Garbarek, Jan - I Took Up the Runes
SKU
28-ECMB001182502.2
"There appear to be fewer and fewer musicians (Asian, European, American, Latin American) with whom Garbarek hasn't collaborated at some time. Where no collaboration is possible, he will happily doodle on top of already highly-polished works, as in the million-selling disks he has made with the Hilliard Ensemble. The facility with which he has created dozens of beautiful and intensely enjoyable recordings has led some critics to accuse him of shallowness. I think the truth is that he is a great musician with much genius, who consistently performs at a level which only looks facile to observers incapable of even approaching his level. But he is also a restless spirit who uses his tecnhical brilliance to conceal himself as consistently as other musicians -- David Darling, for example -- reveal themselves. Even on this disk, which is a deliberate exploration of his own Scandinavian-Slavic roots (taking up the runes) there is frequently the sense that he is very self-consciously "collaborating" with yet another tradition, even if it is that of his own nation. The difference is that the tension so often evident in his work with others has here given way to a serene unfolding of something as close to the real Garbarek as we are likely to see. And as so often when that happens, it the Scandinavian Baroque that is the guiding spirit, with stately measures and rather grand tunes giving way to sprightly dances and fanfares, a smell of the stableyard and the crackle of log fires. Some listeners are irritated by the unadventurousness of this album, the absence of the complex beats and jagged melodies of his exotic works, or the angst which signals that he is operating at a higher level. But this is a Garbarek who is contented, at ease, very much at home, and the result is deservedly one of his most popular recordings. This is a deeply pleasing work and a Garbarek must-have. Highly recommended."-Marius Cipolla
Personnel
Jan Garbarek soprano and tenor saxophones
Rainer Brüninghaus piano
Eberhard Weber bass
Nana Vasconcelos percussion
Manu Katché drums
Bugge Wesseltoft synthesizer
Ingor Ántte Áilu Gaup voice