Steve Wyzard THE BEST ECM SAX WITH ORGAN ALBUM

For many years, this album was not available on CD, and was very hard to find. Now that it has been re-issued, listeners and collectors can finally hear this very successful pairing of the saxophones of Jan Garbarek with the organ of John Taylor. This album was recorded in December 1977, mere weeks after the very prolific Garbarek played on Keith Jarrett's My Song. He also appears on Gary Peacock's December Poems and Bill Connors' Of Mist and Melting, both of which were recorded at the same time. That's four full-length albums in less than three months, and Places is definitely the best of the four.

There is no double bass on Places, but the album doesn't suffer for it. Three of the four lengthy compositions open with Taylor's ethereal organ. "Reflections" is a two-part epic: "part one" features Garbarek's slow-building phrases, Bill Connors' softly picked acoustic guitar, and Jack DeJohnette's mystical cymbals. Suddenly the tempo picks up for "part two". Taylor contributes background colors over Garbarek's best blaring tone while Connors takes a solo over DeJohnette's louder, more vibrant drums. "Entering" is the shortest and most accessible track. Garbarek plays plaintively, nostalgically over Connors' acoustic guitar. DeJohnette enters halfway through, and the song closes peacefully with a short coda. In spite of brilliant performances, "Going Places" is just a little unfocussed, with a few too many mood changes. After a busy DeJohnette opening (this is his best playing on the album) and much shrill Garbarek soloing, this track moves into much slower, more atmospheric territory. There's also a great Connors solo and a drum-and-organ duet before Taylor switches to percussive piano for the only time on this album. "Passing" has Connors introducing the melody before Garbarek joins in over Taylor's organ cadences. This more subdued, almost bluesy track closes the album with Garbarek's best deep guttural groans and DeJohnette playing military drum patterns.

So where does Places fit within the Jan Garbarek catalog? It's not an earth-shaking, all-time classic like Witchi-Tai-To, or an openly experimental album like Dis or All Those Born With Wings. It's not as accessible as Photo with... or It's Okay to Listen to the Gray Voice, or as introspective as Paths, Prints. There's a similar feel on Places to some of Terje Rypdal's work from the same time period without ever digressing into the early-1970s avant-garde sound. And it's much better than Dansere, Eventyr, or Wayfarer. All this adds up to...highly recommended!

Steve Wyzard LONG, LONG LINES

The cover photo, by Petra Nettelbeck, is almost an ECM cliché: a long, empty road stretching off into nowhere beneath a clouded sky. The music contained within, however, is not. Released in 1982, Paths, Prints is one of Jan Garbarek's most atmospheric and introspective albums. "The Path", "Footprints" (with ethnic percussion and wood flute), "The Move", and "Arc" are all Garbarek classics. This album introduced guitarist Bill Frisell to a wider ECM audience (he had previously appeared on a very obscure Eberhard Weber album, Fluid Rustle, in 1979), and was also the first of three album appearances by Weber as Garbarek's sideman after breaking up his Colours band.

From the soprano showpiece "Kite Dance", to the wistful "To B.E." (Bill Evans, perhaps?), to the moody "Considering the Snail", to the (seemingly) improvised "Still", Paths, Prints can definitely be classified among the upper echelon of Jan Garbarek albums. Some will no doubt complain this album is too "slow", or that drummer Jon Christensen is given too little to do. Yet for those who enjoy Garbarek's sax lines that threaten to extend indefinitely, or are long-time listeners to the hypnotic timbres of Frisell or Weber, this album is highly recommended. Not an introductory work for the uninitiated, but yes, a great Sunday afternoon album.

snobb I believe you have never heard saxophonist Jan Garbarek sounding like this! Nothing strange there, most jazz fans have no idea this album exists!

The twenty-year old future Norwegian saxophone superstar is playing in a student club on "Til Vigdis". The album consists of three very free compositions with enough kicking and swinging to be recognized as post-65 Coltrane music influenced. The rhythm section (bassist Arild Andersen and drummer Jon Christensen) are both future Nordic jazz leading figures as well.

Not particularly memorable or musically exciting, this album is unique as probably one of the earlier European free jazz albums(the only earlier European free jazz album I know is Manfred Schoof debut), and it also shows Garbarek's early influences as well. He will show much higher class on his next release, "African Pepperbird", but for those who only know Garbarek as a new-agey contemporary Nordic jazz star, this album could open their eyes (and may be ears). This original limited edition is really an expensive rarity though, with i-net prices up to 1500 euro.

snobb Witchi-Tai-To was Garbarek's first move from experimental sounds to more conventional areas and also his biggest commercial success of the decade. His reformed quartet (with old collaborators Jon Christensen on drums and Swedish pianist Bobo Stenson, plus the more conservative bassist Palle Danielsson instead of Arild Andersen) became the support band for Keith Jarrett's European quartet (where Jarrett changed Stenson). After two years of work with Jarrett and some recordings, Garbarek returns with "Dansere" - his second album, recorded with Stenson, Christensen and Danielsson on board.

There is only two years of distance between the two albums, but a lot of experience and influence from Jarrett's music is evident. If Jarrett left the European quartet for a long-lasting series of technically perfect, but too often soulless and cold concert/studio releases with polished sound. Garbarek, with the rest of the quartet did almost the same but in his own manner. Dansere is the next step away from the adventurous past of his first four albums, and towards a more commercial "ECM sound", still with visible post-bop roots and rare free jazz licks here and there, but the decision was done for sure - and it shows. Starting from here, Garbarek's saxophone sound will stay clear and straight for years, if not decades, and he will become the idol of European world music (not world jazz) and intelligent new age.

This album itself isn't so bad, still - sometimes a bit faceless and toothless, it has its moments and comparing it with what will come after very soon, it still could attract Garbarek's fans interest.

Matt This one when released back in 1996 appealled to the World Music fans just as much as all the Jazz afficiandos which is how I first heard the album "Visible World" being played on a specialist World Music program which is hardly surprising when one looks at the personnel being primarily multi-national percussion members but on the last track we also have Mari Boine on vocal who specialises in her own native Sami music being one of the native people who live within or near the Artic of Northern Scandanavia but Mari Boine is not strictly traditional either but has taken a contempary approach by adding Rock and Jazz elements to her native Sami music and she appears on the album closer only. The percussion members of the band are world renowned with Marilyn Masur providing percussion and drums who is US. born but considered Danish today with drummer Manu Katche' who originally hails from the Ivory Coast but French based and first really got going when he appeared with Peter Gabriel but that list has enlarged quite a degree of who he has accompanied today. Last but not least we also have Trilok Gurtu from India providing Tabla and he could be rated with his experience another percussion "El Supremo" like the other two if not better. They do not appear all together but only on various tracks separately with Marilyn Mazur providing the majority of the drum work. Eberhard Weber is on bass and anybody who listens to European Jazz will know this name and this is album number eight supporting Jan Garbarek for him. Absolutely beautiful player if you have never heard him and he has appeared on many great ECM productions over the years with numerous other artists as well as dabbling with Kate Bush on a regular basis. Another big one from Europe is here too, being Rainer Bruninghaus on piano and synth who has been with Jan as well eight years at this time and a myriad of other artists on the ECM roster including Eberhard as well. The main man Jan Garbarek really needs no introduction but he plays a bit of a mix on this but he still is saxophone primarily with some beautiful soprano solo's and a little tenor but he also has a shot on a Meraaker clarinet ( traditional Norwegian) with the addition of keyboards and percussion.

"Red Wind" the album opener is quite simply beautiful with Marilyn Mazur just using shakers for percussion and the addition of keyboards underneath the soprano sax emnating from Jan Garbarek which just soars throughout the composition hitting the high points like a razor thats just cuts through and it is the case with the following "The Creek" but this time Manu Katche' is drumming and once again Jan Garbarek's soprano saxophone pierces the room with that gorgeous tone and these are my favourite compositions from the album which does cause I feel a problem with both being great numbers maybe it would have been wiser to put one in the middle of the album sequencing. The music is great that follows being Jazz but as the two opening tracks are almost theme based it is difficult to come back down to the following number "The Survivor" with its slow opening spacy opening and although Jan sounds great on tenor things just drop and the album has to work to get back. Still the composition does improve with some very interesting bass provided by Eberhard. The album is comprised of four different projects combined with the majority comprising five compositions being from "Mangas Colarados Suite" concerning the Chiriacahua Apache and Jan really provides a beautiful interruptation as with track four "Healing Wind" which follows. The title "Visible World" has been divided into two sections by opening and closing "Desolate Mountains" parts one and two with "Desolate Mountains" being the best section and Rainer Bruninghaus on piano is superb with Jan on soprano adding a slight touch of Avante but still he brings back that world influence as his notes climb higher throughout in this piece. Also there is a short if you like coda of "Desolate Mountains" again in the album being number three."Pygmy Lullaby", "The Quest" ,"The Arrow" and "The Scythe" follow with "The Arrow" having Jan on Meraaker clarinet and this is another one taken from the Apache Suite as was "The Quest" and again are album highlights. The album closer "Evening Land" is one right out of the gate with Maire Boine bringing that Sami percussion and rythmn with her native vocals throughout this 12 minute piece with Jan Garbarek's soprano wailing all over it with the intensity continually building throughout as the number does come back down towards the end unfortunately.

Soprano saxophone rules here and it is played like nobody else can with that Garbarek slicing tone that pierces beautifully and the addition of the mixed styles of percussion have added great flavour but although there are some stunning compositions with all bar one being written by Jan Garbarek and Maire Boine co -writing the last they don't seem to gel at times throughout the album. Still there are some absolute beauties with track one and two stealing the show literally.