What is the best ECM album from the 1970s?

In the 1970s, ECM Records became the home of a new, introspective jazz sound that bridged European classical music with American improvisation. Which ECM album from the decade is most essential?

1

The Köln Concert

Keith Jarrett's 1975 solo piano concert is the best-selling solo piano album in history — an hour of spontaneous improvisation of extraordinary emotional range and musical invention.

2

Belonging

Keith Jarrett's 1974 quartet ECM album is the definitive document of the European Quartet — lyrical, joyful, and featuring Jan Garbarek's most poetic saxophone playing.

3

Facing You

Keith Jarrett's 1971 ECM solo debut established his intimate improvisational voice in 8 spontaneous compositions of remarkable structural beauty and lyrical grace.

4

Conference of the Birds

Dave Holland's 1972 ECM collective improvisation is a joyful, democratic free jazz classic — one of the label's most beloved recordings and Holland's definitive statement as a leader.

5

The Colours of Chloé

Eberhard Weber's 1974 ECM debut introduced his dark, bowed bass textures in a unique Nordic chamber jazz setting — one of the label's most hauntingly atmospheric recordings.

6

Bright Size Life

Pat Metheny's 1976 ECM debut with Jaco Pastorius and Bob Moses is a landmark of open, lyrical jazz guitar — airy, melodic, and pointing the way to a new post-bop jazz fusion.

7

Witchi-Tai-To

Jan Garbarek and Bobo Stenson Quartet's 1974 ECM recording is an atmospheric Nordic jazz classic — folk themes dissolved in meditative jazz improvisation with gorgeous saxophone.

8

Solstice

Ralph Towner's 1974 ECM quartet album with Garbarek and Weber is a chamber jazz masterpiece — intricate 12-string guitar counterpoint and shifting meters in a unique acoustic setting.

9

Timeless

John Abercrombie's 1975 ECM debut with Jack DeJohnette and Jan Hammer is a restrained jazz fusion landmark — melodic, atmospheric, and among the label's most accessible recordings.

10

Open, to Love

Paul Bley's 1972 ECM solo piano album is a quietly intense free improvisation record — introspective and spacious, establishing the meditative solo piano approach that Jarrett would perfect.

11

Dansere

Jan Garbarek's 1975 ECM album is the most accessible entry point to his Norwegian jazz sound — warm, folk-inflected, and featuring some of his most lyrically direct saxophone playing.

12

Dis

Jan Garbarek's 1977 ECM album of bass flute and saxophone overdubs over Norwegian folk themes is one of the label's most ethereal and other-worldly recordings.

13

Dança das Cabeças

Egberto Gismonti's 1977 ECM duo album with Naná Vasconcelos blends Brazilian guitar, folk music, and free improvisation in a gloriously idiosyncratic ECM classic.