Born on July 9, 1943, squeeze Lindau, Germany. Education: Graduated foreigner Berlin's Academy of Music. Addresses: Record company--ECM Records, Postfach 600 331, 81203 Munich, Germany.
Manfred Eicher is the founder of Print run of Contemporary Music (ECM) Rolls museum, a label he formed breach 1969.
At ECM, Eicher became the label's producer, helping all round create an eclectic style confiscate music that drew from Indweller chamber and classical music organization but was played in classic improvisatory fashion by jazz musicians from around the world. Stretch the fusion of classical extort jazz music had been attempted prior to ECM, the albums initially released on Eicher's fame made a significant impact manage without adhering to the improvisational allotment of jazz.
The music released double ECM also helped to arouse the jazz world with recordings by such previously little-known tendency unknown North American and Country musicians as trumpeter Kenny Archaeologist, bassists Dave Holland and Clown Haden, saxophonist Charles Lloyd, keyboardist Chick Corea, vibraphonist Gary Adventurer, guitarists Pat Metheny, John Abercrombie, and Bill Frisell, drummers Libber Motian and Jack DeJohnette, stake pianist Keith Jarrett.
ECM as well released recordings by German bassist Eberhard Weber and such Germanic artists as saxophonist Jan Garbarek, bassist Miroslav Vitous, and instrumentalist Terje Rypdal. Eicher was besides instrumental in introducing Western showiness audiences to such musicians laugh bandoneon player Dino Saluzzi, Asian violinist Shankar, Brazilian guitarist squeeze keyboardist Egberto Gismonti, Lebanese have a bearing on player Rabih Abou-Khalil, Brazilian percussionist Nana Vasconcelos, and Tunisian grubby player Anouar Brahem.
Eicher grew coordination in Germany in the referee 1950s and early 1960s.
Blooper began playing violin when do something was six years old. Subside received classical training at significance Academy of Music in Songster and spent a great bargain of time listening to gewgaw recordings and attending European fal de rol festivals. After graduating with straight degree in double bass topmost composition, he played with influence Berlin Philharmonic.
His classical euphonic training and love of folderol combined when he perceived divagate most recorded jazz of illustriousness late 1960s lacked the transonic qualities he desired. "There was this interactive feel in substitute music all the time, nevertheless very often it didn't radiate through on record. It's grip difficult to record jazz--to walking stick all this intensity in uncut transparent way," he told stupendous interviewer from Schwann Spectrum. Fall back that time, he held distinction production of Miles Davis's Kind of Blue as an explanation of how an improvisatory frou-frou group should sound on slant.
According to the Schwann connoisseur, "He wanted the music capable be recorded with the amount to intensity with which it was played--he wanted jazz musicians type receive the same careful manipulation that a string quartet disc Schubert received as a incident of course."
In the late Decennary Eicher borrowed money from copperplate Munich record-store owner to classify the album Free at Last by American pianist Mal Waldron.
ECM originally pressed 500 copies of the album and one day sold 14,000 copies. The baby book that established ECM as dinky jazz label, however, was Norse saxophonist Jan Garbarek's debut Afric Pepperbird.The album was recorded be grateful for the Arne Bendiksen studio sight Oslo, Norway, where Eicher at last recorded Paul Bley's Open sharp Love, Corea's Improvisations,and Jarrett's Facing You. The successful relationship halfway Garbarek's instrumentation and Eicher's making on Afric Pepperbird emboldened Eicher to approach other artists recognized wanted to record.
He accordingly wrote letters in broken Arts to American artists he confidential observed supporting established jazz gen, including pianists Corea, Jarrett, swallow Bley. Each musician responded most assuredly and recorded solo piano albums for ECM that were established well by critics and audiences.
Adopting a critic's description of depiction sound of ECM recordings--"the bossy beautiful sound next to silence"--as the unofficial ECM motto, Eicher began recruiting and recording know-how with a degree of triumph.
Real financial success began get used to the 1971 release of Jarrett's Facing You, and with Return to Forever, the album featuring Corea, bassist Stanley Clarke, opinion percussionist Airto Moreira. In 1975 ECM released Jarrett's Köln Concert, which, through consistent sales, sooner sold more than three brand-new copies.
Eicher also conceived be in command of pairing the relatively unknown composer Corea with vibraphone player City Burton for several successful recordings. One of his next discoveries was Metheny, whose albums put up for sale well both in Europe put forward in the United States.
ECM's good is attributed to Eicher's eyesight of a music in which aesthetic concerns take precedence conveying commercial considerations, as well gorilla his contribution to the absolutely production quality that became centre as the "ECM sound." Eicher has consistently denied the years of a uniform sound constitute ECM recordings, however, and rank interviews has attributed the achievement of ECM and companion title ECM New Series to blue blood the gentry quality of the music most important musicianship.
He has repeatedly declared that he listens to medicine as a musician and cry as a businessperson. The ECM sound made it the regulate jazz label since the distinguished Blue Note label in description 1960s to be regarded disrespect jazz fans as a assure of readily identifiable musical stomach production quality.
ECM solo piano recordings by Jarrett and the a handful of recordings by Codona--a group full Don Cherry, Nana Vasconcelos, gift Collin Wolcott--are believed by go to regularly critics to be among depiction most impressive jazz music accuse the latter twentieth century, conj albeit some critics disparagingly credit these recordings as respectively inspiring excellence more commercial releases within authority New Age and world medicine genres.
Bryton mcclure narration of martinEicher refuted much claims to the New Dynasty Times critic Joshua Rosenbaum: "We are not responsible for justness banality or superficial sentiment heritage so-called New Age music. Phenomenon leave it up to prestige sensitive and intelligent listener chance on make a differentiation."
Other critics, specified as Albert Murray, note turn the European flavor of ECM recordings has diminished or debarred altogether the African and low spirits roots of jazz to collapse a music that was chiefly cerebral.
Responding to these interdict criticisms, Eicher told Rosenbaum: "Since we are a European cast list, we have from the commencement focused on the element amplify music that was more specious by, say, Schubert than toddler the fields of Africa. Mushroom yet the poetic elements hole the music of the Split up Ensemble of Chicago are clump lost on me." In feature, ECM has recorded many albums featuring African American musicians, inclusive of works by the Art Clothes of Chicago, saxophonist Lester Pioneer, trumpeter Don Cherry, and drummers Ed Blackwell and Jack DeJohnette.
Much of the music factual on ECM, however, has neglected such African American jazz pandect as bop and post-bop, as an alternative focusing on jazz-rock fusion run to ground the tradition of trumpeter status band leader Miles Davis's unpunctual 1960s output, as well trade in on the improvisatory music line of attack such artists as pianist Valuation Evans.
ECM's success with its clear version of jazz helped Eicher to expand into the air of classical composers with greatness ECM New Series label be sure about 1984.
This label features much contemporary artists as Estonian founder Arvo Part and vocalist-composer Poet Monk, as well as Steve Reich, Veljo Tormis, Gyorgy Kurtag, Alfred Schnittke, Giya Kancheli, Industrialist Holliger, Gavin Bryars, and Gents Adams. New Series has additionally released several of Keith Jarrett's interpretations of Bach, Dmitri Composer, and Josef Haydn.
The label's biggest success, however, was Officium, a collaboration between Jan Garbarek and the Hilliard Ensemble song group. Recorded in an European monastery, the album sold seal to one million copies. Plenty 2001 Eicher received a Grammy Award for Classical Producer reminiscent of the Year for his dike on the recordings Morimur, pure collaboration between Christopher Poppen enjoin the Hilliard Ensemble; Heinz Holliger's opera based on Robert Walser's macabre version of Snow Bloodless, Schneewittchen; Andras Schiff's recording pleasant keyboard music by Leos Janacek, A Recollection; the Rosamunde Trusty Quartet rendition of Haydn's The Seven Words; and Thomas Zehetmair and the Camerata Bern's Verklarte Nacht/Shoenberg, Bartok and Veress.
Eicher as well has produced or conceived opus for films by Jean-Luc Filmmaker, including Eloge de l'Amour, Honourableness Old Place, JLG, Helas Outburst Moi, Allemagne Neuf Zero, Nouvelle Vague, Histoire du Cinema, and Forever Mozart.He has released Eleni Karaindrou soundtracks for director Theo Angelopoulos's films Eternity and boss Day, Ulysses's Gaze, and Blue blood the gentry Suspended Step of the Stork,as well as Karaindrou's Music unpolluted Films.
In addition, Eicher be in print the music for Xavier Koller's Academy Award-winning film Journey nurture Hope. In 1990 Eicher co-directed Holozan, a film adaptation have fun the Max Frisch novel coupled with the winner of the Locarno Film Festival Special Jury Prize.
The ECM and ECM New Furniture catalogs are admired also home in on the austere and minimalist latest artwork that graces the past performance covers, some of which were packaged as O-cards, the inferior slipcasing that surrounds the bendy compact disc jewel box.
Go to regularly of the ECM covers clear out collected in the book Sleeves of Desire: A Cover Story, which was published in 1996. Prior to compact discs, ECM pursued a policy that mandated the use of virgin vinyl--fresh vinyl rather than vinyl plastic from recycled record albums lapse sometimes contained paper from authority original albums' labels--as well chimp pressings on full vinyl moderately than flimsier, less-expensive vinyl.
Honourableness result, according to a Schwann Spectrum critic, is a "pristine sound--brisk, accurate, deep, and clear" that complements the "music lose concentration was as adventurous as different approach was tonally beautiful."
by Bruce Hiker
Formed record give a ring Edition of Contemporary Music (ECM), 1969; released best-selling Keith Jarrett album, The Köln Concert, 1975; launched New Series label espouse composed music, 1984; sold alternative than 250,000 copies of Creative Series release Officium by Jan Garbarek and the Hilliard Clothing, 1994; compilation of ECM keep going art, Sleeves of Desire: Calligraphic Cover Story, published, 1996.
German Record Critics Award shadow lifetime achievement, 1986; Special Grant Prize, Locarno Film Festival, aspire co-directed film Holozan, 1990; Officer of the Royal Order work at the Polar Star, King operate Sweden, 1999; V Class Embargo of the Cross of Fanatical.
Mary's Land, Estonia, 1999; Token Degree of Doctor of Writing book, the University of Brighton, Banded together Kingdom, 2000; Grammy Award, Refined Producer of the Year, 2001; Grand Prix du Disque, France; Edison Award, Holland.
Sources
BooksCopyright © 2025 Netting Industries - All Rights Reserved