If I could have only two ECM discs to take to that mythical Desert Island, they would be the back-to-back sessions recorded in the last week of April 1974: Belonging, issued under Keith Jarrett’s name, and Luminessence, issued under the names of Jarrett and Jan Garbarek. Belonging had Jarrett in the company of Garbarek (ts, ss), Palle Danielsson (b) and Jon Christensen (d) while Luminessence featured Jarrett’s writing for string orchestra, conceived specifically with Garbarek in mind. And if my choices were to be restricted to one single piece from these two releases, it would be the 15-minute title track of Luminessence, which throughout features Garbarek on tenor saxophone.
In retrospect, you can sense much of the mood of Luminessence in Solstice, the 13-minute concluding piece on Belonging. Fluid yet seemingly suspended cross-rhythmic phrasing induces a quality of mythic quest, pursued with both graduated power and considerable dynamic finesse in Garbarek’s unfolding, lyrically inflected tenor improvisations. On Luminessence such a mood inflects the whole album.
Soaked in a peculiarly Nordic spirit of place, passion and poetry, the music is the definitive early example of Garbarek’s highly personal synthesis of melodic directness and chromatic sophistication, his “ crying” sound, immense dynamic range and rhythmic power. Set to organic perfection within the blend of rhythmically suspended and driving, tautly sprung string arrangements by Jarrett, the questing courage of Garbarek’s lines – especially on the title track – never ceases to amaze.
This release in ECM’s Luminessence series of high-grade vinyl reissues comes with a new sleeve note from Steve Lake and a beautiful black and white portrait shot of Jarrett and Garbarek together, around the time of the recording. Lake draws attention to Garbarek’s connection to the work of the painter Edward Munch, through his contributions to Norwegian composer Alfred Janson’s ballet Mot Solen (Towards The Sun) which was staged in Bergen and Oslo in 1969.
Apart from listening to the ultra-Munch-like title track of the 1975 Dansere by the Jan Garbarek / Bobo Stenson Quartet, those interested in the Garbarek / Munch connection should look out for Anja Breien’s 1971 seven-minute colour film Ansikter (Faces) – available on the Norwegian Film Institute’s Five Short Films on Edvard Munch – where Garbarek supplies some spacious tempered bass saxophone figures.
Discography
Numinor; Windsong (20.16) – Luminessence (15.10)
Jarrett (comp); Garbarek (ts, ss); Strings of Südfunk Symphony Orchestra (cond. Mladen Gutesha). Ludwigsburg, 29-30 April 1974.
ECM 5523885
