ECM Records

Manfred Eicher founded ECM Records (Edition of Contemporary Music) in Munich in 1969 alongside Karl Egger and Manfred Scheffner, inspired by a vision to produce improvised music with the same precision and focus he had learned at Deutsche Grammophon. The label's first release was pianist Mal Waldron's "Free at Last," setting the tone for what would become a revolutionary approach to recording jazz. From the beginning, ECM distinguished itself through meticulous production values and a distinctive sonic aesthetic, soon establishing what Der Spiegel called the "gold standard for sound, presence and pressing." Early recordings by Paul Bley, Keith Jarrett's "Facing You" (1972), and Chick Corea's "Return To Forever" (1972) showcased Eicher's commitment to capturing the space and silence around the music, not just the notes themselves. The label quickly gained international recognition by signing visionary musicians from both sides of the Atlantic, including Jan Garbarek, Gary Burton, and Pat Metheny, who would all become central to ECM's evolving identity.

Keith Jarrett's "The Köln Concert," recorded on January 24, 1975, at the Cologne Opera House, became the defining moment in ECM's history and the best-selling piano album of all time with over 4 million copies sold worldwide. The album's success came despite near-disastrous circumstances: Jarrett performed on a broken rehearsal piano after communication errors left him without the requested Bösendorfer 290 Imperial, yet the instrument's limitations forced him to create one of jazz's most intimate and transcendent recordings. Pat Metheny emerged as another major ECM artist with his 1976 debut "Bright Size Life," featuring the then-unknown Jaco Pastorius on bass, followed by the Pat Metheny Group's commercial breakthrough "American Garage" (1979), which reached No. 1 on Billboard's jazz chart and crossed over to the pop chart. The late 1970s saw ECM expand beyond jazz to include minimalist composers like Steve Reich and Meredith Monk, laying groundwork for what would become the New Series. Eicher's production approach remained consistent: most sessions lasted just three days (two to record, one to mix), typically with engineer Jan Erik Kongshaug at Talent Studios in Oslo, creating what became known as the "ECM sound" characterized by spaciousness, clarity, and reverb.

Manfred Eicher's encounter with Arvo Pärt's "Tabula Rasa" on a late-night radio broadcast while driving proved transformative, prompting him to pull over and resolve immediately to record the Estonian composer's music. The 1984 release of "Tabula Rasa," featuring Gidon Kremer and Keith Jarrett, launched ECM New Series and brought Pärt international recognition while opening the label to Western classical music spanning from medieval organa to contemporary composition. The New Series documented works by composers including John Cage, Elliott Carter, Thomas Tallis, and Carlo Gesualdo, with ECM becoming the primary label for Pärt's major works including "Miserere" (1990), "Te Deum" (1993), and "Kanon Pokajanen" (1997). Jan Garbarek's collaboration with the Hilliard Ensemble on "Officium" (1994), recorded in an Austrian monastery, became one of ECM's biggest commercial successes, selling nearly one million copies and exemplifying the label's interest in transcultural projects. Throughout this period, Eicher maintained his hands-on approach as producer of the vast majority of releases, ensuring artistic consistency while artists like Charles Lloyd, Egberto Gismonti, and the Art Ensemble of Chicago continued expanding the jazz catalog.

ECM's catalog has grown to over 1800 releases spanning jazz, contemporary classical, world music, and genre-defying experiments, with the label maintaining its independence and artistic vision under Eicher's leadership. The label's visual identity, featuring minimalist cover photography and design primarily by Barbara Wojirsch and Sascha Kleis, has been celebrated in two books published by Lars Müller Verlag and recognized as design history. Contemporary artists like Vijay Iyer, Avishai Cohen, and Wolfgang Muthspiel continue the label's jazz tradition, while the New Series has featured performers including András Schiff, Kim Kashkashian, and the Danish String Quartet interpreting both classical repertoire and contemporary works. ECM's motto, "the most beautiful sound next to silence," taken from a 1971 Coda magazine review, remains central to its aesthetic philosophy. The label's influence extends beyond recordings into film, with Eicher directing a 1990 adaptation of Max Frisch's "Holozän" and ECM releasing soundtracks.