|
|
Jan Garbarek: Twelve Moons
[ECM] (1996)
Norwegian saxophonist/composer Jan Garbarek is one of the north’s
premier musicians–and not merely in “jazz.” He has evolved from
his early years as a Coltrane-influenced saxophonist into a unique
approach to playing and writing, with a distinctive sax tone and
a mature composer’s ability to work with materials from folk music
and the avant-garde as well as with jazz. Garbarek has long been
my favorite saxophonist–there are moments here as on all his albums
when his knife-edged tone can just rip holes in you, like a scalpel
made of frozen fire.
Twelve Moonsis both a summation and a look forward. It contains
a few arrangements of traditional Norwegian songs (“Psalm” and
“Gautes-Margjit”), something Garbarek has been exploring in depth
of late, but this is also the first album on which Garbarek looks
back to his past catalogue and reworks or presents a new version
of a piece he has recorded before. Twelve Moons is a celebration,
too, as ECM’s 500th release. It’s fitting that ECM’s 500th album
be a Garbarek work, due to their long association together.
“Brother Wind March” is a reworking of “Brother Wind” from Garbarek’s
earlier album Legend of the Seven Dreams(ECM) that turns the original
into a dramatic processional. “Arietta” is a gentle arrangement
of an Edvard Grieg piece, while the album’s title cut is a two-part
excerpt of music from a documentary film. The album concludes
with the Jim Pepper tune “Witchi-Tai-To,” which the Garbarek Group
has been using as a signature tune since they first recorded it
almost 20 years ago. They play it here in an extended version
that begins with just drums and sax, then builds up to an peaceful
climax full of space and light–a powerful and moving vision.
Any new Jan Garbarek album is always an event, because he is
always changing and exploring. Twelve Moonsis a worthy addition
to his oeuvre, both a summation and a celebration.
|
