Customer Reviews

In Praise of Dreams

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Possessed of perhaps the most distinctive and instantly recognizable sound of any living saxophonist (pace Pharoah Sanders), Jan Garbarek has not always found the proper context to bring forth the extent of its glories. One thinks (recently) of the overlong Rites and the undistinguished Twelve Moons.

I've always been wooed by Garbarek's sax conception, as well as his sound. It's very what I call "elegiac," or, one might say, "melancholy," and for me it constitutes one of the most important jazz moves--the conjuring of the splendid sorrow of human existence. But if it's not properly presented, it can all too easily lapse into mere sentimentality.

Well, he's fully on his game here. This is his best work, I believe, since his great Legend of the Seven Dreams, and right up there with Witchi Tai To, his musical salute to the late, lamented Jim Pepper, my personal favorite of his. If there is nothing quite as compelling as the opening track of Legend, "He Comes From the North," a reworked traditional Lapp tune, there's at least as much Nordic mystery, arcane beauty, and shear sonic gloriousness--plus more continuity--happening on this altogether satisfying disc.

In the sixteen years since Legend, Garbarek has mastered the role of Rainer Bruninghaus on keys, providing similarly conceived although even subtler keyboard stylings. He's also recruited the marvelous Kim Kashkashian on viola, who weaves stunningly rich and sonorous lines, now doubled, now contrapuntal, with Garbarek's soprano and tenor saxes. Long-time associate Manu Katche's also here on drums, easing into the mysterioso vibe with one of his more nuanced performances. Add some very delicate percussion stylings from Garbarek, and you've got an album that almost redefines ethereal, but still remains sufficiently grounded by virtue of the leader's huge sax presence.

Jan Garbarek has always been a major artist on the ECM label. With this magnificent recording he more than repays label founder Manfred Eicher's decades-long trust and investment in him. Must-have for all Garbarek freaks, and a great introduction to Garbarek/ECM newbies. Highest recommendation.

I had not intended to join in the flock of reviews, but I really want to make sure that no potential listener is put off by the few negative remarks. This is not "smooth jazz" or MOR classical/world beat. "De gustibus non disputandum", tastes are unarguable perhaps, but dispute I nonetheless must. This is my single "desert island" CD, and I don't say that lightly. The interplay between Kashkashian on viola and Garbarek on sax brings together two great currents of music, the "classical" compositional with improvisational jazz. The dialogue between the viola and the tenor sax are amazing in the closeness of their ... their ... is it tone? Texture? Timbre? I'm not fluent in the terms of musical description, but certainly I listen, and say to myself, "Here comes the sax!" only to realize a moment later that it is Kashkashian's viola.

The sound is often mournful, but not sad; it's uplifting. It is a clear sound, although Garbarek's usual coldness is tempered by the viola. The sax-viola duets are augmented by gentle keyboard work as well as a great performance by the drummer, Manu Katche, who has to be mentioned. He builds patterns that go a long way to providing a framework for the music.

Garbarek has had other opportunities to improvise over classical compositional structures - most famously, his lovely sessions with the Hilliard Ensemble, but he also joined on the CD "Monodia", where Tigran Mansurian composed expressly for Kashkashian and him. But here, on "In Praise of Dreams", Garbarek is both composer/arranger and improviser, and this CD gives him the opportunity to emphasize his strengths in composition. His strengths here are remarkable.

If you are looking for the soulful jazz sax in the sparse Nordic tradition of Garbarek's earlier work, you will still find it here - although the context may seem odd. But this is not MOR, nor world beat, nor a commercial sellout by an aging artist. This is an artist integrating the experience of a lifetime in music, and finding something new to synthesize from it all. I wish long life to Mr. Garbarek, and more opportunities to distill wisdom from his years. For anyone who has a love for the great traditions of western music, this disc is one great joy.

I'd give this album four and a half stars if I could.

I'm a relatively young Garbarek fan and my old favourites of his are albums like "Took up the runes" and "Twelve Moons". This album is much more evenly downtempo and the viola lines are always conventionally melodic, which means that this album probably has the potential to appeal to a much wider audience than much of his other recent work.

Garbarek works his usual sax improvisations over the viola lines. The album has a folk music-like character, but freer in the form than traditional folk, which is often found in Garbareks work. However, I miss the variation of the greater inventiveness and quirkyness on some of his other recent works, and the dancing, playful beats that he otherwise uses. Nevertheless, this album is very pleasing, and my initial reaction that this music lacked some of the depth which I appreciate in Garbareks work seems to be unfounded, since I appreciate the album more and more every time I play it.

I recommend this especially to anyone who is curious about Garbareks music, but has not yet bought any of his works. And obviously also to old fans.

I have to give this 5 stars even though I find myself agreeing with some of the judgments made by the negative reviewers on this page, because the appeal of this album is so instantaneous and goes so directly to the heart.

Yes, this is in the mould of "Visible World" and "Rites," both of which are hugely enjoyable albums, but also unashamedly commercial. It is a Garbarek whose icy fires have dwindled somewhat and who seems to be enjoying a comfortable middle age by the hearth, rather than the shattered, King Lear-like wilderness which some other jazz musicians have groped through, and which one might have predicted would be Garbarek's eventual destination, extrapolating from the haunted, haunting artist of the 80's.

But his playing is as magisterial as ever, and the wonderful Kim Kashkashian tugs at the heartstrings with each soaring note, helping greatly to lift this album higher. If this is New Age schlock, it is at the very top of the genre.

Garbarek's discography is so vast, and his qualities as a musician so profound, that he can never be casually dismissed. The reviewers who seem not to know his work have wonderful discoveries to make.

The fact is that I cannot imagine any general listener who will not love this album. And as a long-time Garbarek fan who tries to buy everything made by this great artist, I feel that there is room in his oeuvre for a few comfortably commercial albums. This is one of the best of those, his best in years, and highly recommended. If you feel it may be beneath you intellectually, take a listen to the samples before you buy (try tracks 5 and 6 for a good idea of the flavour of this album).

Right up front, I don't know a whole lot about Jan Gabarek, how long he's been around, his body of work, or if this album is typical of his musical style or not. I know more about jazz in general than Jan Gabarek in particular. I heard Mr. Gabarek's "In Praise of Dreams" on "Echoes," and was significantly impressed enough to purchase the album. I am not disappointed with what I have heard beyond the title song, either; the songs range musically from a lazy flow of ambience to a catchy, urgent upbeat to slower,somewhat darker music - kind of like the nature of our dreams, the full range. I enjoyed this album and if you enjoy the NPR program "Echoes," I believe that you will, too.

Veteran ECM saxmeister Jan Garbarek is back on the recording scene with a new release, his first in a half-dozen years. This one is a trio effort, but not a trio like what you might expect--in this case, it is Garbarek on sax and synthesizers, violist Kim Kashkashian, and Manu Katché on drums. The warm sound of Kashkashian's viola helps to anchor the proceedings, which might have sounded just a bit to ethereal had she employed a violin.

As the title implies, this music is a bit dreamy sounding, but it never sounds light or inconsequential. Although it is clearly Garbarek's music (his sax is usually in the lead, and he wrote all the compositions), the interactions with Kashkashian are what make this music fly. They seem to have a synergistic relationship, Garbarek drawing out the classically trained Kashkashian and encouraging her to improvise, and Kashkashian inspiring Garbarek to give his music substance.

With a warm, full-range sound, this CD is the perfect prescription for playing on a cold, bleak January day when you are ready to let your mind wander out over the snowy fields as your body settles into your warm listening chair. Enjoy your dreams...

Must Jazz be inaccessible to find critical praise?
This is an amazing album that is more lyrical and
moving than most of Jan's ECM work. Those who label
this effort smooth jazz are way off the mark!

Disappointing to see a man of Garbarek's gifts drift inexorably towards artistic middle-age and the lure of MOR classical and soft world-beat markets. No one expects him to do a 'jazz' album nowadays but after a six-year recording hiatus we might have expected some innovation and sharpness in the settings he chooses. Sadly,the evidence on this release is of an artist who's content to mine the same musical territory for about 15 years now to the point of exhaustion; theres nothing here he hasn't said better on his previous three or four outings. All is not lost though, and there are moments of stark beauty here and there but they are mostly lost in a soft sticky morass of Garbarek cliches and the kind of uninspired composition better suited to a film soundtrack or TV documentary about some beautiful natural environment. Forget the misleading hype elsewhere and get hold of just about any of his albums from about 1972 through to 1987 and I guarantee you'll feel better for it.

Everyone who is a lover of Jazz needs to hear Jazz from artists in the Netherlands. It so different from American Jazz. It's very complex, yet ethereal and mood instilling. It will transport your soul very far away from the mundane and put you in a sophisticated place of peace and imagination.

Mi pimer contacto con Garbarek fue en 1976, escuche de una sentada los albums (todavia en vinil): DIS con Ralph Towner y FOLK SONGS alternando con Charlie Haden y Egberto Gismonti, para mi fue toda una revelacion, me parecia una musica con un sello especial, de ahi en adelante fui un fiel seguidor de Garbarek, me parece un musico que lo puedes identificar, porque Garbarek solo suena a Garbarek. Pasaron 5 largos anos sin noticias discograficas y ahora me encuentro con IN PRAISE OF DREAMS, la verdad, esperaba una obra mucho mas elaborada, con mas produccion, con mas elementos de novedad (musicos nuevos, sonidos distintos, etc. Me gusta este album pero la espera fue demasiado larga para el producto que entrega. Tal vez me forme demasiadas expectativas acerca de este album. Salud.