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JAZZ: Keeping it current
By MARTIN LONGLEY
The Independent - United Kingdom
Nov 26, 2004
The Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek could be forgiven for taking
six years to produce In Praise of Dreams, the follow-up to 1998's
two-disc Rites. It's understandable that he has been distracted by
the overwhelming cross-over success of his collaborations with one
of the pre-eminent early music outfits, the Hilliard Ensemble. Their
Officium and Mnemosyne albums have enjoyed remarkable sales.
The other reason for the slow progress has been the rude health of
his touring diary, though the new album has no connection with his
touring band of Rainer Bruninghaus (keyboards), Eberhard Weber (bass)
and Marilyn Mazur (percussion). In Praise of Dreams has an electronic
foundation, created by Garbarek's sampling and beat-programming,
and with contributions from Kim Kashkashian (viola) and Manu Katche
(percussion). His approach is similar to that adopted by John Surman,
adding weaving saxophone to pulsating loops and repeated sequences.
Garbarek remains committed to his regular quartet when it comes to
live work, but they will remain largely inactive next year while he
renews his acquaintance with the Hilliard Ensemble. "We meet on 7
December for a concert in Moscow, and we'll discuss plans for future
recording. Next year, we're mainly concerned with the tour."
In concert on the first night of his UK tour, the saxophonist's
performance stretches right back to 1973's "Hasta Siempre", and forward
to a new, as yet unnamed, composition. Yet a tour with Kashkashian
and Katche doesn't look likely. "I don't think it's realistic," he
confesses, "because the two other musicians are extremely busy and
have their schedules for years in advance. The other thing is that
there are a lot of electronic sounds. I would need to have quite a
few other musicians on stage." And Garbarek doesn't feel comfortable
arou nd laptops in a live setting - he wants an audience to see
musicians playing.
The album was co-produced by Garbarek and the ECM label-owner Manfred
Eicher. "It was very prosaic this time," says Garbarek. "I just chose
10 different tempos and started to work on what sort of rhythms that
would imply. Then I started to dress them up with harmonies, melodies
and textures. I think of the electronics being brilliant for creating
a sonority, setting the stage for the characters to emerge."
At the outset, Garbarek knew that Manu Katche would be involved. The
percussionist has already appeared on four of the saxophonist's
albums. It turns out that he frequently wound up laying his parts down
on Garbarek's basic rhythm patterns. "Sometimes, he will simply say,
`I have nothing for this', either because they're complete, or he
hadn't any inspiration to do anything at all. He wouldn't change the
rhythms I had made, but other things.."
The mournful viola of Kim Kashkashian is certainly sympathetic to
Garbarek's keening saxophone sound. At times, the twinned melodic lines
swim together, inhabiting their own tonal zones. At others, they engage
in a dialogue, equally sensitive in their deep explorations. Garbarek
had already heard Kashkashian's chamber and orchestral work on several
albums in ECM's New Series of modern composition. Their paths had also
crossed on the concert platform, at the 1999 Bergen Festival. They
improvised on an Armenian folk song, and composer Tigran Mansurian
went on to write a new work for the pair.
"Her sound just simply stayed with me," says Garbarek. "But I actually
didn't think that she'd be able to do it all." Acclaimed on the
classical platform, Kashkashian is always solidly booked, but a call
from Manfred Eicher secured her services. Garbarek had already used
a viola mock-up in his initial arrangements, so he eagerly awaited
the real thing. "Her whole personality, and the way she plays her
instrument, just took over my mind, he says."
The album's title track has become a familiar part of Garbarek's
live set over the last three years, and its melody is naggingly
familiar. Garbarek mulls over his titles very carefully, needing them
to sum up the mood of each piece. He'll often take his inspiration
from novels or poetry. "Conversation with a Stone" sounds like it has
been inspired by Indonesian gamelan patterns. "Not consciously," says
Garbarek. "Even in the most narrow Norwegian valley, a folk fiddle
player will have heard gamelan music, he will have heard a Brazilian
samba. In my case, I've heard a lot of music from around the world."
The album's closing track, "A Tale Begun", adopts a markedly different
approach. "It was an idea that comes from the underlying part of
another track. It consists of several instruments that we wanted to
blend. As we worked on that, it just took on a life of its own."
Garbarek credits Eicher with organisational, conceptual skills,
admiring his talent for programming the music's logical development
on the album: he has a vision for the complete work. Garbarek feels
too close to his music, unable on his own to achieve the necessary
perspective. Invariably, the final element to be laid on each piece
is Garbarek's own saxophone solo. "It's very often a first or second
take. Very often, I do one take of the whole piece, not bits and
pieces. Usually, that works best. It makes for a very coherent effect."
During a recent Jazz Legends interview on Radio 3, Garbarek said
he no longer considered his music to be jazz. He elaborates: "It's
just a matter of definition, really. I don't see the need to call it
jazz, but there is a practical reason. I wouldn't completely belong
in the classical bins. I wouldn't belong in the world or folk type
of bins. It's fortunate, in a way, that there is this category,
although it's not perfect for me."
`In Praise of Dreams' is out now on ECM; Jan Garbarek plays Symphony
Hall, Birmingham, tonight
By MARTIN LONGLEY
The Independent - United Kingdom
Nov 26, 2004
The Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek could be forgiven for taking
six years to produce In Praise of Dreams, the follow-up to 1998's
two-disc Rites. It's understandable that he has been distracted by
the overwhelming cross-over success of his collaborations with one
of the pre-eminent early music outfits, the Hilliard Ensemble. Their
Officium and Mnemosyne albums have enjoyed remarkable sales.
The other reason for the slow progress has been the rude health of
his touring diary, though the new album has no connection with his
touring band of Rainer Bruninghaus (keyboards), Eberhard Weber (bass)
and Marilyn Mazur (percussion). In Praise of Dreams has an electronic
foundation, created by Garbarek's sampling and beat-programming,
and with contributions from Kim Kashkashian (viola) and Manu Katche
(percussion). His approach is similar to that adopted by John Surman,
adding weaving saxophone to pulsating loops and repeated sequences.
Garbarek remains committed to his regular quartet when it comes to
live work, but they will remain largely inactive next year while he
renews his acquaintance with the Hilliard Ensemble. "We meet on 7
December for a concert in Moscow, and we'll discuss plans for future
recording. Next year, we're mainly concerned with the tour."
In concert on the first night of his UK tour, the saxophonist's
performance stretches right back to 1973's "Hasta Siempre", and forward
to a new, as yet unnamed, composition. Yet a tour with Kashkashian
and Katche doesn't look likely. "I don't think it's realistic," he
confesses, "because the two other musicians are extremely busy and
have their schedules for years in advance. The other thing is that
there are a lot of electronic sounds. I would need to have quite a
few other musicians on stage." And Garbarek doesn't feel comfortable
arou nd laptops in a live setting - he wants an audience to see
musicians playing.
The album was co-produced by Garbarek and the ECM label-owner Manfred
Eicher. "It was very prosaic this time," says Garbarek. "I just chose
10 different tempos and started to work on what sort of rhythms that
would imply. Then I started to dress them up with harmonies, melodies
and textures. I think of the electronics being brilliant for creating
a sonority, setting the stage for the characters to emerge."
At the outset, Garbarek knew that Manu Katche would be involved. The
percussionist has already appeared on four of the saxophonist's
albums. It turns out that he frequently wound up laying his parts down
on Garbarek's basic rhythm patterns. "Sometimes, he will simply say,
`I have nothing for this', either because they're complete, or he
hadn't any inspiration to do anything at all. He wouldn't change the
rhythms I had made, but other things.."
The mournful viola of Kim Kashkashian is certainly sympathetic to
Garbarek's keening saxophone sound. At times, the twinned melodic lines
swim together, inhabiting their own tonal zones. At others, they engage
in a dialogue, equally sensitive in their deep explorations. Garbarek
had already heard Kashkashian's chamber and orchestral work on several
albums in ECM's New Series of modern composition. Their paths had also
crossed on the concert platform, at the 1999 Bergen Festival. They
improvised on an Armenian folk song, and composer Tigran Mansurian
went on to write a new work for the pair.
"Her sound just simply stayed with me," says Garbarek. "But I actually
didn't think that she'd be able to do it all." Acclaimed on the
classical platform, Kashkashian is always solidly booked, but a call
from Manfred Eicher secured her services. Garbarek had already used
a viola mock-up in his initial arrangements, so he eagerly awaited
the real thing. "Her whole personality, and the way she plays her
instrument, just took over my mind, he says."
The album's title track has become a familiar part of Garbarek's
live set over the last three years, and its melody is naggingly
familiar. Garbarek mulls over his titles very carefully, needing them
to sum up the mood of each piece. He'll often take his inspiration
from novels or poetry. "Conversation with a Stone" sounds like it has
been inspired by Indonesian gamelan patterns. "Not consciously," says
Garbarek. "Even in the most narrow Norwegian valley, a folk fiddle
player will have heard gamelan music, he will have heard a Brazilian
samba. In my case, I've heard a lot of music from around the world."
The album's closing track, "A Tale Begun", adopts a markedly different
approach. "It was an idea that comes from the underlying part of
another track. It consists of several instruments that we wanted to
blend. As we worked on that, it just took on a life of its own."
Garbarek credits Eicher with organisational, conceptual skills,
admiring his talent for programming the music's logical development
on the album: he has a vision for the complete work. Garbarek feels
too close to his music, unable on his own to achieve the necessary
perspective. Invariably, the final element to be laid on each piece
is Garbarek's own saxophone solo. "It's very often a first or second
take. Very often, I do one take of the whole piece, not bits and
pieces. Usually, that works best. It makes for a very coherent effect."
During a recent Jazz Legends interview on Radio 3, Garbarek said
he no longer considered his music to be jazz. He elaborates: "It's
just a matter of definition, really. I don't see the need to call it
jazz, but there is a practical reason. I wouldn't completely belong
in the classical bins. I wouldn't belong in the world or folk type
of bins. It's fortunate, in a way, that there is this category,
although it's not perfect for me."
`In Praise of Dreams' is out now on ECM; Jan Garbarek plays Symphony
Hall, Birmingham, tonight