Back catalogue: Jazz

Review: Canadian jazz pianist and composer Paul Bley dropped this solo album in 197 on ECM, a year after he originally recorded it on September 11, 1972. It remains a landmark in ECM's solo piano legacy following Chick Corea's Piano Improvisations and Keith Jarrett's Facing You for the way it weaves a deeply expressive narrative and includes compositions by Carla Bley and Annette Peacock as well as Bley's own innovative reinterpretations of jazz standards. Tracks like 'Harlem' and 'Started' deconstruct familiar melodies into dreamlike abstractions and offer a new approach to free balladry. As biographer Greg Buium notes, the album remains "an imperishable gem."

Review: Solo Arabian nocturnes for oud return to haunt us on Tunisian-born musician Anouar Brahem's latest full-length project, backed by stellarly moving counterpoints for cello, piano and bass. Beginning with Arab traditional music as a start-point, Brahem has, over the course of his career, slowly verged into the domains of contemporary classical and jazz. Fusing tradition and modernity, his compositions have a chiffon feel, creaseless and impeccably recorded, yet they also stomach a certain chronicity and locale, indulging harmonic modes and inherited composition techniques.

Review: Recorded in 2014 but only now seeing the light of day, this long-shelved session unites an exceptional ensemble, including the legendary American jazz alto saxophonist and composer Lee Konitz, the ever-explorative guitarist Bill Frisell, pianist Jason Moran, bassist Thomas Morgan and the rhythmic backbone of drummer Andrew Cyrille. Together, they create a meditative yet dynamic set, balancing composed frameworks with fluid improvisation. The album unfolds with 'Black is All Colors at Once' , where Moran's delicate piano textures meet Bro's shimmering guitar, setting the stage for Konitz's gracefully introspective saxophone lines. Konitz, still remarkably inventive at 86, takes a rare turn on soprano sax for Haiti, a lilting, playful piece that gently sways with a hypnotic ease. 'Milford Sound' honors the avant-garde drumming pioneer Milford Graves with a free-flowing elegance, while 'Pearl River' ventures into abstraction, as Bro and Frisell intertwine their guitars into a rich harmonic fabric. One of the album's finest moments comes with 'Mar Del Plata', a wistful, sax-free waltz that echoes Frisell's most poignant work. Throughout the set, restraint and atmosphere take precedence, with every note serving the ensemble's delicate interplay rather than sheer technical display. Taking Turns is a luminous addition to Bro's catalog, revealing new depths with each listen. Thoughtful, spacious and beautifully realised, it stands as a quietly stunning moment in modern jazz.

Review: Freigeweht was originally released in 1981 and marked the debut of Rainer Bruninghaus, the already legendary keyboardist from Eberhard Weber's Colours and the Jan Garbarek Group. He teamed with ECM luminaries Kenny Wheeler on flugelhorn, Jon Christensen on drums and Brynjar Hoff on oboe for this project whose leader was hailed by the press at the time as "the most imaginative musician to employ minimal art in jazz" by blending influences like Steve Reich into playfully evolving constructs rather than rigid ideology. Wheeler's and Hoff's contemplative tones enhance Bruninghaus's lyrical themes here and all are driven by Christensen's dynamic propulsion. A truly evocative classic.

Review: The second album from Vijay Iyer and Wadada Leo Smith on ECM is a meditation on resilience, sorrow and the human condition. Across four expansive tracks on Defiant Life, Iyer's piano and Fender Rhodes intertwine with Smith's haunting trumpet to create a soundscape that's both urgent and serene. From the solemn depth of 'Sumud' to the shimmering melancholy of 'Floating River Requiem' and the radiant close of 'Procession: Defiant Life' notions of suffering, resistance and hope are explored. The record was recorded in Lugano and produced by Manfred Eicher. It's a deeply reflective work of emotional and spiritual resonance.