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{{Short description|German independent record label}}

{{Infobox record label <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Music -->
| name        = ECM Records
| image       = ECM Records.svg
| founded     = {{start date|1969}}
| founder     =  [[Manfred Eicher]]
| distributor = [[Universal Music]]
| genre       = [[Jazz]], [[classical music|classical]], [[world music|world]]
| country     = [[Germany]]
| location    = [[Munich]]
| url         = {{URL|www.ecmrecords.com/}}
}}
'''ECM''' (Edition of Contemporary Music) is an independent [[record label]] founded by Karl Egger, [[Manfred Eicher]] and Manfred Scheffner in [[Munich]] in 1969. While ECM is best known for [[jazz]] music, the label has released a variety of recordings, and ECM's artists often refuse to acknowledge boundaries between genres. ECM's motto is "the most beautiful sound next to silence", taken from a 1971 review of ECM releases in ''[[Coda (magazine)|Coda]]'', a Canadian jazz magazine.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ecmrecords.com/About_ECM/History/index.php?mainrubchooser=1&rubchooser=103 |title=ECM Records |publisher=ECM Records |access-date=2015-11-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150406120926/http://ecmrecords.com/About_ECM/History/index.php?mainrubchooser=1&rubchooser=103 |archive-date=2015-04-06 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

ECM has been distributed in the U.S. by [[Warner Bros. Records]], [[PolyGram Records]], [[Bertelsmann Music Group|BMG]], and, since 1999, [[Universal Music]], the successor of PolyGram, worldwide. Its album covers were profiled in two books: ''Sleeves of Desire'' and ''Windfall Light'', both published by Lars Müller.

==History==
The first ECM release produced by Manfred Scheffner was pianist [[Mal Waldron]]'s 1969 recording ''[[Free at Last (Mal Waldron album)|Free at Last]]''. The label went on to release recordings by many prominent jazz musicians, including [[Paul Bley]], [[Jack DeJohnette]], [[Keith Jarrett]], [[Jan Garbarek]], [[Pat Metheny]], [[Gary Burton]], [[Chick Corea]], [[Charlie Haden]], [[John Abercrombie (guitarist)|John Abercrombie]], [[Dave Liebman]], [[Eberhard Weber]], [[Egberto Gismonti]], [[Dave Holland (bassist)|Dave Holland]],  [[Terje Rypdal]], [[Stefano Bollani]] and [[Ralph Towner]]. The label has also released recordings in the [[world music]] genre by artists including [[Steve Tibbetts]], [[Stephan Micus]], [[Codona]], [[Anouar Brahem]], [[L. Shankar]], [[Jon Hassell]], and [[Naná Vasconcelos]].

Manfred Eicher continues to take an active interest in the music released by ECM, acting as [[Record producer|producer]] of the vast majority of its recordings, although Steve Lake, Thomas Stoewsand, Robert Hurwitz, Lee Townsend, Hans Wendl and Sun Chung have also produced discs for the label. The typical ECM session is just three days: two days to record, one day to [[Audio mixing (recorded music)|mix]]. Many of the albums have been recorded with [[Jan Erik Kongshaug]] (of Talent Studios and later Rainbow Studios) in Oslo, Norway, as sound engineer; other engineers have included Martin Wieland (who recorded Jarrett's "The Köln Concert"), James Farber, Stefano Amerio and, on classical recordings, Peter Laenger.

=== New Series and commemorative editions ===
The ''ECM New Series'' was created in 1984 to document Western classical works. It has released works by composers from the early ([[Thomas Tallis]], [[Carlo Gesualdo]], [[Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina]]) to the contemporary ([[John Cage]], [[Elliott Carter]], [[Steve Reich]] and [[John Adams (composer)|John Adams]]). The series was initiated for [[Arvo Pärt]]'s record debut ''Tabula Rasa'', which Eicher recorded and produced in 1977, 1983, and 1984. Since then Pärt and Eicher have built a strong relationship: all works premiere on recordings for the label and all are done in presence of the composer. Keith Jarrett, better known as a jazz musician, contributed together with [[Gidon Kremer]] amongst others to ''Tabula Rasa''. He later recorded several classical works by [[Johann Sebastian Bach|Bach]], [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]], [[Dmitri Shostakovich|Shostakovich]], and others for the series.

The three albums ''[[Music for 18 Musicians]]'', ''[[Octet/Music for a Large Ensemble/Violin Phase]]'', and ''[[Tehillim (Reich)|Tehillim]]'' by Reich were recorded before 1984 (all with the composer performing) and were later moved to the classical department together with some by [[Meredith Monk]], [[Thomas Demenga]] and [[Harald Weiss]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ecmrecords.com/News/Diary/06_new_series.php |title=ECM Records |publisher=ECM Records |access-date=2015-11-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151005070534/http://ecmrecords.com/News/Diary/06_new_series.php |archive-date=2015-10-05 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Several of John Adams' works from his minimalist period have been released through the label as well, including ''[[Harmonium (Adams)|Harmonium]]'' and ''[[Harmonielehre]]''.

Over the years, many other works by contemporary composers such as [[Valentyn Sylvestrov]], [[Tigran Mansurian]], [[Erkki-Sven Tüür]], [[Heinz Holliger]], [[Giya Kancheli]], [[György Kurtág]], or [[Heiner Goebbels]] as well as the soundtracks of several works by the filmmaker [[Jean-Luc Godard]] have been issued on the ''ECM New Series'' label. Interpreters who released records in classical genres include [[Kim Kashkashian]], [[András Schiff]], [[Gidon Kremer]], the [[Hilliard Ensemble]], [[Thomas Zehetmair]], [[Carolin Widmann]], [[Till Fellner]], Herbert Henck, [[Alexei Lubimov]], [[András Keller]], [[Miklós Perényi]], [[John Holloway (musician)|John Holloway]], [[John Potter (musician)|John Potter]] or most recently [[Patricia Kopatchinskaja]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ecmrecords.com/About_ECM/History/index.php |title=ECM Records |publisher=ECM Records |access-date=2015-11-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150310140806/http://www.ecmrecords.com/About_ECM/History/index.php |archive-date=2015-03-10 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://ecmrecords.com/Catalogue/New_Series/1200/1275.php |title=ECM Records |publisher=ECM Records |access-date=2015-11-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160109014612/https://www.ecmrecords.com/Catalogue/New_Series/1200/1275.php/ |archive-date=2016-01-09 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://ecmrecords.com/Catalogue/New_Series/1100/1129.php |title=ECM Records |publisher=ECM Records |access-date=2015-11-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141221040732/http://ecmrecords.com/Catalogue/New_Series/1100/1129.php |archive-date=2014-12-21 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://ecmrecords.com/Catalogue/New_Series/1100/1168.php |title=ECM Records |publisher=ECM Records |access-date=2015-11-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141221034803/http://ecmrecords.com/Catalogue/New_Series/1100/1168.php |archive-date=2014-12-21 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://ecmrecords.com/Catalogue/New_Series/1200/1215.php |title=ECM Records |publisher=ECM Records |access-date=2015-11-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141221034713/http://ecmrecords.com/Catalogue/New_Series/1200/1215.php |archive-date=2014-12-21 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://ecmrecords.com/Catalogue/New_Series/2300/2323.php |title=ECM Records |publisher=ECM Records |access-date=2015-11-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150325125928/http://www.ecmrecords.com/Catalogue/New_Series/2300/2323.php |archive-date=2015-03-25 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On many releases, the orientations towards jazz and classical music of ECM are combined: For example, Garbarek's ''[[Officium (album)|Officium]]'' (1994) features him playing saxophone solos over the [[Hilliard Ensemble]] singing [[Gregorian chant]], early [[polyphony]] and [[Renaissance music|Renaissance]] works. Garbarek's work with guitarist Ralph Towner continued, and has been influenced by 20th century chamber music as much as by jazz-oriented material. [[John Potter (musician)|John Potter]], formerly of the Hilliard Ensemble, recorded works by [[John Dowland]] with jazz saxophonist [[John Surman]] and others, and Surman's ''Proverbs and Songs'' is a suite of choral settings of [[Old Testament]] texts, recorded in [[Salisbury Cathedral]]. The label has also released unique works that fit into no obvious genre at all (like the records of composer Meredith Monk).

In 2002 and 2004, ECM released a series of compilation CDs titled '':rarum''. Twenty of the label's artists were asked to compile a single CD of their work. (Garbarek's and Jarrett's compilations are double CDs.) Artists who contributed to this series are Keith Jarrett, Jan Garbarek, Chick Corea, Gary Burton, Bill Frisell, Art Ensemble of Chicago, Terje Rypdal, Bobo Stenson, Pat Metheny, Dave Holland, Egberto Gismonti, Jack DeJohnette, John Surman, John Abercrombie, Carla Bley, Paul Motian, Tomasz Stańko, Eberhard Weber, Arild Andersen, Jon Christensen.

After working as a writer for ''Melody Maker'' magazine, Steve Lake first joined the ECM-staff in 1978.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://jazztimes.com/articles/19205-ecm-records-manfred-eicher-the-free-matrix |title=Jazz Articles: ECM Records Manfred Eicher: The Free Matrix - By JazzTimes Jazz Articles |publisher=Jazztimes.com |access-date=2015-11-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208092028/http://jazztimes.com/articles/19205-ecm-records-manfred-eicher-the-free-matrix |archive-date=2015-12-08 |url-status=dead }}</ref> While working predominantly for the writing department he now has also produced more than 40 records which are more in the experimental areas of jazz like ones of [[Evan Parker]], [[Roscoe Mitchell]], [[Hal Russell]], [[Robin Williamson]], [[Joe Maneri]] or [[Mat Maneri]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Steve Lake |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/steve-lake-mn0000752071/credits |title=Steve Lake &#124; Credits |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=2015-11-27}}</ref> Furthermore, he published the book ''Horizons Touched: The Music of ECM'' (2007) with music critic/novelist [[Paul Griffiths (writer)|Paul Griffiths]] and made contributions to the books ''Sleeves of Desire: a Cover Story'' (1996), ''Windfall Light: The Visual Language of ECM'' (2010) and ''ECM - A Cultural Archaeology'' (2012).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ecmrecords.com/Background/Background_1500011_Horizons_Touched.php |title=ECM Records |publisher=ECM Records |access-date=2015-11-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160208184527/https://www.ecmrecords.com/Background/Background_1500011_Horizons_Touched.php/ |archive-date=2016-02-08 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== Recent developments in online distribution ===
On November 14, 2017, ECM announced in a press release that its entire catalog would be made available for [[Streaming media|streaming]] on all major music streaming platforms (Apple Music, Amazon, Spotify, Deezer, Tidal and Qobuz). Previously, ECM recordings had never been available for streaming, save for a few select compilations of major performers. In a press release on its website, ECM explained its decision:

<blockquote>In recent years, ECM and the musicians have had to face unauthorized streaming of recordings via video sharing websites, plus piracy, bootlegs, and a proliferation of illegal download sites. It was important to make the catalogue accessible within a framework, where copyrights are respected.<ref name="ecmrecords2">{{cite web|url=https://www.ecmrecords.com/news |title=ECM Records |publisher=ECM Records News |access-date=2017-11-18}}</ref></blockquote>

ECM further added that the physical recordings (CD & vinyl records) still constitute the "preferred mediums".<ref name="ecmrecords2" />

== Exhibitions about ECM ==
In fall 2012, the Munich museum [[Haus der Kunst]] opened an exhibition about the work of the label called ''ECM – A Cultural Archaeology''. It pointed out the early jazz-focused years until the mid-1980s, before the ''New Series'' was initiated. In close relation with Eicher and ECM, the exhibition was created by art curator [[Okwui Enwezor]] and Markus Müller. To complement the historically oriented content of the exhibition, it was accompanied with a concert series of current artists of the label, which included [[François Couturier]], [[Enrico Rava]], [[Meredith Monk]], [[András Schiff]], [[Evan Parker]], [[Gidon Kremer]] or [[Tomasz Stańko]].<ref>{{cite web|title=ECM Records|url=http://ecmrecords.com/News/Diary/388_ECM_Exhibition_in_Munich.php|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140718033023/http://ecmrecords.com/News/Diary/388_ECM_Exhibition_in_Munich.php|archive-date=2014-07-18|access-date=2015-11-27|publisher=ECM Records}}</ref> Some of these artists have a long relationship with the label—even if their 'home' is ''ECM'' or ''New Series''.<ref>{{cite web|date=2011-11-23|title=Haus der Kunst - Detail|url=http://www.hausderkunst.de/index.php?id=132&no_cache=1&L=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=1624|access-date=2015-11-27|publisher=Hausderkunst.de}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=2011-11-23|title=Haus der Kunst - Detail|url=http://www.hausderkunst.de/index.php?id=132&no_cache=1&L=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=3008|access-date=2015-11-27|publisher=Hausderkunst.de}}</ref> 

Additionally, Eicher curated a film series of eleven selected movies, which relate to the label. While some of its filmmakers have been related to ECM, like [[Theo Angelopoulos]] or [[Jean-Luc Godard]], others gave inspiration to the label, like [[Ingmar Bergman]] or [[Andrei Tarkovsky]], and others used music by ECM.<ref>{{cite web|date=2011-11-23|title=Haus der Kunst - Detail|url=http://www.hausderkunst.de/index.php?id=132&no_cache=1&L=1&no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=3415|access-date=2015-11-27|publisher=Hausderkunst.de}}</ref> The physical catalogue of the exhibition was published by [[Prestel Verlag]] in German and English.<ref>{{cite web|title=ECM Records|url=http://ecmrecords.com/Catalogue/Books/1500021_ECM_Eine_Kulturelle_Archaeologie.php|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140718021225/http://ecmrecords.com/Catalogue/Books/1500021_ECM_Eine_Kulturelle_Archaeologie.php|archive-date=2014-07-18|access-date=2015-11-27|publisher=ECM Records}}</ref> Another extended exhibition was displayed in Seoul, Korea, from September until November 2013. Under the [[Gertrude Stein]] quote ''Think of your Ears as Eyes'', the exhibition took a wider view on the label's history than the one in Munich. Again, it was accompanied by a concert series, including [[Kim Kashkashian]], András Schiff, [[Myung-whun Chung]], [[Heinz Holliger]], [[Norma Winstone]], [[Ralph Towner]] and [[Yeahwon Shin]].<ref>{{cite web|title=ECM Records|url=http://ecmrecords.com/News/Diary/442_ECM_Exhibition_Seoul.php|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140718170628/http://ecmrecords.com/News/Diary/442_ECM_Exhibition_Seoul.php|archive-date=2014-07-18|access-date=2015-11-27|publisher=ECM Records}}</ref>

== ECM and film ==
The label has a special relation towards film and directors.<ref>for detailed information see Lake: Horizons Touched (2010), p. 115–133</ref> Founder [[Manfred Eicher]] himself is a very passionate movie viewer and directed in 1990 an adaption of [[Max Frisch]]'s ''[[Man in the Holocene|Holozän]]'' together with [[Heinz Bütler]].<ref>Lake: Horizons Touched (2010), p. 7-12</ref><ref name="ecmrecords1">{{cite web |url=http://www.ecmrecords.com/About_ECM/Founder/index.php |title=ECM Records |publisher=ECM Records |access-date=2015-11-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140331174015/http://www.ecmrecords.com/About_ECM/Founder/index.php |archive-date=2014-03-31 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The label has also released some soundtracks e.g. for [[The Return (2003 film)|''The Return'']] (2003) by [[Andrey Zvyagintsev]] or ''[[Nouvelle Vague (1990 film)|Nouvelle Vague]]'' (ECM NewSeries 1600-01) and ''[[Histoire(s) du cinéma]]'' (ECM NewSeries 1706) by French-Swiss director [[Jean-Luc Godard]]. This collaboration expanded over the years and led on the one hand into the contribution of several stills from Godard's movies for covers like ''Morimur'' (ECM NewSeries 1765) by [[Christoph Poppen]], ''Asturiana - Songs from Spain and Argentinia'' (ECM NewSeries 1975) by [[Kim Kashkashian]] or the 2011 ''Live at Birdland'' (ECM 2162) by [[Lee Konitz]]/[[Brad Mehldau]]/[[Charlie Haden]]/[[Paul Motian]].<ref>Kern: Der Blaue Klang (2010), p. 99-111</ref> On the other hand, Eicher took over the musical direction of many of Godard's films like ''[[Germany Year 90 Nine Zero]]'', ''[[Hélas pour moi]]'', ''[[JLG/JLG – Self-Portrait in December|JLG]]'' or ''[[For Ever Mozart]]''. Besides these Eicher was also the head behind the music of [[Xavier Koller]]'s ''[[Journey of Hope (film)|Reise der Hoffnung]]'', [[Sandra Nettelbeck]]'s ''[[Mostly Martha (film)|Mostly Martha]]'' and the Oscar-nominated documentary ''[[War Photographer]]'' by [[Christian Frei]].<ref name="ecmrecords1"/> Additionally Godard has released a collection of short films on the label with [[Anne-Marie Miéville]] called ''Four Short Films'' (ECM 5001).<ref>Lake: Horizons Touched (2010), p. 5-12</ref>

Apart from her own work Greek composer [[Eleni Karaindrou]] wrote scores for stage and for movies, which include ''[[Ulysses' Gaze]]'' (1995), ''[[Eternity and a Day]]'' (1998) and ''[[The Dust of Time]]'' (1999), among others by filmmaker [[Theo Angelopoulos]] released on ECM.<ref>Lake: Horizons Touched (2010), p. 122-125</ref> The Swiss actor [[Bruno Ganz]], who has also worked with Angelopoulos, has recorded two spoken word-albums for the label: one in 1984 with poems by [[Friedrich Hölderlin]] (ECM New Series 1285) and one in 1999 called ''Wenn Wasser Wäre'' (ECM New Series 1723) with works of [[T. S. Eliot]] and [[Giorgos Seferis]]. Another nameable release is the record ''[[Scardanelli (album)|Scardanelli]]'' (ECM 1761) with texts and music from [[Harald Bergmann]]'s film of the same name from 2000, which reflects the work of Hölderlin in his last years. In the title role, it features Austrian actor [[Walter Schmidinger]] who's reading the poems and texts on this record taken from the movie.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ecmrecords.com/Catalogue/New_Series/1700/1761.php |title=ECM Records |publisher=ECM Records |access-date=2015-11-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202230359/http://ecmrecords.com/Catalogue/New_Series/1700/1761.php |archive-date=2013-12-02 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In fall 2012, ECM released a record called ''Turmgedichte'' (ECM New Series 2285) by actor/voice actor/vocalist [[Christian Reiner]] also with poems by Hölderlin.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ecmrecords.com/Catalogue/New_Series/2200/2285.php |title=ECM Records |publisher=ECM Records |access-date=2015-11-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202221913/http://ecmrecords.com/Catalogue/New_Series/2200/2285.php |archive-date=2013-12-02 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Furthermore, ECM has many projects and albums dedicated to people involved with motion pictures. For example, Italian piano player [[Stefano Battaglia]] pays tribute to the work of director [[Pier Paolo Pasolini]] on his 2007 ''[[Re: Pasolini]]'' (ECM 1998-99). Its cover pictures a still from Pasolini's 1964 ''[[The Gospel According to St. Matthew (film)|The Gospel According to St. Matthew]]''.<ref name="Kern 2010 p. 83-89">Kern: Der Blaue Klang (2010), p. 83-89</ref> In 2022 a recording of texts by the Italian film maker called ''Pier Paolo Pasolini: Land der Arbeit'' (ECM 2768) spoken in German by Reiner was released.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ecmrecords.com/product/pier-paolo-pasolini-land-der-arbeit-christian-reiner |title=ECM Records |publisher=ECM Records |access-date=2023-11-13}}</ref> Polish jazz trumpeter [[Tomasz Stańko]] recorded in 1994 ''[[Matka Joanna]]'' (ECM 1544) as an homage to Polish film director [[Jerzy Kawalerowicz]]'s movie ''[[Mother Joan of the Angels|Matka Joanna od Aniołów]]'' (1961). Three years later on his 1997 ''[[Litania: Music of Krzysztof Komeda]]'' (ECM 1636) Stańko honors the work of another countryman and film composer [[Krzysztof Komeda]] who is widely known for the scores of several films by [[Roman Polanski]] but was also a jazz pianist. Polanski also contributed a preface for the booklet of ''Litania''. The album ''[[Dans la Nuit (Louis Sclavis album)|Dans la Nuit]]'' (ECM 1805) by French woodwind player [[Louis Sclavis]], who also was active as a film composer, is a new score for [[Charles Vanel]]'s 1930 silent movie ''[[Dans la nuit (film)]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ecmrecords.com/Catalogue/ECM/1800/1805.php |title=ECM Records |publisher=ECM Records |access-date=2015-11-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140331191139/http://ecmrecords.com/Catalogue/ECM/1800/1805.php |archive-date=2014-03-31 |url-status=dead }}</ref> 

The French pianist [[François Couturier]] dedicated a couple of his works to the Soviet/Russian director [[Andrei Tarkovsky]].<ref name="Kern 2010 p. 83-89" /> This includes pieces on his 2010 solo record ''Un jour si blanc'' (ECM 2103) and the albums ''Nostalghia - Song for Tarkovsky'' (ECM 1979) from 2006 as well as the ''Tarkovsky Quartet'' (ECM 2159) from 2011 - both with photographs and movie stills of Tarkovsky in the booklet.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ecmrecords.com/Background/Background_1979.php |title=ECM Records |publisher=ECM Records |access-date=2015-11-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160109001536/https://www.ecmrecords.com/Background/Background_1979.php/ |archive-date=2016-01-09 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Other examples of works dedicated to the director are ''Arbos'' (ECM NewSeries 1325) by Estonian composer [[Arvo Pärt]], the piece ''Eight Hymns in memoriam Andrei Tarkovsky'' by composer [[Stevan Kovacs Tickmayer]] which can be found on [[Gidon Kremer]]'s 2010 ''[[Hymns and Prayers]]'' (ECM NewSeries 2161) or ''3rd Piece'' by Jan Garbarek on his solo record ''[[All Those Born with Wings]]'' (ECM 1324).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ecmrecords.com/Catalogue/ECM/1300/1324.php |title=ECM Records |publisher=ECM Records |access-date=2015-11-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140322112900/http://www.ecmrecords.com/Catalogue/ECM/1300/1324.php |archive-date=2014-03-22 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In Spring 2013 ECM released the record ''[[La Notte (album)|La notte]]'' by [[Ketil Bjørnstad]] which took its inspiration from Italian filmmaker [[Michelangelo Antonioni]]; its title and cover were taken from the 1961 [[La Notte|movie of the same name]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ecmrecords.com/Catalogue/ECM/2300/2300.php |title=ECM Records |publisher=ECM Records |access-date=2015-11-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150215024631/http://ecmrecords.com/Catalogue/ECM/2300/2300.php |archive-date=2015-02-15 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Later that year an [[39 Steps (album)|album]] by [[John Abercrombie (guitarist)|John Abercrombie]] was released with four allusions towards [[Alfred Hitchcock|Hitchcock]] movies including the name of the title track taken from ''[[The 39 Steps (1935 film)|39 Steps]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ecmrecords.com/Background/ECM/2300/2334.php |title=ECM Records |publisher=ECM Records |access-date=2015-11-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130915105731/http://www.ecmrecords.com/Background/ECM/2300/2334.php |archive-date=2013-09-15 |url-status=dead }}</ref> On her 2018 album ''Descansado: Songs for Films'' (ECM 2567) English singer [[Norma Winstone]] pays tribute to composers like [[Nino Rota]], [[Michel Legrand]], [[William Walton]], [[Bernard Herrmann]], and [[Ennio Morricone]] - all strongly connected to movies - by rearranging their pieces.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ecmrecords.com/product/descansado-songs-for-film-norma-winstone |title=ECM Records |publisher=ECM Records |access-date=2023-11-13}}</ref>

The connection with motion pictures spans further and is reflected in the design of the booklet of ''[[Mnemosyne]]'' (ECM NewSeries 1700) by [[Jan Garbarek]] and the [[Hilliard Ensemble]]—the successor of its highly successful album ''[[Officium (album)|Officium]]'' (ECM 1525). It includes stills from ''[[The Seventh Seal]]'' (1957) by Swedish director [[Ingmar Bergman]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ecmrecords.com/Background/New_Series/1700/Bgr_1700.php |title=ECM Records |publisher=ECM Records |access-date=2015-11-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150219165657/http://ecmrecords.com/Background/New_Series/1700/Bgr_1700.php |archive-date=2015-02-19 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 1986, director Jan Horne shot the 60-minute documentary ''Bare Stillheten'' about Eicher and the label in Munich, Oslo, and Tokyo for television with Garbarek, [[Terje Rypdal]], [[Jon Christensen (musician)|Jon Christensen]], [[Arild Andersen]], [[John Surman]], [[Eberhard Weber]], and others participating.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.natlib.jots.200017852/default.html |title=BARE STILLHETEN series Ep: ECM / Jan Horne [motion picture&#93;:Bibliographic Record Description: ''Performing Arts Encyclopedia'', Library of Congress |year=1986 |publisher=Lcweb2.loc.gov |access-date=2015-11-27}}</ref> There is also a documentary by Peter Guyer and Norbert Wiedmer called ''[[Sounds and Silence]]'' (2010) which portraits exemplary the daily work of [[Manfred Eicher]] with various musicians including Arvo Pärt, [[Nik Bärtsch]], [[Anouar Brahem]], [[Dino Saluzzi]] and [[Anja Lechner]], Jan Garbarek and [[Kim Kashkashian]] or [[Gianluigi Trovesi]] and [[Gianni Coscia]]. The soundtrack with tracks from the recording sessions seen in the movie was as well as the documentary also released on ECM called ''Music for the Film - Sounds and Silence'' (ECM 2250).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ecmrecords.com/Background/5050.php |title=ECM Records |publisher=ECM Records |access-date=2015-11-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131008110810/http://www.ecmrecords.com/Background/5050.php |archive-date=2013-10-08 |url-status=dead }}</ref> A documentary about reed player [[Charles Lloyd (jazz musician)|Charles Lloyd]] called ''Arrows Into Infinity'' (ECM 5052), directed by his wife Dorothy Darr together with Jeffery Morse, was released in July 2014.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ecmrecords.com/Catalogue/ECM_Cinema/5052_DVD.php |title=ECM Records |publisher=ECM Records |access-date=2015-11-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150312172330/http://www.ecmrecords.com/Catalogue/ECM_Cinema/5052_DVD.php |archive-date=2015-03-12 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Another project from 2014 shows moving images by [[Prashant Bhargava]] with music by [[Vijay Iyer]] called ''[[Radhe Radhe: Rites of Holi]]'' (ECM 5507).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ecmrecords.com/Catalogue/ECM_Cinema/5507_DVD.php |title=ECM Records |publisher=ECM Records |access-date=2015-11-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150305104737/http://ecmrecords.com/Catalogue/ECM_Cinema/5507_DVD.php |archive-date=2015-03-05 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2018 followed a portrait about Abercrombie called ''Open Land: Meeting John Abercrombie'' (ECM 5053), filmed by [[Arno Oehri]] and [[Oliver Primus]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ecmrecords.com/product/open-land-meeting-john-abercrombie-a-film-by-arno-oehri-oliver-primus |title=ECM Records |publisher=ECM Records |access-date=2023-11-13}}</ref>
Besides these movies, ECM has also released concert videos of Karaindrou, Marc Sinan, [[Keith Jarrett]] solo and with his ''Standards'' trio.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ecmrecords.com/Catalogue/ECM/Other/fes-14.php?cat=&we_start=0&lvredir=712&we_search=%2Bdvd |title=ECM Records |publisher=ECM Records |access-date=2015-11-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140225201412/http://ecmrecords.com/Catalogue/ECM/Other/fes-14.php?cat=&we_start=0&lvredir=712&we_search=%2Bdvd |archive-date=2014-02-25 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Discography==
{{main|ECM Records discography}}

==Record label of the year awards==
{{Unsourced section|date=November 2019}}
* ''[[DownBeat]]'': 1980, 2008–2010, 2012–2017
* Jazz Journalists Association: 2007, 2012–2014
* [[MIDEM]]: 2005, 2007
* ''[[JazzWeek]]'': 2011
* ''[[JazzTimes]]'': 2013

==Further reading==
* ''Sleeves of Desire: a Cover Story'' (1996). Edited by Lars Müller, Lars Müller, Zürich, {{ISBN|978-3-906700-85-4}}.
* ''Horizons Touched: the Music of ECM'' (2007). Edited by Steve Lake and [[Paul Griffiths (writer)|Paul Griffiths]]. Granta Books, London, {{ISBN|978-1-86207-880-2}}.
* ''Windfall Light: The Visual Language of ECM'' (2009). Edited by Lars Müller, Lars Müller, Zürich, {{ISBN|978-3-03778-157-9}} (English) & {{ISBN|978-3-03778-197-5}} (German).
* ''Der Blaue Klang'' (2010). Edited by Rainer Kern, Hans-Jürgen Linke and Wolfgang Sandner, Wolke, Hofheim, {{ISBN|978-3-936000-83-2}} (German).
* ''ECM: A Cultural Archaeology'' (2012). Edited by [[Okwui Enwezor]] and Markus Müller, Prestel, München/New York, {{ISBN|978-3-7913-5285-5}} (English) & {{ISBN|978-3-7913-5284-8}} (German).
* ''Between Sound and Space: An ECM Records Primer'' (2020) by Tyran Grillo. Rey Naranjo Editores (2019) {{ISBN|978-9-5889-6991-6}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Jazz}}
* {{Official website|http://www.ecmrecords.com|ECM Records}} – official site
* {{Discogs label}}
* [http://ecmreviews.com ''Between Sound and Space: ECM Records and Beyond''] (fansite)

{{Universal Music Group}}
{{Jazz}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Classical music record labels]]
[[Category:IFPI members]]
[[Category:German jazz record labels]]
[[Category:Record labels established in 1969]]
[[Category:1969 establishments in West Germany]]