 concert was truly special. ECM showed just how enduring of a cultural institution it is, and how focused it is on bringing public attention to great musicians today. The label modus operandi, though it has released some fantastic archival releases and presented long out of print titles in high resolution digital for streaming, is mainly concentrated on the present. Manfred Eicher, as label founder, producer and visionary keeps moving forward providing an embarrassment of consistently excellent music. The ECM at 50 celebration was a way to honor the past, and present of a juggernaut in recorded music.

#ECM Records #jazz at lincoln center #new music #jazz #improvised music #bill frisell #Jack DeJohnette #meredith monk

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