Ralph Towner 12-string and classical guitars, piano
Jan Garbarek tenor and soprano saxophones, flute
Eberhard Weber bass, cello
Jon Christensen drums, percussion

Great music and full-dimensional sound at download price, cardboard covers with original artwork: popular titles from ECM’s almost four decades offer aficionados the opportunity to plug gaps in their collections and invite new listeners to explore one of the great catalogues in jazz. Touchstones give low-threshold access to a label which, according to the New York Times, provides “one current ideal of contemplative improvised music”. The first forty titles underline the breadth of the artistic spectrum. They revisit debut ECM sessions of Tomasz Stanko, Enrico Rava, Kenny Wheeler, and Dino Saluzzi, and there is also an emphasis on North American jazz – with influential recordings by Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea, Paul Bley, Pat Metheny, John Abercrombie, Lester Bowie and more. Touchstones and milestones all over…

Deutscher Schallplattenpreis winner 1976. A pooling of talent characteristic of ECM’s first decade, with Garbarek, Eberhard Weber and Jon Christensen all responding creatively to the demands of Towner’s compositions.

This album is part of the ECM TOUCHSTONES series: Great music and full-dimensional sound at download price, in cardboard covers with original artwork.

Great music and full-dimensional sound at download price, cardboard covers with original artwork: popular titles from ECM’s almost four decades offer aficionados the opportunity to plug gaps in their collections and invite new listeners to explore one of the great catalogues in jazz. Touchstones give low-threshold access to a label which, according to the New York Times, provides “one current ideal of contemplative improvised music”. The first forty titles underline the breadth of the artistic spectrum. They revisit debut ECM sessions of Tomasz Stanko, Enrico Rava, Kenny Wheeler, and Dino Saluzzi, and there is also an emphasis on North American jazz – with influential recordings by Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea, Paul Bley, Pat Metheny, John Abercrombie, Lester Bowie and more. Touchstones and milestones all over…