Customer Reviews

Rites

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The young Jan Garbarek listened to the radio and heard John Coltrane. He decided to become a saxophonist, and what a saxophonist.

In his career he has progressed from his Coltrane inspired Esoteric Circle through his work with Keith Jarrett's Bleonging Quartet (fantastic performances particularly on the Belonging CD) to a more austere world jazz. He can swing with the best of artists (listen to The Wind up on Belonging), but as time has moved on and he has been influenced by Arabic musicians (listen to Madar), and the folk songs and musical tradition of Scandinavia, his work has matured.

He constantly innovates, works with acoustic groups and with electronics. On this album there is Marilyn Mazur, former Miles David percussionist, Bugge Wesseltoft, one of the most interesting young electronic performers in Europe (listen to his New Conceptions of Jazz), along with group regulars Bruninghaus and Weber. Weber is one of the finest bass players in the world, and all side players are given their turn in the spotlight.

This album seems a summation of Garbarek's career to date. There are tunes form previous albums, slow meditative pieces, and in Her Wild Ways, a tune that was reminiscent of his work with the Jarrett Quartet.

Garbarek is a great artist, great to listen to live, and with his colleagues in Norway (Wesseltoft and Nils Petter Molvaer among others) gives the lie to the notion that jazz is dead.

Buy this. Buy everything by Garbarek.

I have listened to this album countless times and recently was priviledged to attend a live concert in Edinburgh (Scotland) based on the album. I can honestly say I have never enjoyed music of any sort as much as I have enjoyed Rites either live or on CD. I had been introduced to JG by the gift of an earlier album 'Visible World'. That was an exotic and alluring intro into relatively contemporary jazz for this ageing hippy. Rites takes this onto a new level, beyond the capability of my words. I defy you to keep your mind on anything apart from floating or intimacy whilst experiencing this album.

After the massive commercial success (for a classical CD) of the 'Officium' album with the Hilliards, Garbarek stretched the wallets of his many fans by releasing two double studio CDs: 'Rites' and the unpronounceable 'Mnemosyne', in quick succession.

OK, we know the guy can be prolific, but there's an impression that he releases too much -- the mediocre as well as the excellent -- and lets the fan decide. It's fine if you've got a recordable CD or mini-disk player, so that you can make your own compilation of the truly outstanding tracks. But that's hardly the purpose of releasing an album.

'Rites' starts very promisingly, with the atmospheric title track, and then what is for many, the stand-out track, 'Where the Rivers Meet'. I know of at least one secondary school where the band had a go at this piece (within months of the album's release), and it went down a blast, even though few of the parents knew the tune.

Elsewhere there is not enough material that is exceptional. I would have much preferred to have seen this released as two single CDs. It's all very pleasant and marvellously cinematic, but it lacks a certain passion.

I think we're talking pagan, not Christian, rites here. A number entitled "Pan" tips us off. That's OK, even for Christians. Jan Garbarek has earned the right to write about any rite he wants. But, as he had previously just recorded (mostly) sacred music with the Hilliard ensemble, I think it's a safe bet to think of this recording along the lines of what C. S. Lewis said when reflecting on when he first encountered the Delphic Oracle: It was almost by believing in the gods that I came to believe in God.

Whatever.

What makes this disc so interesting is that it neatly bridges two phases in Garbarek's musical pilgrimage: his pretty constant interest in ritualized musics (he has always played Jim Pepper's great theme, "Witchi Tai To," in his concerts) and his movement toward stylized world jazz that reaches its apex, perhaps, on his latest disc (as of this writing), In Praise of Dreams.

If this disc is a little messy, in that the artist seems to be probing and grasping for his next musical phase, incorporating lots of different rhythmic and cultural sensibilities, it is never less than interesting, and often compelling. If everything doesn't work optimally, that's as much because of its experimental nature as of it's imperfectly realized and, it must be admitted, somewhat inchoate aesthetic. Definitely worth acquiring, especially if you can get it at a discount.

Rites condenses the best elements of both Garbarek's style and versatily as a player and composer. From ethereal and peaceful musical landscapes that easily evoke his homeland to totally original use of modern rythms. Garbarek's unique and signature playing style is shown fully in these albums. A must for anyone with an ear for a beautiful,deep and adventurous kind of jazz.

Garbarek at his most haunting and inspired. A mature album from a pioneer in improvisation and alternative compositions. Ear-Candy that leaves the soul satisfied and the mind expanded.

Rites are a double album recorded by Jan Garbarek in 1998. It contains new (for 1998) music of this extremely prolific musician and new recordings of some compositions from his own past. Also included is a song called The Moon Over Mtatsminda, neither composed nor performed by Jan but very dear to his heart. Another song here is very dear to my heart. It is simply one of the greatest 5 minutes of music ever composed and performed. At least such is the spiritual content of that song to me. It is called We Are The Stars and it is performed by Boys From The Choir `Solvguttene' accompanied by Jan Garbarek's saxophone. I often play that song on repeat 1 for hours fairly loud, so I can soak in its energy. Rites are not your typical album by Jan Garbarek, but it is a powerful force... if you let it be. Not every single song included here is great but there is some magic mixed in.

I started listening to Jan Garbarek back in 1990 when I got to know a painter Waldemar Mitrowski who ended up becoming one of my best friends. Here is one of all those born with wings but Waldek actually used to play Paths, Prints the most those days. I would visit him and watch him paint these incredible huge oil paintings, a few at once, and I had a sense that I had never experienced such tremendous force of creation right in front of my eyes. The music of Jan Garbarek played fairly loud provided a perfect climate to my experience and will always remind me of those times, of watching magic appear right in front of me. In a way that is how I can describe the music of Jan Garbarek in general. Very often listening to his music you get this strange feeling that his role is more of being a channel for some invisible force of creation rather than responsible for the actual act. Forget genres and classifications because he breaks such barriers constantly. Jan Garbarek reminds me of a geyser blasting with spirit every now and then. His music often falls into the ambient jazz territories, and he might have contributed more than anybody else into the development of that term, starting with his 1977 release Dis. At other times the mood of Jan's music could be bordering on the filed of electronic music, or turning towards world and meditative new age. My favorite albums are Paths, Prints (1982), All Those Born With Wings (1987), I Took Up The Runes (1990), Twelve Moons (1993), Visible World (1996), Rites (1998), and In Praise Of Dreams (2004). Jan Garbarek has been involved in various incredible collaboration albums, including Vision (1983) with Ravi Shankar, Song For Everyone (1984) with Ravi Shankar, Alpstein (1991) with Paul Giger, Ragas And Sagas (1992) with Fateh Ali Khan, Madar (1993) with Anouar Brahem, Officium (1994) with Hilliard Ensemble, and plenty of other ones. He is the go to ambient saxophonist of the last couple of decades, and what might be interesting to all of the Porcupine Tree fans out there, Jan's daughter Anja Garbarek is a musician as well and her album Ballon Mood, Smiling And Waving was produced by Steven Wilson. Some of my favorite songs of Jan Garbarek are the following: All Those Born With Wings 4th Piece, Rites, We Are The Stars, The Healing Smoke, Twelve Moons, The Path, Parce Mihi Domine, So Mild The Wind So Meek The Water, Molde Canticle part 1, Red Wind, Raga 1, Knot Of Place And Time

This two-CD set from saxophonist Jan Garbarek comes with a discography booklet. Thumbing through it, I was shocked to realize how long Garbarek has been recording for ECM--I mean, can Triptykon (an audiophile demo disk from way, way back) really have been recorded in 1972? And he had a couple of albums out before that. My goodness, I still think of I Took Up the Runes as a fairly new recording, and that was released back in 1990--man, I really am getting old. No wonder I'm sometimes referred to as the "Grumpy Olde Editor."

OK, enough autobiographical claptrap. On to this recording, listening to which should make even the grumpiest old--or young--listener a lot less grumpy. This is music that reflects the joy inherent in the making of and the listening to music. Garbarek has long had an ear for a rich variety of musical sounds and traditions, but he has also always had his own unique sound and style. On Rites, it is as though he is trying his utmost to make a grand statement, but the wonderful thing is that in so doing, he never calls attention to himself; indeed, he all but disappears, the man and the musician being truly subsumed by the music.

In addition to his usual tenor and soprano saxes, Garbarek also plays synthesizers, samplers, and percussion. But this is no vanity project, as he brings in the synthesizer and accordion work of Bugge Wesseltoft, the percussion of Marilyn Mazur, the keyboards of Rainer Bruninghaus, and the bass of Eberhard Weber. On one cut, "We are the stars," Garbarek weaves his saxophone sound over the voices of a boys' choir to moving effect.

There is even a cut on which Garbarek does not play at all: "The moon over Mtatsminda" is a composition by Jansug Kkhidze, conductor of the Tbsili Symphony Orchestra, who sings and conducts this moving piece, which is sung in Georgian (an English translation is provided in the liner notes). The other non-Garbarek composition is Don Cherry's "Malinye," on which Garbarek's sax is accompanied by Wesseltoft's accordion and Mazur's drums.

Although it may sound as though this recording must be just too eclectic to hang together, everything seems to fit, the end result being an ambitious and rewarding musical journey that is recorded in the usual ECM high-quality manner by veteran engineer Jan Erik Kongshaug. Long-time Garbarek fans will want to get this recording to add to their collections, while those who have not heard any of Garbarek's work would be well-advised to give this recording a listen, and then check out some of his other work as listed in the extensive discography. You have nothing to lose but your grumpiness.

"Rites," a double album, was released in 1998 on ECM Records. It acts, at least in my opinion, as a musical timeline of Jan Garbarek's career. Some really interesting pieces of music here. This album could be enjoyed by everyone, especially those that are into new age/jazz/world type of fusions.

Garbarek (soprano and tenor saxophones, keyboards, samples) is joined by some stellar musicians. His usual quartet at that time, which consisted of Rainer Bruninghaus on piano and synthesizers, Eberhard Weber on bass, and Marilyn Mazur on drums and percussion, but on "Rites" he's also joined by conductor and singer Jansug Kakhidze, Bugge Wesseltoft on additional keyboards and accordion, and finally the Boys of choir Solvguttgene. All of these musicians have memorable roles and have really made Garbarek's music special.

I've been a fan of Jan Garbarek's for a long time and "Rites" is one of my personal favorites right next to "I Took Up The Runes" and "Twelve Moons." Really beautiful music that deserves to be heard.