Awase cover
Released

Swiss pianist and composer Nik Bärtsch is synonymous with everything ECM stands for: careful control of atmosphere, meticulous attention to sound and space, and an underlying capitulation to the moment. Alongside Sha (bass clarinet and alto saxophone), Kaspar Rast (drums), and Thomy Jordi (bass), Bärtsch unravels some of the finest details of his “modular” approach. Offering an uncompromising ritual groove aesthetic on the altar of funk, he takes us through changes as seamless as they are surprising, linking every shift in angle to the same body. Like an Escher print, the more you regard it, the more variation it reveals.

Tyran Grillo

Recommended by

Suggestions
And Then Comes the Night cover

And Then Comes the Night

Mats Eilertsen, Thomas Strønen, Harmen Fraanje
Renegade Heaven cover

Renegade Heaven

Bang on a Can
The Other Side cover

The Other Side

Tord Gustavsen Trio
Vignettes cover

Vignettes

Marilyn Crispell
Bahir cover

Bahir

Dexter Story
Life Goes On cover

Life Goes On

Carla Bley, Andy Sheppard, Steve Swallow
Spark cover

Spark

Hiromi
The Dreamer Is the Dream cover

The Dreamer Is the Dream

Joe Martin, Marcus Gilmore, Chris Potter, David Virelles
The  Magical Forest cover

The Magical Forest

Trio Mediæval, Sinikka Langeland