Jan Garbarek: Twelve Moons [1993]

This 1992 recording by the Garbarek Group has their customary blend of Norwegian folk themes and original compositions, with the leader's big-toned soprano and tenor saxophones at the heart of a music that combines cool lyricism and intense, if restrained, passion. It's the emotion that Garbarek can concentrate in a single note that distinguishes his work. His soprano is a keening wail in the unaccompanied introduction to "Brother Wind March," his high-register tenor an impassioned cry on "The Tall Tear Trees." Rainer Bruninghaus's piano provides a reflectively lyrical contrast, while the shifting rhythms of percussionists Manu Katche and Marilyn Mazur add variety to the reiterated themes. The CD is filled with distinctively Norwegian touches. Grieg's "Arietta" is a wistful vehicle for Garbarek's soprano, while the traditional "Gautes-Margjit" is the briefest of melodies. The haunting "Psalm" is sung by Agnes Buen Garnas with whom Garbarek recorded Rosenfole, while Mari Boine, singer and Laplander activist, performs her "Darvanam" with just Garbarek's tenor as accompaniment, invoking another world of musical possibilities. The CD concludes with a serenely beautiful version of Jim Pepper's "Witchi-Tai-To," first recorded by Garbarek almost two decades before, and touching on Pepper's Native American roots.

Track List:

01. Twelve Moons:
Part One: Winter-Summer
Part Two: Summer-Winter
02. Psalm
03. Brother Wind March
04. There Were Swallows...
05. The Tall Tear Trees
06. Arietta
07. Gautes-Margjit
08. Darvanan
09. Huhai
10. Witchi-Tai-To

DOWNLOAD PART 1

DOWNLOAD PART 2

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