ECM (Editions of Contemporary Music) is a German record company founded in 1969 by Manfred Eicher. Through a singular vision of atmospheric and spacious international music that started with jazz but later moved beyond, and with distinctive packaging design, ECM is now widely recognized as a major force in shaping all contemporary music, and with a presence extending into the sphere of arthouse cinema. This class will attempt to serve as a primer, covering ECM’s history and artists with audio-visual samples (Jan Garbarek, Keith Jarrett, Art Ensemble of Chicago, Steve Reich, András Schiff, and many others), while hopefully offering something for the seasoned ECM fan as well, including tips on overlooked gems and on using the library’s Hoopla streaming service, where you can digitally borrow hundreds of full albums from the ECM label. Librarian presenter Jordon Zorker has followed ECM for decades and conducted extensive research in preparing this class.