He came to Oslo to record Jan Garbarek's first record for ECM - this was also one of the first ECM recordings. So I started in the studio, and after two and a half years I met Manfred Eicher. Now all the engineers are well educated, but they don't get any jobs because there are so many people in the field. I even heard Coltrane live - it was a really fantastic year! I went back and studied electronics for two years, and then I got a job at Arne Bendiksen. I was in New York City ten times during that year and I heard a lot of great jazz musicians. After high school, in 1963, I worked one year as a musician on a cruise ship, which sailed all over the world. My first experience was at Arne Bendiksen Studio back in '67. Jan Erik Kongshaug in the studio with Terje Rypdal Artists such as Pat Metheny, Keith Jarrett, Jan Garbarek, Chick Corea, Charlie Haden, Don Cherry, Charles Lloyd, Bobo Stenson, Arild Andersen, Jon Christensen, and Palle Danielsson, are only a few of the dozens of world renowned musicians that have made multiple recordings on ECM and have benefitted from the engineering of Jan Erik Kongshaug. If there is a continuum from one recording to the next, it is the ability to hear the dynamic range of the music, as well as the clarity and focus of the players. There are those that claim there is a signature “ECM sound” to the label’s recordings, but the discerning listener is easily able to distinguish the uniqueness of each recording. The founder of ECM (Edition of Contemporary Music), Manfred Eicher, is an audiophile and producer who has been actively involved in creating the highest quality recordings possible. He has engineered hundreds of recordings many of them have been for the respected jazz label, ECM. As I enter the building and am warmly greeted by the studio manager, I am introduced to the man that is at the center of many of the most beautiful jazz recordings of the past 35 years. The lively stream running through the complex of buildings adds a well-balanced pastoral feeling to the surroundings. The space is tucked away in a beautifully designed modern business park.
Manfred Eicher and Jan Erik Kongshaug at The Power Station, February 1996Ī slight drizzle on an August afternoon in Oslo, Norway, set the mood perfectly for a conversation with engineer Jan Erik Kongshaug at his RainbowStudio.