ECM is now streaming

[Steve F.]

When such a huge swath of culturally prominent music is compromised, one could easily be fooled into thinking that's just what Spotify, Tidal and Qobuz sound like.
.

When such a huge swath of recorded music is available through these services, one could easily be fooled into thinking that recorded music just has no value what-so-fucking-ever.

Oh. Sorry. Not fooled.

[pb2015]

Me too. That's why I was surprised that the whole ECM catalog got the treatment.

I think the digitized files were not newly created when they went live on Spotify a week or two ago. I accessed them a few months ago through another app called Hoopla Digital.

[Kcrimso]

No one who gives a fuck about fidelity is listening to ECM on Spotify. They are listening to ECM on Spotify because it's free.

Well... I am paying for the Spotify and would gladly pay more because it is tremendous service. And yes I have invested also quite a lot of money to audio-equipment.

And before I am getting some ridiculous moral lesson let's also add that I buy more than 100 CD:s per year. Many of those from Cuneiform. I also support the musicians by attending 15-20 gigs (big and small) a year. So yeah what a bad listeners we Spotify people are!

[Steve F.]

Well... I am paying for the Spotify and would gladly pay more because it is tremendous service. And yes I have invested also quite a lot of money to audio-equipment.

And before I am getting some ridiculous moral lesson let's also add that I buy more than 100 CD:s per year. Many of those from Cuneiform. I also support the musicians by attending 15-20 gigs (big and small) a year. So yeah what a bad listeners we Spotify people are!

I'm not giving anyone a moral lesson about anything. I am making an observation about who uses Spotify and how.

You don't have to defend your use of Spotify; It is legal. You might gladly pay more, but $9.99 is what it is and very little of that money goes to anyone other than Spotify itself and the three major labels. Those are the facts. Period. If my saying so offends you, I don't care, because those are the facts.

I am expressing my personal opinion, backed by statistical fact, that for 90-95% of Spotify's listeners, Spotify is it. There are no further purchases made. The music purchase is Spotify. And paying $9.99 a month is about as close to free as it comes. IMO.

Since you are not that percentage and you buy CDs, you can sample on Spotify and if you like the music, you can buy the CD without the 'watermarking' noise that Underground Railroad was referring to and that I was specifically commenting on (nothing else - just about that noise).

You're the person who decided to make my comment about the watermarking noise specifically be about Spotify in general.

[Scrotum Scissor]

I am expressing my personal opinion, backed by statistical fact, that for 90-95% of Spotify's listeners, Spotify is it. There are no further purchases made. The music purchase is Spotify.

True - and horribly sad. And it qualifies way beyond the former factor of music as some kind of casual commodity apparently expected to be accessed (more or less) for free; there are youngsters out there who actually believe that for music to exist at all, it's by definition to be had through Spotify. If it isn't there, it's essentially nowhere. And this is only one backside to the wonders of the digital media revolution - the mental cloth of "what I see is what there is".

[Poisoned Youth]

If we could get back on topic and move any Spotify discussion to those threads, that would be helpful. ECM sent this email to newsletter subscribers, so there are many services where one can hear the ECM catalog now.

Dear friends of ECM,

Over the past week ECM begun the process of entering streaming, and from today, the full ECM catalogue is available to subscribers to services including Apple Music, Amazon.com, Spotify, Deezer, TIDAL and Qobuz.

Listen now: http://bit.ly/2iog1A2

Read the ECM press release here: http://bit.ly/2ARmxH7

Best wishes,
ECM Records

[Poisoned Youth]

anyone care to list their 10 ten?

Like other fans of the label, you can't really name a top 10 without leaving others out. But here are some of my 10+ favorites:

Terje Rypdal - Odyssey
Kenny Wheeler - Gnu High
Eberhard Weber - The Colours of Chloe
Abercrombie/Holland/DeJohnette - Gateway
Paul Bley - Fragments
Rainer Bruninghaus - Freigeweht
Jack DeJohnette - Untitled
Dave Holland Big Band - What Goes Around
Dave Liebman - Lookout Farm
Pat Metheny - Bright Size Life
Steve Tibbetts - Yr
Ralph Towner - Solstice
Nik Bartsch - Stoa

[alanterrill]

Sadly they haven't put Michael Mantler and Carla Bley's album 13 and 3/4 up. Its never been released on CD and I still like this album, or at least the 3/4 side.

[Mister Triscuits]

Sadly they haven't put Michael Mantler and Carla Bley's album 13 and 3/4 up. Its never been released on CD and I still like this album, or at least the 3/4 side.

Well, that's a Watt, not an actual ECM. If that makes a difference. But they are fudging about the "full ECM catalogue" being available. It looks like stuff that has never been made available in digital form is still not available. First thing I looked for was Wolfgang Dauner's Output.

[pb2015]

Jack DeJohnette - Untitled

Great record. Unfortunately not currently available digitally. Maybe they could do a box of Jack's mid 70's records like they have for some of the other bands like Abercrombie's quartet.

[walt]

...anyone care to list their 10 ten?
l

Sure.

Jimmy Giuffre 3-1961
Dave Holland-Conference Of The Birds
Terje Rypdal-Odyssey
Charlie Haden-Ballad Of The Fallen
Jan Garbarek-Afric Pepperbird
Arvo Part-Tabula Rasa
Steve Reich-Music For 18 Musicians
Alex Cline-The Lamp And The Star
Federico Mompou-Musica Callada-Herbert Henck-piano
Dino Saluzzi-Kultrum
Dino Saluzzi-Andina.....etc....

[Facelift]

No one who gives a fuck about fidelity is listening to ECM on Spotify. They are listening to ECM on Spotify because it's free.

Very true.

Although, in the case of some albums (solo instruments like Keith Jarrett, for example) there is no audible difference in sound quality.

[Mascodagama]

Dave Holland-Conference Of The Birds

Damn, I can’t believe I didn’t remember that one for my list. One of my fave albums in any genre.

[Poisoned Youth]

Great record. Unfortunately not currently available digitally. Maybe they could do a box of Jack's mid 70's records like they have for some of the other bands like Abercrombie's quartet.

Yes. I have been speculating something similar for the last few years, with these three:

Untitled (ECM, 1976)
Pictures (ECM, 1976)
New Rags (ECM, 1977)

or perhaps these 5:
New Directions (ECM, 1978)
New Directions in Europe (ECM, 1980)

[Dave (in MA)]

Very true.

Although, in the case of some albums (solo instruments like Keith Jarrett, for example) there is no audible difference in sound quality.

I would have expected solo piano music to reveal sonic deficiencies more than ensemble pieces.

[N_Singh]

I find that what has fallen by the wayside in terms of listening are all the CDs that I ripped into iTunes, my entire collection, GBs terabytes full of stuff.

So I either listen using the physical media of my CD collection or streaming via Apple Music.

The stuff I buy on CD is the really great stuff at this point. How many more Duke Ellington albums do I need? I’m pretty sure I have a bigger duke Ellington collection of physical CDs then Apple Music does. In fact I can guarantee it. How much more Charles Mingus or John Coltrane is there left to release, other than radio broadcast of European concerts? ( this is one of the reasons that mosaic records is dying ). I have all that stuff already. I bought Miles Davis entire catalog three or four different times at this point.

All the famous Prog bands, I’ve been buying the surround remixes and box sets. Back catalog stuff, it’s pretty much diminishing returns.

I Find myself listening to Apple Music principally for the European classical music collections.

What CDs do I still buy? The really great stuff that still is missing from collection. I mean top shelf stuff. Today I just bought Jimmy Ramey’s 1983 steeplechase album, “the master“. You’re not going to find a better sounding electric guitar sound and tone than the Hofner Attila Zoeler guitar Jimmy plays on that record.

For me to buy a CD at this point it’s got to be really really good—— I have thousands of CDs already that are great records that I can listen to for a lifetime for inspiration. Most of the stuff out now is not even close to the level of the Jimmy Raney record I just mentioned . Ask John Mclaughlin about Jimmy Raney, he’ll rightfully admit that he is not to be considered in the same universe and sentence as Jimmy.

Anyway, The other revolution going on in music is smart speakers. Apple and Google apparently have the best ones that are going to be released soon. These are speakers with high-level computer chips on them that will kill the hi-fi industry and be perfect companions for streaming services. That’s just a fact, this is what is happening, not making a value judgment. I personally prefer to listen to stuff on cd and Blu Ray. Fidelity matters. But I’m like 1% of 1% of population in that regard.

[N_Singh]

Anyone mention my favorite, the Album Ali Khan Sahib did with Jan Garbarek in the early 90s??

[N_Singh]

And then my favorite record from 2015 Julia Hülsmann quartet and Theo Bleckmann “Kurt Weill in America”. You’ve never heard these standards played like this. Absolutely transcendent .

[Kcrimso]

You're the person who decided to make my comment about the watermarking noise specifically be about Spotify in general.

Nope. You made a point about us very bad people listening Spotify because it is "free". But whatever.

[walt]

This track from Dino Saluzzi's solo bandoneon cd,Andina(ECM), has been a long time favorite of mine and i want to share it.Hope you dig it.

[Mascodagama]

Interesting to see that we have a clear favourite amongst people who have given a list so far - Ralph Towner's Solstice. Which is indeed a really beautiful record.

[Kcrimso]

Here is some of my favorites:

Eberhard Weber : The Colours of Chloë (1974)
Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin: Live (2012)
Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin: Holon (2008)
Terje Rypdal: Odyssey (1975)
Arvo Pärt : Tabula Rasa (1984)
Nils Petter Molvaer : Khmer (1998)
Terje Rypdal, Miroslav Vitous, Jack DeJohnette: s/t
Miroslav Vitous: Universal Syncopations (2003)
Ralph Towner: Solstice (1975)
Michael Mantler : The Hapless Child And Other Inscrutable Stories (1976)

[walt]

I've loved Alex Cline's ECM album, The Lamp And The Star, for many years.I only recently found some clips from the cd.Instrumentation is,drums, cello, violin/viola, double bass,piano/organ,and female vox.I hope you like it.

[Facelift]

Favorites from the classic period:

Return to Forever - ST
Gary Burton - Hotel Hello
Dave Holland - Conference of Birds
Keith Jarrett - Solo Concerts
Keith Jarrett - Facing You
Keith Jarrett - Koln Concert
Terje Rypdal - Odyssey
Jan Garbarek - Triptykon
Jan Garbarek - Witchi Tai To
Julian Priester - Love Love
John Abercrombie - Timeless
Enrico Rava - Pilgrim and the Stars
Paul Motian - Tribute
Gateway
Kenny Wheeler - Gnu High
Eberhard Weber - Yellow Fields
Ralph Towner - Batik
Michael Mantler - More Movies
Steve Tibbetts - Yr
Art Ensemble of Chicago - Urban Bushmen

[NogbadTheBad]

Damn there's a lot to check out. Enjoying the NYT's essential 20 list right now.