VA - Music with 58 Musicians Volume One (1980)

Surely the sore thumb, or odd man out, of the Loss Leaders series, Music With 58 Musicians, Volume One is a dedicated, label-centic release (like Zappéd, Peaches and Peaches Vol. 2), that celebrates Warner Bros. distribution deal with the esoteric, experimental jazz label, ECM Records. With only 14 lengthy tracks spread across two LPs (again, selling via mail order for the newly inflated price of $3), Music With 58 Musicians, Volume One may not be like the other rock, blues and folk-oriented entries in the series, but its adventurous musical selections are just as groundbreaking for those who like their jazz off the beaten path. Taking its name from the famed, 1978 release by Steve Reich (Music For 18 Musicians, an excerpt of which is included here), this ECM collection is a wonderfully varied listen, with selections from the Pat Metheny Group, Gary Burton & Chick Corea, Terje Rypdal, Art Ensemble Of Chicago, (mumbling) Keith Jarret, John Abercrombie & Ralph Towner, the great Jack DeJohnette, Paul Motian and others. It’s not for everybody, of course. It’s not even for all jazzers, as ECM was as subtly subversive in the jazz idiom as Warners was in the transitioning rock world of the 60s. But, those who take the plunge will not be disappointed. It helps that this LP’s sound is gorgeous, too, with a million thanks to Rebecca who expertly ripped this from her own collection, along with scanning the artwork, so we could include this in the series at the very last minute. So… show some love. The liner notes state that a “further, specially-priced double album of extras from ECM productions projects” was coming soon, but (to the best of our knowledge) the Loss Leaders series came to an end with the next/last known $3 2LP release, Troublemakers, so no Volume Two materialized