Jan Garbarek, an outstanding tenor and soprano saxophonist, composer, leader, artist who created the foundations for the aesthetics today called European jazz.
His music grows out of Norwegian folklore, modern jazz and classical music - on the one hand, it impresses with the richness of means and sophistication of form, on the other it remains muted, full of understatements, space, colors, dynamic nuances and crystalline sounds.
He reached for the tenor saxophone under the influence of Coltrane's recordings, he mastered the technique of playing this instrument on his own. He soon discovered the music of Albert Ayler, Pharoah Sanders, Archie Shepp. The turning point in Garbarek's career was his cooperation with the outstanding composer, band-leader and jazz theoretician George Russell, active in Scandinavia in the late 60s. Playing in his formations, Garbarek took the chance to test himself in Third Stream and free music.
In 1970 he began his cooperation with Manfred Eicher's then-fledgling label. Garbarek has greatly contributed to the creation of what critics and fans call "ECM sound" - soft pastel sounds suspended in silence set a new standard for the sound of European jazz. Under this label, Garbarek recorded dozens of albums as a leader of his own bands, partner of Gary Peackock, Teri Rypdal, Charlie Haden, Ralph Towner, Bodo Stenson, Eberhard Weber and many others.
In the 70s. He gained recognition for albums recorded with Keith Jarrett's European Quartet (with Pall Danielsson and Jon Christensen) - Belonging, My Song and Personal Mountains are considered the pinnacle of both artists and an unattainable model of harmonious cooperation between all members of the band.
He always remained open to world music. He was inspired not only by Scandinavian folklore, but also by the tradition of India, Pakistan and North America. The soulful synthesis of jazz and world music was presented by m.in. on the albums Ragas and Sagas, Madar and in recordings with Trilok Gurtu, L. Shankar and Zakir Hussain.
Probably the greatest stylistic volte-face made by Garbarek was the album Officium (1994), recorded by the Hilliard Ensemble of early music. By creating improvised counterpoints to chorale melodies and polyphonic works of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, Garbarek showed not only the universality of jazz as a genre, but also clasped two seemingly mutually exclusive worlds. The artistic and commercial success of this album exceeded all expectations, in terms of popularity of Officium it matched the cult The Köln Concert by Jarrett.
Although Garbarek's father was a native Pole, the artist repeatedly emphasized that I do not feel special ties with our country, nor does he speak Polish. However, it bears the Slavic "gene" - a "melancholic note", so strongly present in the music of Chopin, Szymanowski, but also Komeda and Stańko, it is the hallmark of Garbarek's style.
Trilok Gurtu, a world-renowned percussionist, drummer, multi-instrumentalist and composer originally from Mumbai – his art is a bridge between the traditional music of India and the heritage of the West.
Although he played Charlie Mariano, Pharoah Sanders, Don Cherry, Dave Holland, it is difficult to consider him a jazz musician - what connects him with jazz is improvisation, which is also the basis of Indian music. His unlimited skills and great creativity allow him to meet any challenge. He easily finds himself in multi-stylistic syntheses, combining jazz, fusion, music of India, Africa (m.in. album Crazy Saints, 1993) and Asia, as well as in more contemporary trends - ambient, drum and bass or pop-rock.
He grew up in a family of musicians. His mother, a famous singer specializing in the thurmi style, encouraged him to learn to play the tables. The master of Trilok Gurtu was one of the most respected songwriters Shah Abdul Karim. He explored the technique of playing on a jazz set on his own, listening to radio broadcasts.
He went to Europe, where he became more widely known in the 70s, under his own name he began to record in the next decade (album Usfret, 1988). During this period, he collaborated with the Oregon group, and in the 90s. with Jan Garbarek (Living Magic, 1991, Visible World, 1996), John McLaughlin, Joe Zawinul, Bill Laswell and Bob, Dylan and Eric Clapton. After 2000, he toured extensively in Europe, the United States, India and recorded further original albums, m.in. African Fantasy, Remembrance, Broken Rhythms, 21 Spices (with NDR Big Band), to name just the most important ones.
He has an incredible technique, uses a whole range of percussionals, he also plays drums made by himself - hybrids of instruments created in India, Europe, Africa. He is probably the only musician to use a bucket filled with water; He immerses instruments and various objects in it to achieve effects close to the sounds of nature. He does not shy away from electronics (synthesizers, sound transducers), for which he was sometimes criticized, but he uses it in moderation and taste.
Gurt's style is difficult to assign to one category, he created an individual language, a musical niche that is located in the broadly understood world music trend.
Jan Garbarek and Trilok Gurtu will join with long-term partners keyboardist Rainer Brüninghaus and bassist Yuri Daniel.
Bogdan Chmura
