Aquarium Drunkard’s Guide to ECM Records
Last year, Aquarium Drunkard published a two-part guide to the first 40 years of ECM, digging deep into the catalog to explains some of the classics and excavate some often-overlooked gems. This year, in time for the label’s 50th anniversary, writer James Jackson Toth has returned with an essential look at the last 12 years of the label and the new, young, or relatively unknown artists it his brought into the spotlight. From the great Into the Silence by trumpeter Avishai Cohen to Tunisian oudist Anouar Brahem’s date with Jack DeJohnette, Dave Holland, and Django Bates, it’s an overabundance of proof that ECM still moves after all these years. Speaking of DeJohnette, his trio record with Matt Garrison and Ravi Coltrane makes the list here—see them at Big Ears 2019 in a month.
