Author(s): Okwui Enwezor

Entertainment

Founded in 1969 by legendary producer Manfred Eicher at a moment when contemporary music was being redefined across all genres, ECM (Edition of Contemporary Music) aimed to bring jazz, improvised, and written music out of the studio and into living rooms around the world. Acoustically rich and expansive, ECM's productions set new standards in sonic complexity. ECM recorded some of the world's most extraordinary music and it's enormous stable of artists includes some of the most influential musicians of the twentieth century, such as Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea, Steve Reich, Carla Bley, Meredith Monk, Marion Brown, Codona, and Art Ensemble of Chicago - along with music from the New Series that includes Arvo Part's choral work as well as works by Komitas Vardapet and George Gurdjieff. ECM's high standards of quality, clarity, and freshness remain a cornerstone in the industry today. This comprehensive volume showcases ECM's cultural breadth, not just in the music world but also within the broader artistic universe. It highlights aspects of African-American music of the 1960s in Europe at the height of the American Civil Rights Era, as well as the changing relationships between musicians, music, and listeners. In exploring the work of ECM, this catalog brings together a range of visual arts, such as installation pieces, photography, and film. It includes numerous essays and an anthology of liner notes.