Listen to some of the lp ‘Cloud Dance’ by Collin Walcott. (ECM, Germany 1976)

I’ve always been a little bit partial to the timbres and tones of Indian instruments, but left somewhat cold by the drone-like nature of much of the traditional music they find themselves in the employ of. No beats, see? Now, I’m not some raving rhythm muncher who cannot appreciate a good tune unless the floor is throbbing, but I do like a little something to at least tap a finger along to.  So, I was pleased to stumble upon both of Collin Walcott’s only two records as leader.

Although the man himself was a student of Ravi Shankar and played numerous traditional Indian instruments, he obviously had a love of jazz and it’s forms to the extent that he here employs John Abercrombie, Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette, all top jazzers. On his follow up release, Grazing Dreams, he roped in Don Cherry.

Apart from having a reputation for a cool Northern European approach to music and artwork that took the natural world as stark inspiration, ECM are also famous (with me anyway) for having ludicrously shiny record covers which shed there laminate only to reveal an equally reflective sleeve. This is why, however hard I tried, you can see my reflection in the picture above.