Jazz Archives

Jan Garbarek had studied with the great American composer George Russell, and had previously appeared on Russell's venture into jazz-rock, Electronic Sonata for Souls Loved By Nature. Whereas his teacher's usage of rock rhythms in an avant jazz context often came off as rather clunky, for Garbarek and his guitarist, Terje Rypdal, formerly a member of the popular Norwegian band the Vanguards, such a melding was more second nature. The Esoteric Circle, the first album by their band of the same name (hey, this was still the '60s after all), is a highly successful and enjoyable effort, one that can stand comfortably with work being done at that time by Tony Williams or John McLaughlin. Garbarek's compositions range from deeply felt homages to Coltrane ("Traneflight" and "Nefertite") to rocking jams like "Rabalder," where Rypdal gets to showcase his considerable chops. In fact, some of these themes were used by Russell in his aforementioned work. Garbarek's own playing, here entirely on tenor, come largely out of Albert Ayler as well as Coltrane, and his general attack is much more raw and aggressive than the style for which he would eventually become more widely known through his recordings for ECM. Listeners who enjoy his first several albums for that label (from Afric Pepperbird to Witchi-Tai-To) will find much to savor here.

:::Review by Brian Olewnick:::

Jan Garbarek - Esoteric Circle (1969)

1. Traneflight (2:59)
2. Rabalder (8:22)
3. Esoteric Circle (5:29)
4. Vips (5:49)
5. SAS 644 (7:55)
6. Nefertite (2:10)
7. Gee (1:16)
8. Karin's Mode (7:38)
9. Breeze Ending (3:44)

Credits
Jan Garbarek - tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone
Terje Rypdal - guitar
Arild Andersen - bass
Jon Christensen - percussion

Produced by George Russell

Enrico Rava's debut for ECM, 1975's The Pilgrim and the Stars, is a stellar progressive jazz effort from the Italian trumpeter who was then just coming into his own. Previously, Rava had spent his formative years working with such artists as saxophonist Steve Lacy, trombonist Roswell Rudd, and pianist Carla Bley, and obviously took much to heart when approaching his own music.
This is cerebral, atmospheric, often groove-oriented music that rests nicely in between such touchstones as late-'60s Miles Davis and Brown Rice-era Don Cherry with some obvious nods to the melodic jazz of ex-pat Chet Baker. To these ends, such tunes as the expansive title track and the reflective "Bella" begin with lyrical melodic statements from Rava and slowly build to more serpentine, post-bop segments that push toward free jazz but never quite go atonal. Buoying Rava is an adroit ensemble of guitarist John Abercrombie, bassist Palle Danielsson, and drummer Jon Christensen. A ceaselessy inventive guitarist, Abercrombie's knotty, fractured, and sometimes distorted playing is a perfect match for Rava and the two often intertwine their lines. Similarly, the moody slow funk of "By the Sea" finds Rava floating in a minor mode over Abercrombie's delay-laden guitar in a kind of dusky twilight raga. This is just the kind of contemplative and experimental Euro-jazz that ECM made its name on, but with some seriously cinematic post-bop guts. In that sense, The Pilgrim and the Stars sounds something akin to a soundtrack to a '70s neo-noir film -- albeit a deliciously avant-garde one.

:::Review by Matt Collar:::

Enrico Rava - The Pilgrim And The Stars (1975)

1. The Pilgrim And The Stars (9:48)
2. Parks (1:48)
3. Bella (9:21)
4. Pesce Naufrago (5:15)
5. Surprise Hotel (1:56)
6. By The Sea (4:49)
7. Blancasnow (6:50)

Credits
Artwork By [Layout] - Barbara Wojirsch
Double Bass - Palle Danielsson
Drums - Jon Christensen
Engineer - Martin Wieland
Guitar - John Abercrombie
Photography, Artwork By [Cover Design] - Giuseppe Pino
Producer - Manfred Eicher
Trumpet, Written-By - Enrico Rava

In addition to his solo piano concerts and the American group he led that featured tenor saxophonist Dewey Redman, Keith Jarrett was also busy in the mid-'70s with his European band, a quartet comprised of Jan Garbarek on tenor and soprano, bassist Palle Danielsson, and drummer Jon Christensen. Due to the popularity of the haunting "My Song," this album is the best known of the Jarrett-Garbarek collaborations and it actually is their most rewarding meeting on record. Jarrett contributed all six compositions and the results are relaxed and introspective yet full of inner tension.

1. Questar (9:11)
2. My Song (6:10)
3. Tabarka (9:12)
4. Country (5:00)
5. Mandala (8:18)
6. The Journey Home (10:31)

Bass - Palle Danielsson
Drums - Jon Christensen
Piano, Percussion - Keith Jarrett
Producer - Manfred Eicher
Saxophone [Tenor And Soprano] - Jan Garbarek

Notes

Recorded November 1977 at Talent Studios, Oslo.