It Takes Two to Tango… or the Magic of Musical Duets

If by any chance you read my recent ‘best of 2024’ post, you may have noticed, among the new musical releases, the inclusion of an album entitled Relations, attributed to Thomas Strønen, Craig Taborn, Chris Potter, Sinikka Langeland and Jorge Rossy. That would be a rather eccentric line-up for a group – a Norwegian percussionist, … Continue reading It Takes Two to Tango… or the Magic of Musical Duets

Happy 50th birthday, ECM!

‘In Munich I used to frequent a record shop where the owner liked jazz, and he gave me some money to make some recordings. It was all quite accidental, and I’d no idea about business or money. I’d worked as a production assistant with Deutsche Grammophon, and I’d already met, in New York, musicians like … Continue reading Happy 50th birthday, ECM!

Now Streaming… The Musical Treasure Trove of ECM

When the news broke a few days ago that ECM, the illustrious and proudly independent Munich-based music label founded by Manfred Eicher in 1969, was making its remarkable back catalogue available to major streaming services, a film critic friend sent me a piece in the New York Times which singled out 21 ‘essential’ ECM albums. Knowing … Continue reading Now Streaming… The Musical Treasure Trove of ECM