Arild Andersen - Selected Recordings :rarum XIX (2004)

ECM :rarum MONTH* (MARCH 2017)

Sorry to disappoint, but I am completely unfamiliar with Andersen and his work and I'm going to need to spend more time with this disc before I have anything worthwhile to write about it. Before receiving this box set, I don't recall reading or hearing his name. Even the Allmusic review admits the Andersen "may not be one of ECM's best-known bandleaders (to Americans, that is), but that hasn't stopped him from amassing an impressive catalog as one of the label's senior statesmen." With the (mostly) peaceful nature of the writing, I'll probably do all my subsequent listenings after dark. It might pair well with the first disc from 2015 ECM offering of Mette Henriette. We'll see.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart

Tracks: 13 tracks, 75 minutes.

Title	Album	Year
Vanilje	Bande à Part	1986
Svev	If You Look Far Enough	1993	✔
The Island	Hyperborean	1997
305 W 18th St	Clouds in My Head	1975
For All We Know	If You Look Far Enough	1993	✔
The Sword Under His Wings	Molde Concert	1982
Shorts	In Line	1983	✔
Gardsjenta	Re-Enter	1991
Sagn	Sagn	1991	✔
She's Gone	Achirana	2000
Printer	Aero	1988
A Song I Used to Play	Lifelines	1981	✔
Sole	Green Shading Into Blue	1978

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

---

*Back in June 2015, this beautiful thing showed up at my doorstep:

It's a 12 CD box set (2008) of compilation discs from ECM's :rarum series, a birthday gift from a good friend.  In this series, the artists were given the freedom to pick their personal favorite recordings from any ECM release they've made as a leader or sideman. In other words, the label got outta the way and good for them.  I'll be making my way through the set this month.

ECM (Edition of Contemporary Music), originally a German label, was founded in 1969. "Rarum" comes from the Latin root "rarus" meaning "rare" (perhaps foreshadowing that these CDs wouldn't be in print for very long).