ECM's vinyl essence

In the 1990s into the 2000s, I had the pleasure of interviewing jazz drummer and composer Paul Motian for both Modern Drummer and DownBeat.

- BY KEN MICALLEF

Motian's playful yet cantankerous spirit shone through in both conversations. The first interview took place at the ECM Records offices in Midtown Manhattan. Motian was clutching The Harold Arlen Songbook, which he had just purchased at Colony Records, now sadly closed. The second interview, at a pizza joint next to the Village Vanguard, was a lively affair, with my friend the actor Ken Forman and guitarist Bill Frisell also in attendance.

Motian had no patience for fools, and if not for Ken and Bill, the second interview would likely have been a complete failure. They deftly reframed my pointed questions into broader topics, prompting Motian to speak not just as a great drummer but as a great artist.

In 2023, ECM Records launched Luminessence, a vinyl-reissue series aimed at recapturing the label's signature sound; Robert Baird wrote about its launch in the March 2024 Stereophile.¹ The ECM style combined the fiery energy of post-bop and avantgarde jazz with a spacious, wide-open, swinging sensibility. That unique blend of styles created an expansive and adventurous feel that is a hallmark of the ECM catalog, including such early Motian albums as Conception Vessel, Dance, Le Voyage, and Psalm.

Another ECM hallmark is the label's signature sound, established by ECM owner-producer Manfred Eicher and longtime engineer Jan Erik Kongshaug. Spaciousness, clarity, wide panning, warmth, and a fog-laden, mountain valley atmosphere gave the records a unique sonic signature.