Tributaries (Keith Jarrett)

Okay, I admit it. I'm terrified of the ECM jazz catalogue. I know I'm unworthy. It's such a beast (over a thousand albums in the archive). The (usually fantastic) arty sleeves give you no clue, the names of the artists are usually exotic (Arvo Part? Anouar Braheim?), and the names that are accessible (Keith Jarrett, Pat Methany) have released tons of albums and I have no idea which are the good ones without a guide (for instance - Roger gave me a copy of The Koln Concert and it's brilliant).

So when I came across a pile of ECM CDs in the local souq (market) I freaked out somewhat. For a starter it was so bizarre to find amongst the exotic spices, watches, fabrics and eateries a pile of jazz CDs from Germany!! I am managing to sift through them slowly but it's such uncharted water for me. I enlisted the internet and here's a list of someone's recommendations on Jazzcorner.com.

1. Dave Holland Big Band - What Goes Around (2002)
2. Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin - Stoa (2006)
3. Paul Motian - Garden of Eden (2006)
4. Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin - Holon (2008)
5. John Abercrombie - Cat 'n' Mouse (2002)
6. Louis Sclavis - Napoli's Walls (2003)
7. Dave Holland Quintet - Extended Play / Live at Birdland (2003)
8. Jacob Young - Sideways (2007)
9. Tomasz Stanko Quartet - Lontano (2006)
10. Cyminology - As Ney (2009)
11. Trio Beyond (DeJohnette, Goldings, Scofield) - Saudades (2006)
12. Wolfert Brederode - Currents (2008)
13. Terje Rypdal - Vossabrygg (2006)
14. John Abercrombie - The Third Quartet (2007)
15. Arve Henriksen - Cartography (2008)
16. Arild Andersen - Live at Belleville (2008)
17. Charles Lloyd - Hyperion With Higgins (2001)
18. Tord Gustavsen- Being There (2007)
19. Vladimír Godár - Mater (2006)
20. John Surman - Brewster's Rooster (2009)
21. Charles Lloyd - Rabo de Nube (2008)
22. Louis Sclavis - L'Imparfait des Langues (2007)
23. David Torn – Prezens (2007)
24. Arild Andersen Group - Electra (2005)
25. Tomasz Stanko - Suspended Night (2004)

Mojo recently did a Top 10 in their 'How to buy...' series - and that helped too. But I still feel overwhelmed by the ECM catalogue.

Here are a few clips of worthiness I found, using these sources as a guide.