ECM for the "Uninitiated"?

[tyrangrillo]

Seeing as we are all certified fanatics here, I thought I might pose the following queries (and forgive me if these have already been posted elsewhere):

How would you introduce ECM's jazz recordings to newbies? Is there a small list of essential releases that you might recommend, or would you tell them to just jump right in? How would you succinctly explain what ECM is all about?

I imagine that most of us have already had these experiences and, considering the wealth of the ECM catalog, can sympathize with the challenges therein.

[CraigL]

I am sure each of us "fanatics" here would suggest different starter lists, but how's this for a starting 10:

Pat Metheny Group (the "white album - ECM 1116)
Eberhard Weber - Silent Feet
Egberto Gismonti - Sanfona
Jan Garbarek - Witchi Tai To
Ralph Towner - Soltice
Tomasz Stanko - Soul of Things
Steve Tibbetts - Safe Journey
Keith Jarrett - Koln Concert
Kenny Wheeler - Widow in the Window
John Abercrombie - Timeless

These cover some of the best known and most frequently recorded ECM artists that helped define the quality of the label. They are also some that have stood the test of time (a long time, in some cases) for me.

Ask me tomorrow and I may vary the list a bit - and it is tilted toward the earlier period. But I do consider it quite representative. It does leave out the more classically oriented New series, however. Perhaps that deserves a separate list!