JAN GARBAREK — All Those Born With Wings (review)

JAN GARBAREK — All Those Born With Wings album cover

Album · 1987 · Post-Fusion Contemporary

5/5 · 2025-01-29
Moshkiae

Jan Garbarek All Those Born With Wings 1987

Sometimes, reviewing an album is difficult ... and sometimes, I can see why some folks would rather an album fit something or other so it would be easier to say something about it ... and guess what we have here? What is it? Where does it fit?

Jan Garbarek plays all the instruments in this album, and if anything is special here it is that the whole thing is really quiet and all of these are simply named First through Sixth Pieces ... with the "Third Piece" being a dirge, if we are taking the hint from the album notes.

I will likely suggest that anyone listening to this album, do not expect to get "jazz" in many of the styles and forms that we are used to. Like many albums of his in this period, which I call "middle period", they are about moods and thoughts that arise from a piece of music ... and it is very clear and obvious that the idea here is the illumanation of the idea and visual that drives the music ... and thus, it never falls into any kind of idealistic form of jazz or attitude ... I think the only thing here, in this album is that the piece live on its own and sound nice at the same time ... no need to worry about the nice part ... all of these pieces stand up nicely ... with that third piece being the one that is most obvious as to what it tries to make us think.

One of the pieces that stands out the most is probably the longest one in this album, called "Fifth Piece" and it is the one where Han Garbarek drives his saxophone the most, but remember that he is also playing the guitar here, and anything elsse that is needed for his piece of music ... it feels adventurous, as the piece develops and we might even consider "strange", waiting for the saxophone, and where it is going, though I'm not sure that it matters, if you simply close your eyes and follow along, which is what this album is really all about,

I want to caution as to the ideas and thoughts regarding this album and what/where the music is supposed to be taking us, which I am inclined to believe is not a part of Jan Garbarek's intent on this album at all, and he might be trying to do some things (witness the later parts of the saxophone in the 5th piece) that appeal to him, but would not necessarily fit a group or a designed piece of music for various players ... I think his relief here is that he doesn't have to worry about anyone else, and he can try different things all around, and I suppose that we could say some work, and some don't ... but in all honesty, it will probably be a rarity that yo get a "jazz" album that lives like this one does ... if it doesn't stretch what jazz is, then, our imaginations are lost and not able to appreciate music, like they say art for art's sakes, though I'm not sure that I would ever think of Jan Garbarek as that kind of player at all ... maybe in his early days, but from the sound of these pieces, I think there is an idea ... about coloring music, that jazz usually gives up on when it begins the timing and the drumming ... just like its cousin rock music does ... always tied to the time keeping, and then having to use lyrics to convince us of its ideas ... the worst idea of all when it comes to these things, since at any given time, you and I would think something else.

A wonderful album ... difficult to describe ... but just think of it as a quiet night in the middle of nowhere, trying to find who and what you are, instead of thinking you and I already know all this and don't need to hear about it anymore. The arts are about waking up the imagination, not regurgitating the ideas and imagination like a lot of lyrics do in rock music, something I really like about most jazz ... let the music fly, with or without wings, and that might just be what all this is about. A well defined title for this album.

Very very nice album ... and special in its own way. A rare treat regardless of where folks place this album, but it might be best to say ... this is not jazz ... this is a sort of thoughts from the universe somewhere.