Manfred Eicher
Manfred Eicher (born 9 July 1943, in Lindau, Germany) is a German record producer and the founder of ECM Records. Life and career. Eicher studied music at the Academy of Music in Berlin. He started as a double-bass player of classical music and later became a record producer. In 1969, he founded ECM Records (Edition of Contemporary Music) in Munich. Some of the jazz artists he has recorded over more than 50 years of his career include Paul Bley, Keith Jarrett, John Abercrombie, Jan Garbarek, Egberto Gismonti, Chick Corea, Gary Burton, Jack DeJohnette, Anouar Brahem, Dave Holland , Pat Metheny, Ralph Towner, Terje Rypdal, Steve Kuhn, Eberhard Weber, Jon Hassell, and the Art Ensemble of Chicago. "The Köln Concert", a solo piano performance by Keith Jarrett, recorded and released by ECM in 1975, became the all-time best-selling jazz solo piano album. In 1984, Eicher started a sublabel, ECM New Series, for classical music. Some of the artists, whose work was released on the New Series, were Steve Reich, Arvo Pärt, John Adams, Gavin Bryars, Meredith Monk, and the mediaeval composer Pérotin. The best selling album "Officium" (1994) was a collaboration between Jan Garbarek and the Hilliard  Ensemble, performing compositions by Cristóbal de Morales, Pérotin and others. In 1992, Manfred Eicher co-directed and co-wrote the film "Holozän" ("Man in the Holocene"). In 2002 he wrote the score for the Israeli film "Kedma". Eicher has produced most of the records released on his label. Each jazz record takes an average of two days to record and one day to mix. Most were recorded with Jan Erik Kongshaug (of Talent Studios and later Rainbow Studios in Oslo, Norway) as sound engineer. Eicher has produced more than a thousand albums to date. "Eicher's deceptively simple aesthetic is  unfailingly harmonious. He records musicians he likes, allows them to trust their own instincts, and plays a directorial role." ("Jazz Review")