New ECM release from Rolf Lislevand

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Diminuito - a new recording by Norwegian master lutenist Rolf Lislevand will be released on October 27th.

‘The expansion and contraction of arranged and improvised elements allows the original Baroque material to breathe authentically in our own time, resulting in a phantasmagoria whose haunting effects are only accentuated by ECM’s beautifully spacious recording. … This disc rocks, albeit urbanely.’ William Yeoman, writing on ‘Nuove Musiche’ in The Gramophone

On Nuove Musiche, his highly successful ECM debut released in spring 2006, Rolf Lislevand led his own group of international early music virtuosi in ravishing and rather unorthodox accounts of mostly Italian instrumental music from the early Baroque. This new program of madrigals, chansons and virtuoso lute music based on Italian Renaissance sources from the 16th century, goes even further back…
Once again putting a strong emphasis on improvisation, Lislevand and his colleagues (including the delightful sopranos Anna Maria Friman and Linn Andrea Fuglseth from Trio Mediaeval) disclose the astounding modernity and emotional wealth in the music of composers such as Giovanni Antonio Terzi or Joan Ambrosio Dalza from the Veneto region of Italy where, at that period, strong influences of oriental and eastern music could be felt. Lislevand’s group translates this with a lush scoring for dark-hued instruments, both stringed and plucked.


On or after October 27th should be able to find this album in the fine record stores but for your convenience here is a link to the correct page on Amazon.com where, if you like, you can pre-order now.

New releases in October

Anouar Brahem
The Astounding Eyes of Rita
Release date: October 6
Anouar Brahem oud; Klaus Gesing bass clarinet; Björn Meyer bass; Khaled Yassine percussion

ECM brings a new album of warm, dark sounds and dancing, organic pulses from the Tunisian oud master, performed by his new band with German bass clarinettist Klaus Gesing, Swedish bassist Björn Meyer and Lebanese percussionist Khaled Yassine.

“Albums as perfect as this appear rarely…”
To read the rest of this excellent early review from the UK newspaper The Independent, click here


Egberto Gismonti
Saudações
Release date: October 20
Camerata Romeu with Zenaida Romeu: conductor; Alexandre Gismonti: guitars ; Egberto Gismonti: guitars

Egberto Gismonti’s first new ECM recording in 14 years is a double-album that indicates the range of his artistry as both composer and guitar virtuoso. Disc one features Gismonti the composer in a 70 minute work that takes account of Brazil’s culture and history, landscapes and cityscapes, vividly evoked by Cuba’s all-women orchestra the Camerta Romeu. Disc two features Gismonti the guitarist in an exciting duo recital with his similarly-gifted son Alexandre, romping through a program that includes such well-known pieces as “Zig Zag”, “Lundú” and “Dança dos Escravos”.

Stefano Bollani Trio
Stone in the Water
Release date: October 27
Stefano Bollani: piano; Jesper Bodilsen: double-bass; Morten Lund: drums

An exceptionally beautiful piano trio album, Stone in the Water is the first of Stefano Bollani’s ECM recordings to feature his “Danish Trio” with bassist Jesper Bodilsen and drummer Morten Lund, a group that already has six years of playing experience behind it, and produces a sound that is supple, subtle, flowing.


You should be able to find these albums in the fine record stores but for your convenience here are links to the correct page on Amazon.com:

Brahem – The Astounding Eyes Of Rita.
Gismonti – Saudações.

Bollani – Stone in the Water.

New solo recording by Keith Jarrett

On October 6th, ECM released a new solo recording by Keith Jarrett - Testament, Paris/London.

Jarrett’s solo concert tradition continues with two highly creative performances of recent vintage – from Paris’s Salle Pleyel on November 26, 2008, followed by London’s Royal Festival Hall on December 1. The English date was Jarrett’s first London solo concert in many years and, in the words of one reviewer, “triggered the sort of ecstasy that might greet a returning prophet”. As with Radiance and The Carnegie Hall Concert, the music covers a wide arc of expression, as “that old Jarrett magic forges majestically on” (The Guardian).


You should be able to find this album in fine record stores but for your convenience here is a link to Amazon.com