Free at Last
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This outing from pianist Mal Waldron, bassist Isla Eckinger, and drummer Clarence Becton was the first release from what has since become a household name: ECM Records. Committed to tape in 1969, it walks a tightrope between jouissance and solemnity while showcasing the label’s characteristic attention to space in the recording of jazz. In 2019, ECM released a must-have extended edition with alternate takes, underscoring its importance for setting a handful of precedents (it was also Waldron’s first encounter with “free jazz”) and for asserting the muscularity of a tragically glossed-over rhythm section.