MIROSLAV VITOUS - Universal Syncopations (2003) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

On his first jazz date as a leader since 1992, Czechoslovakian bassist and composer Miroslav Vitous comes out of the gate with a host of heavyweights on one of the more lyrically swinging dates in modern jazz. Vitous' engaged, pulsing, and deeply woody tone is featured in the company of John McLaughlin, Jan Garbarek, Chick Corea, and Jack DeJohnette. While the crystalline sound of Manfred Eicher's ECM is everywhere here, as is the open-ended speculative jazz that the label is renowned -- and ridiculed for -- Vitous offers some startlingly beautiful twists and turns with his ensemble. Vitous, who has been through every music, from jazz-rock fusion as a founding member of Weather Report to being a classical composer, decided to revisit the skeletal remains of his very first session for the label in 1969. Produced by Herbie Mann the disc was, from a musical standpoint, a contentious, utterly brilliant marriage of ideas both old and new. Bandmembers DeJohnette and McLaughlin were present on those sides as well. Universal Syncopations is by turns a return to not the old forms, but rather to the manner of illustrating harmonic concepts in a quintet setting that allows for a maximum space between ensemble players while turning notions of swing, counterpoint, and rhythmic invention on their heads. From the wooly, expressionistic "Tramp Blues," with Vitous vamping around the changes, to the wide-open legato guitar phrasing of McLauglin against the double time in Vitous' bass on "Univoyage," to the simmering undulations of Garbarek's saxophones on top of Corea's intricate melodies and right-hand runs on "Brazilan Waves," all of it propelled, not anchored, by the leader's rich tone and accented and punctuated by Garbarek's tight, loping saxophone lines. This is one of those recordings that feels familiar in tone, but is timeless in concept and execution. Universal Syncopations is one of the most gorgeous sounding and toughly played dates of the calendar year.  by Thom Jurek
Tracklist:
1     Bamboo Forest        4:37
Miroslav Vitous
2     Univoyage    10:54
Miroslav Vitous
3    Tramp Blues    5:19
Miroslav Vitous
4    Faith Run    4:58
Miroslav Vitous
5    Sun Flower    7:21
Miroslav Vitous
6    Miro Bop    4:03
Miroslav Vitous
7    Beethoven    7:18
Jan Garbarek / Miroslav Vitous
8    Medium    5:09
Jan Garbarek / Miroslav Vitous
9    Brazil Waves    4:26
Jan Garbarek / Miroslav Vitous
Credits
Double Bass, Written-By, Producer, Edited By, Mixed By – Miroslav Vitous
Drums – Jack DeJohnette
Guitar – John McLaughlin
Piano – Chick Corea
Producer, Edited By, Mixed By – Manfred Eicher
Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone – Jan Garbarek
Trombone – Isaac Smith (tracks: 2 to 4)
Trumpet – Wayne Bergeron (tracks: 2 to 4)
Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Valerie Ponomarev (tracks: 2 to 4)
Written-By – Jack DeJohnette (tracks: 8), Jan Garbarek (tracks: 7, 9)

BILL CONNORS - Of Mist and Melting (1977) APE (image+.cue), lossless

A beautiful session by the ever searching guitarist Bill Connors - showing part of the musical direction that Connors first took after leaving Chick Corea's first jazz-rock incarnation of the "Return To Forever" band (following the departure of vocalist Flora Purim - due to legal problems, her husband percussionist Airto Moreira, and saxophonist/flautist Joseph "Joe Farrell" Firrantello from the earlier latin-jazz "Return To Forever" band). The intense, lyrical, and introspective Bill Connors' originals on the "Of Mist And Melting" session continued to show his great talents as a composer - compositions which bassist Gary Peacock both praised and also used in his jazz composition classes and workshops following his return to Seattle, Washington after recording the session in December of 1977. Note: the piece "Melting" is also known under the title of "Spanish Flames" from live Bill Connors / James "Jimmy" Giuffre duet performances. by Martin Totusek
Tracklist:
1 Melting 11:31
Bill Connors
2 Not Forgetting 6:30
Bill Connors
3 Face In The Water 3:25
Bill Connors
4 Aubade 9:36
Bill Connors
5 Café Vue 5:37
Bill Connors
6 Unending 7:33
Bill Connors
Credits:
Bass – Gary Peacock
Composed By – Bill Connors
Drums – Jack DeJohnette
Guitar – Bill Connors
Saxophone – Jan Garbarek

JAN GARBAREK - Legend of the Seven Dreams (1988) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Though in step with its time, this release suffers from excessive reliance on ambient synthesizers, which litter much of the recording, rendering it only slightly more interesting than many of the Windham Hill new age recordings of the same era. Unfortunate, because the disc opens with strength and gradually peters out by the end. The disc opens with "He Came From the North," which features a melody based on a traditional Lapp joik from the artist's native Norway and progresses into a longer section with an interplay that is both sparse and rhythmic. The sax line here is astonishingly beautiful. The second piece, "Alchuri, the Song Man," a sax and percussion piece, is energetic and lively as well. And from here the energy gradually diminishes. Much can be attributed to popular styles of the time, but this release simply does not stand up to other music of its genre that came later. by Mark Allender
Tracklist:
1    He Comes From The North 13:34
Keyboards – Brüninghaus
Percussion, Voice – Vasconcelos
Soprano Saxophone – Garbarek
2    Aichuri, The Song Man 5:03
Tenor Saxophone, Percussion – Garbarek
3    Tongue Of Secrets 8:07
Bass – Weber
Flute – Garbarek
Keyboards – Brüninghaus
Percussion – Vasconcelos
4    Brother Wind 8:03
Keyboards – Brüninghaus
Percussion – Vasconcelos
Soprano Saxophone – Garbarek
5    It's Name Is Secret Road 1:43
Flute – Garbarek
6    Send Word 7:12
Bass – Weber
Keyboards – Brüninghaus
Percussion – Vasconcelos
Soprano Saxophone – Garbarek
7    Voy Cantando 6:48
Keyboards – Brüninghaus
Percussion – Vasconcelos
Tenor Saxophone – Garbarek
8    Mirror Stone I 1:11
Soprano Saxophone – Garbarek
9    Mirror Stone II 2:29
Soprano Saxophone – Garbarek
Credits:
Composed By [Compositions By] – Jan Garbarek
Design – Barbara Wojirsch
Musician – Eberhard Weber, Jan Garbarek, Naná Vasconcelos, Rainer Brüninghaus
 

JAN GARBAREK - I Took Up the Runes (1990) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

A more eclectic release than his preceding releases, Jan Garbarek's I Took Up the Runes satisfies listeners who had been more or less impatient for something with some meat and some muscle. Opening with a jazzy cover of Mari Persen's "Gula Gula," made fuller with bass guitar accompaniment that modifies the chord structure of the whole tune, the album next features the five-part "Molde Canticle," which spans from a dreamy esoteric sound to African folk music. Garbarek really wails in places, and it is a welcome surprise -- he should wail more than he does. Synthesizer sounds are starting to become less prominent as well. There is excellent piano work by Rainer Brüninghaus and excellent vocalizing by guest artist Ingor Ántte Áilu Gaup. A sign of good things to come. by Mark Allender
Tracklist:
1 Gula Gula 5:55
Arranged By – Jan Garbarek
Composed By – Mari Boine Persen
Molde Canticle
Composed By – Jan Garbarek
2 Part 1 5:13
3 Part 2 5:43
4 Part 3 9:54
5 Part 4 5:10
6 Part 5 6:06
7 His Eyes Were Suns 6:04
Composed By – Jan Garbarek
Composed By [Áilu Gaup Joiking "Biera, Biera"] – Traditional
8 I Took Up The Runes 5:24
Composed By – Jan Garbarek
9 Buena Hora, Buenos Vientos 8:51
Composed By – Jan Garbarek
10 Rahkki Sruvvis 2:26
Arranged By – Jan Garbarek
Composed By – Ingor Ántte Áilu Gaup
Credits:
Bass – Eberhard Weber
Design [Cover Design] – Barbara Wojirsch
Drums – Manu Katché
Percussion – Naná Vasconcelos
Piano – Rainer Brüninghaus
Producer – Manfred Eicher
Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone – Jan Garbarek
Synthesizer – Bugge Wesseltoft
Voice – Ingor Ántte Áilu Gaup

JAN GARBAREK GROUP - Twelve Moons (1992) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Recorded in 1992, this album emphasizes production value and slick performances. Largely a feature for Jan Garbarek's soprano sax (he only plays tenor on three tracks), each song is dreamy and quite mystical. Compositionally, TWELVE MOONS is a curious blend of light jazz and Norwegian folk melodies. This is especially apparent on "Psalm" and "Darvanan," both of which feature female vocalists, while "Huhai" borrows from a traditional folk tune.
Fans of Garbarek's penetrating, English horn-like soprano sax sound are treated to some inspired playing throughout, and drummer Manu Katche, best known for his work with Peter Gabriel and Sting, shines on every track. Additionally, there is nice interplay between Garbarek and the band on "Witchi-Tai-To," a remake of a tune first recorded by the saxophonist on a '74 album of the same name. AllMusic
Tracklist:
Twelve Moons (7:35)
Composed By – Jan Garbarek
Drums – Manu Katché
Percussion – Marilyn Mazur
Soprano Saxophone, Synthesizer [Synthesizers] – Jan Garbarek
1.1 Part One: Winter-Summer
1.2 Part Two: Summer-Winter
2 Psalm 6:32
Arranged By – Jan Garbarek
Bass – Eberhard Weber
Composed By – Traditional.
Lyrics By – Elling Hansen
Percussion – Marilyn Mazur
Soprano Saxophone – Jan Garbarek
Vocals [Vocal] – Agnes Buen Garnås
3 Brother Wind March 10:17
Bass – Eberhard Weber
Composed By – Jan Garbarek
Drums – Manu Katché
Piano, Synthesizer [Synthesizers] – Rainer Brüninghaus
Soprano Saxophone – Jan Garbarek
4 There Were Swallows ... 8:36
Bass – Eberhard Weber
Composed By – Jan Garbarek
Drums – Manu Katché
Percussion – Marilyn Mazur
Piano – Rainer Brüninghaus
Soprano Saxophone – Jan Garbarek
5 The Tall Tear Trees 5:45
Bass – Eberhard Weber
Composed By – Jan Garbarek
Drums – Manu Katché
Piano, Synthesizer [Synthesizers] – Rainer Brüninghaus
Tenor Saxophone – Jan Garbarek
6 Arietta 6:21
Arranged By – Jan Garbarek
Bass – Eberhard Weber
Composed By – Edvard Grieg
Percussion – Marilyn Mazur
Piano – Rainer Brüninghaus
Soprano Saxophone – Jan Garbarek
7 Gautes-Margjit 11:53
Arranged By – Jan Garbarek
Bass – Eberhard Weber
Composed By – Traditional.
Drums – Manu Katché
Percussion – Marilyn Mazur
Piano – Rainer Brüninghaus
Tenor Saxophone – Jan Garbarek
8 Darvánan 4:54
Composed By – Mari Boine
Tenor Saxophone – Jan Garbarek
Vocals [Vocal] – Mari Boine
9 Huhai 7:29
Bass – Eberhard Weber
Composed By – Jan Garbarek
Drums – Manu Katché
Percussion – Marilyn Mazur
Piano – Rainer Brüninghaus
Soprano Saxophone – Jan Garbarek
10 Witchi-Tai-To 5:43
Bass – Eberhard Weber
Composed By – Jim Pepper
Drums – Manu Katché
Piano – Rainer Brüninghaus
Soprano Saxophone – Jan Garbarek
Credits:
Bass – Eberhard Weber
Design [Cover Design] – Barbara Wojirsch
Drums – Manu Katché
Keyboards – Rainer Brüninghaus
Percussion – Marilyn Mazur
Producer – Manfred Eicher
Saxophone [Saxophones] – Jan Garbarek
Vocals [Vocal] – Agnes Buen Garnås, Mari Boine

JAN GARBAREK / THE HILLIARD ENSEMBLE - Officium (1994) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Fearlessly searching for new conceptions of sound and not caring where he found them, Garbarek joined hands with the classical early-music movement, improvising around the four male voices of the Hilliard Ensemble. Now here was a radical idea guaranteed to infuriate both hardcore jazz buffs and the even more pristine more-authentic-than-thou folk in early music circles. Yet this unlikely fusion works stunningly well -- and even more hearteningly, went over the heads of the purists and became a hit album at a time (1994) when Gregorian chants were a hot item. Chants, early polyphonic music, and Renaissance motets by composers like Morales and Dufay form the basic material, bringing forth a cool yet moving spirituality in Garbarek's work. Recorded in a heavily reverberant Austrian monastery, the voices sometimes develop in overwhelming waves, and Garbarek rides their crest, his soprano sax soaring in the monastery acoustic, or he underscores the voices almost unobtrusively, echoing the voices, finding ample room to move around the modal harmonies yet applying his sound sparingly. Those with nervous metabolisms may become impatient with this undefinable music, but if you give it a chance, it will seduce you, too. by Richard S. Ginell  
Tracklist:
1    Parce mihi domine 6:42
Cristóbal de Morales
2    Primo tempore 8:03   
Anonymous / Anonymous, Czech
3    Sanctus 4:44
Anonymous / Anonymous, Czech    
4    Regnanten Sempiterna 5:36
Gregorian Chant
5    O Salutaris Hostia 4:34
Pierre de la Rue
6    Procedentem sponsum 2:50
Anonymous / Anonymous, Hungarian
7    Pulcherrima rosa 6:55
Anonymous / Anonymous, Czech
8    Parce mihi domine 5:35
Cristóbal de Morales
9    Beata viscera, conductus for solo voice 6:34
Pérotin
10    De spineto nata rosa 2:30
Anonymous / Anonymous, English
11    Credo 2:06   
Anonymous / Anonymous, Czech
12    Ave maris stella, hymn for 3 voices (2 versions) 4:14   
Guillaume Dufay
13    Virgo flagellatur (School of Perotinus) 5:19   
Anonymous
14    Oratio Ieremiae 5:00   
Gregorian Chant
15    Parce mihi domine 6:52   
Cristóbal de Morales
Credits:
Baritone Vocals – Gordon Jones
Countertenor Vocals – David James
Ensemble – The Hilliard Ensemble
Producer [Produced By] – Manfred Eicher
Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone – Jan Garbarek
Tenor Vocals – John Potter, Rogers Covey-Crump

JAN GARBAREK - Visible World (1995) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Apart from David Sanborn, probably no living saxophonist has a more instantly recognizable voice than Jan Garbarek; actually, given the fact that Sanborn's sound is so widely copied, Garbarek's may be easier to identify in a blindfold test. This album in particular puts that sound front and center. Garbarek's the show; he composed all of the music, and is essentially the only soloist. The music (much of which was composed as soundtrack material for film or video) is quintessential Garbarek, full of the world music influences that have characterized his work since the 1970s. Garbarek's resonant, carefully articulated tenor and soprano tone suits the spacious, minor/modal themes. He's as much a singer as instrumentalist. Garbarek also plays digital synthesizers, mostly as string or flute pads underneath the folkish melodies. The record's most notable secondary player is Garbarek's ECM labelmate, the bassist Eberhard Weber, whose lyric sensibility is a virtual mirror of Garbarek's. This is quiet, contemplative music for the most part -- attractive, but not superficially pretty. Its grooves are less celebratory than melancholic. There's an intensity here borne of deep concentration and commitment to beauty. Garbarek has come a long way since his early days as a quasi-free jazz experimentalist. This music is not jazz, nor is it experimental. But it is compelling in its way, representative of a first-rate creative musician, beyond category. by Chris Kelsey 
Tracklist:
1    Red Wind 3:53
Jan Garbarek
Shaker – Marilyn Mazur
2    The Creek    4:33
Jan Garbarek
3    The Survivor    4:46
Jan Garbarek
4    The Healing Smoke    7:16
Jan Garbarek
5    Visible World, Chiaro -    4:09
Jan Garbarek
6    Desolate Mountains I    6:47
Jan Garbarek
7    Desolate Mountains II    6:02
Jan Garbarek
8    Visible World, - Scuro    4:34
Jan Garbarek
9    Giulietta    3:46
Jan Garbarek
10    Desolate Mountains III    1:33
Jan Garbarek
11    Pygmy Lullaby 6:14
Arranged By – Jan Garbarek
Music By [Melody] – African traditional
12    The Quest 3:00
Jan Garbarek
Synthesizer – Rainer Brüninghaus
13    The Arrow 4:23
Jan Garbarek
Tabla, Performer [Spiral] – Trilok Gurtu 
14    The Scythe    1:50
Jan Garbarek
15    Evening Land 12:29
Jan Garbarek
Vocals, Composed By – Mari Boine
Credits:
Bass – Eberhard Weber (tracks: 2, 3, 7, 8, 11, 12)
Composed By – Jan Garbarek (tracks: 1 to 10, 12 to 15)
Design [Cover] – Barbara Wojirsch
Drums – Manu Katché (tracks: 2, 3, 11, 13), Marilyn Mazur (tracks: 6, 7, 9)
Percussion – Marilyn Mazur (tracks: 4, 5, 8, 9, 11 to 13, 15)
Piano – Rainer Brüninghaus (tracks: 3, 4, 6, 7, 10, 11)
Producer – Manfred Eicher
Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Keyboards [Electronic], Percussion [Additional], Clarinet [Meraaker] – Jan Garbarek
Note:
Tracks 1, 2, 4, 12 and 13 are parts of a "Mangas Coloradas Suite" involving descendants of the Chiricahua Apache Chief Mangas Coloradas.
Tracks 3 and 4 were made for the feature film "Trollsyn".
Tracks 5 and 8 were made for the TV ballet "Bønn".
Track 15 was done for a music-video production entitled "Aftenlandet". 

JAN GARBAREK - Rites (1998) 2xCD / FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Since the late '70s, Jan Garbarek has been carving out a place within jazz for the folk and spiritual traditions of the indigenous peoples of Scandinavia, the Netherlands, and finally of those people all over the world. Rites, a double CD, is his attempt at forging a synthesis that takes improvisation into the heart of ritual music and creates a new form of spiritual from them both. Using a strategy for each of the discs, the first one digs deep into the spiritual and mystical side of his language. Garbarek plays soprano and tenor as well as synthesizers, drum machines, and samples -- always understated, always elegant -- and utilizes the talents of some of his running mates as well as new ones. Rainer Bruninghaus appears sporadically throughout, as does bassist Eberhard Weber, and drummer/percussion wizard Marilyn Mazur is ubiquitous. The music is slow, tenuous, and repetitive. It hardly matters -- on disc one, anyway -- which of the pieces are being played. All of them have spare, chant-like melodies that are lifted by myriad percussion instruments and keyboards, which provide a spacious ambience in which to enfold them both. Even Garbarek's trademark icy saxophone -- usually made more so by Manfred Eicher's production -- is warm, watery, and deeply entrenched in this warm mix that falls over listeners like a fine meditation blanket; like that blanket, it begins to stir emotions from deep within the heart of the listener. While these songs all segue into one another, it is worth noting that Garbarek recut "It's OK to Listen to the Grey Voice" for this collection, where it's performed with deeper conviction and fits better than it did on the album it was named for. Disc two of Rites is a bit of a different story. While the music is indeed intended for ritual, it comes from the celebratory side of the  aisle rather than the contemplative one. Here are dances, Garbarek's versions of gospel shouts, processionals, festival waltzes, and all manner of joyful ceremonies completing the circle. On one collection, listeners get music for prayer, contemplation, and grief, as well as a funky European read of indigenous music for moving to and celebrating. Clearly this is what sets Rites above Garbarek's other recordings, him taking that balance he possessed so early in his career back again and putting it to work in a near-sacred setting. by Thom Jurek
Tracklist 1 :
1    Rites 8:27
Composed By – Jan Garbarek
Synthesizer [Additional Synthesizer], Effects [Electronic Effects] – Bugge Wesseltoft
2    Where The Rivers Meet 7:01
Composed By – Jan Garbarek
Cymbal [Additional Cymbals], Tom Tom [Additional Toms] – Marilyn Mazur
3    Vast Plain, Clouds 5:53
Bass – Eberhard Weber
Composed By – Jan Garbarek
Drums – Marilyn Mazur
Keyboards [Keyboard] – Rainer Brüninghaus
4    So Mild The Wind, So Meek The Water 6:09
Bass – Eberhard Weber
Composed By – Jan Garbarek
Drums – Marilyn Mazur
Piano – Rainer Brüninghaus
5    Song, Tread Lightly 7:40
Composed By – Jan Garbarek
Slit Drum, Cymbal [Additional Cymbals], Tom Tom [Additional Toms] – Marilyn Mazur
6    It's OK To Listen To The Gray Voice 6:43
Bass – Eberhard Weber
Composed By – Jan Garbarek
Drums – Marilyn Mazur
Keyboards [Keyboard], Piano – Rainer Brüninghaus
7    Her Wild Ways 6:44
Bass – Eberhard Weber
Composed By – Jan Garbarek
Composed By [Including Fragments Of] – Trad. Halling-Joron
Drums – Marilyn Mazur
Piano – Rainer Brüninghaus
Tracklist 2 :
1    It's High Time 3:31
Composed By – Jan Garbarek
Composed By [Including Fragments Of A] – Sami Trad. Joik
Synthesizer [Additional Synthesizer], Effects [Electronic Effects] – Bugge Wesseltoft
2    One Ying For Every Yang 6:32
Bass – Eberhard Weber
Composed By – Jan Garbarek
Drums – Marilyn Mazur
Keyboards [Keyboard] – Rainer Brüninghaus
3    Pan 6:11
Composed By – Jan Garbarek
4    We Are The Stars 5:00
Choir – Boys From The Choir "Sølvguttene"
Composed By – Jan Garbarek
Conductor – Torstein Grythe
5    The Moon Over Mtatsminda 3:57
Composed By – Jansug Kakhidze
Orchestra – Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra
Vocals [Singer], Conductor – Jansug Kakhidze
6    Malinye 6:19
Accordion – Bugge Wesseltoft
Composed By – Don Cherry
Drums – Marilyn Mazur
7    The White Clown 3:44
Bass – Eberhard Weber
Composed By – Jan Garbarek
Drums – Marilyn Mazur
Keyboards [Keyboard] – Rainer Brüninghaus
8    Evenly They Danced 5:14
Composed By – Jan Garbarek
Synthesizer [Additional Synthesizer], Effects [Electronic Effects] – Bugge Wesseltoft
9    Last Rite 8:24
Composed By – Jan Garbarek
Synthesizer [Additional Synthesizer], Effects [Electronic Effects] – Bugge Wesseltoft
Credits :
Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Synthesizer [Synthesizers], Sampler [Samplers], Percussion – Jan Garbarek

JAN GARBAREK / THE HILLIARD ENSEMBLE - Mnemosyne (1999) 2xCD / FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Garbarek and the Hilliard Ensemble waited nearly five years before trying to follow up their surprisingly successful Officium album, but finally they came through with an even more adventurous two-CD set of jazzman-meets-early-music-voices. Here, their range straddles no less than three milleniums (just missing a fourth by a couple of years), from the "Delphic Paean" of Athenaeus circa 127 B.C. to a lullaby by the contemporary Estonian composer Veljo Tormis, with intervening contributions by Hildegard von Bingen, William Billings, and Thomas Tallis, Iroquois Indians, Basque and Peruvian folksongs, and many more far-flung choices. Most daringly, the four voices themselves now start to improvise on scraps of ancient material culled from old book bindings and the like, though it's hard to determine exactly where this occurs (probably during some passages of wordless vocalise). Ultimately, despite the freer methods, the results are often pretty much the same as Officium on disc one -- soothing, timeless sonic frescos reverberantly recorded in the same Austrian St. Gerold monastery, with Garbarek soaring over or threading through the texture ever more sparingly. Yet on disc two, Garbarek and the Hilliards start to move into other worlds, breaking into something more disturbing and even atonal in that ancient "Delphic Paean," the syncopated harmonies of Garbarek's own "Loiterando," or a strange-sounding Russian Psalm from the 16th century. This is a collaboration in transition, and one hopes it will continue to evolve. by Richard S. Ginell 
Tracklist 1 :
1    Quechua Song 7:12
Composed By – Jan Garbarek, Hilliard Ensemble
Composed By [Peruvian Folksong Fragment] – Traditional
2    O Lord In Thee Is All My Trust 5:09
Composed By – Jan Garbarek, Hilliard Ensemble, Thomas Tallis
3    Estonian Lullaby 1:58
Composed By – Veljo Tormis
4    Remember Me My Dear 6:30
Composed By – Jan Garbarek, Hilliard Ensemble
Composed By [16th Century Scotland] – Traditional
5    Gloria 6:03
Composed By – Guillaume Dufay
6    Fayrfax Africanus 4:05
Composed By – Jan Garbarek, Hilliard Ensemble
Composed By [St Albans / Great Dunmow] – Traditional
7    Agnus Dei 8:38
Composed By – Antoine Brumel, Jan Garbarek, Hilliard Ensemble
8    Novus Novus 2:18
Composed By – Jan Garbarek, Hilliard Ensemble
Composed By [13th Centuy France] – Traditional
9    Se Je Fays Dueil 5:12
Composed By – Guillaume Le Rouge, Jan Garbarek, Hilliard Ensemble
10    O Ignis Spiritus 10:53
Composed By – Hildegard Von Bingen, Jan Garbarek, Hilliard Ensemble
Tracklist 2 :
1    Alleluia Nativitatis 5:06
Composed By – Jan Garbarek, Hilliard Ensemble
Composed By [13th Century England] – Traditional
2    Delphic Paean 4:46
Composed By – Jan Garbarek, Hilliard Ensemble
Composed By [127 BC] – Athenaeus
3    Strophe And Counter-Strophe 5:02
Composed By – Jan Garbarek
4    Mascarados 5:02
Composed By – Jan Garbarek, Hilliard Ensemble
Composed By [Basque Folksong Fragments] – Traditional
5    Loiterando 5:33
Composed By – Jan Garbarek
6    Estonian Lullaby 2:01
Composed By – Veljo Tormis
7    Russian Psalm 3:45
Composed By – Jan Garbarek, Hilliard Ensemble
Composed By [16th Century Russia] – Traditional
8    Eagle Dance 4:48
Composed By – Jan Garbarek, Hilliard Ensemble
Composed By [Iroquois & Padleirmiut Fragments] – Traditional
9    When Jesus Wept 3:22
Composed By – Jan Garbarek, Hilliard Ensemble, William Billings
10    Hymn To The Sun 7:28
Composed By – Jan Garbarek, Hilliard Ensemble
Composed By [2nd Century Greece] – Mesomedes
Credits:
Baritone Vocals – Gordon Jones
Countertenor Vocals – David James
Design [Cover Design] – Sascha Kleis
Ensemble – The Hilliard Ensemble
Producer – Manfred Eicher
Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone – Jan Garbarek
Tenor Vocals – John Potter, Rogers Covey-Crump
Text By [Mnemosyne Poem] – Friedrich Hölderlin
Note
"Thanks to Ingmar Bergman for many things, including these images from his film The Seventh Seal." M.E.
 

JAN GARBAREK - In Praise of Dreams (2003) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

It has been six years since saxophonist/composer Jan Garbarek issued a new recording under his own name. For In Praise of Dreams Garbarek enlisted violist Kim Kashkashian and frequent collaborator Manu Katché on drums. Garbarek, who composed the album's 11 selections, plays saxophones as well as a host of keyboards and percussion, while Katché plays acoustic and electronic drums along with Kashkashian's viola. In many ways this is the most radical recording that Garbarek has ever issued, but not because it's outside -- quite the opposite. This is easily the warmest, most accessible outing Garbarek has ever issued because though there are no vocals, Garbarek has clearly written "songs" on this set, with identifiable structures that are followed almost throughout. Though he is no stranger to the form, having employed it almost continually for the last 20 years, he has never engaged it so thoroughly and completely. Previously, he has engaged improvisation to get song to the breaking point and move it somewhere else. Here it is always present; surprise happens inside the formal frameworks of these compositions. Beautiful, soulful lines underscore and recontextualize the saxophonist's trademark Nordic iciness of tone on the opener, "As Seen from Above," with its spiraling soprano, lush keyboards, and hypnotic loops. In its warmth, it comes very close to a distinctly European kind of groove/soul-jazz. The interplay between Kashkashian and Garbarek on the title track offers rounded, multidimensional sonorities winding through the intro before spilling into a call-and-response melody. The repetitive keyboard line and Katché's mantra-like drumming under the loops draw the listener inside the song's heart and extend the edge for the front line. The restrained romanticism shown by Kashkashian on her nocturnal solo intro to "One Goes There Alone" is nearly breathtaking. As it gives way to the tune itself, it's slow, reflective, and rooted deeply in the tension created between percussion and Garbarek's minimal backing response lines. When he solos later in the tune, he's clearly blowing blues into her elegiac line. The blues notion continues in his phrasing on "Knot of Place and Time," slipping through the landscape of Kashkashian's elegant, near heartbreakingly poetic soundscape. And so it goes. Things get more speculative on "Scene from Afar" and "Cloud of Unknowing," but it hardly matters since these song forms are nonetheless immediately recognizable, presenting the nether side of the equation. It emerges again with "Conversation With a Stone" and whispers to a close with "A Tale Begun," a mantra-like duet that closes this strong set that will undoubtedly, if it gets the opportunity to be heard, garner Jan Garbarek some new fans. Poetic, moving, and marvelous, In Praise of Dreams is a welcome return. by Thom Jurek
Tracklist:
1    As Seen From Above    4:42
2    In Praise Of Dreams    5:21
3    One Goes There Alone    5:06
4    Knot Of Place And Time    6:22
5    If You Go Far Enough    0:39
6    Scene From Afar    5:14
7    Cloud Of Unknowing    5:22
8    Without Visible Sign    4:59
9    Iceburn    4:59
10    Conversation With A Stone    4:18
11    A Tale Begun    4:39
Credits:
Drums, Electronic Drums [Sampled Or Looped Electronic Drums] – Manu Katché (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 6, 9, 10)
Producer – Jan Garbarek, Manfred Eicher
Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Synthesizer [Synthesizers], Sampler [Samplers], Percussion, Composed By – Jan Garbarek
Viola – Kim Kashkashian (tracks: 2 to 4, 6 to 10)   

JAN GARBAREK / USTAD FATEH ALI KHAN - Ragas and Sagas (1992) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The saxophone is not an instrument usually associated with Pakistani music. And Pakistanis are not especially famous for collaborating with Norwegians. But that is what listeners have on this incredible recording. The music is predominantly Pakistani in sound, tonality, and structure; voice, sarangi, and tabla improvise along with Garbarek's saxophone on every track. For aficionados of Indian or Pakistani music, this is a great recording; Garbarek's lines are right in step with the traditional styles of improvisation. Listeners unacquainted with these traditions will find this recording a mesmerizingly exotic disc. Those familiar with Garbarek's work will be very surprised. This is a completely unique recording for him; one can only hope that he makes further explorations in this vein. by Mark Allender

Tracklist:

1 Raga I 8:45

Ustad Fateh Ali Khan

2 Saga 5:25

Jan Garbarek 

3 Raga II 13:05

Ustad Fateh Ali Khan

4 Raga III 11:53

Ustad Fateh Ali Khan

5 Raga IV 12:56

Ustad Fateh Ali Khan

Credits:

Jan Garbarek - Composer, Flute, Performer, Sax (Soprano), Sax (Tenor)

Shaukat Hussain - Tabla

Manu Katché - Drums

Nazim Ali Khan - Sarangui

Ustad Fateh Ali Khan -  Vocals, Voices

Deepika Thathaal - Vocals, Voices