Jan Garbarek Quartet - Alta Trinita (1984)

To be crass, one could say that Jan Garbarek has "arrived" when his track, Parce Mihi Domine (from the Officium album), was featured as the closing song on the first season finale of the hit TV series, Queer As Folk. Officium (1993) was one of ECM's biggest-selling albums of all time and it was an album that many new listeners discovered Garbarek.

The Norwegian tenor and soprano saxophonist may have started off playing avant-garde jazz but by the mid-'70s, he was already into ambient jazz. For want of a better description, this 1984 concert in Hamburg can be loosely described as the music of Taxi Driver meets The Hilliard Ensemble.

Garbarek's saxophone does sound like music from the soundtrack while David Torn's guitar/synth lines recall Pat Metheny (circa Offramp) and Weather Report/Joe Zawinul. Then there are the slight Indian and Middle Eastern touches which give an exotic feel. But if anyone felt that the choral vocals would interfere with Garbarek's jazz playing, they can put their fears aside. As Garbarek's Officium and Mnemosyne albums show, the choral vocals do give the ambient jazz a contemplative feel and for Garbarek, jazz need not always be confrontational. A musical dialogue can also be engaged in a ruminative manner. If Officium and Mnemosyne are seen as the eventual fruits of Garbarek's labour, then this Hamburg show can be described as a work in progress, though the listener would have difficulty finding faults with the performance.

Recorded live at the Alta Trinita, 193. NDR Jazzkonzert, St. Johannis Kirche,
Hamburg Harvestehude, November 25, 1984 (FM broadcast)

Thanks to unclewolfi who shared the lossless tracks on the internet.


Personnel:
Michael Dipasqua (drums)
Jan Garbarek (saxophone)
David Torn (guitar)
Eberhard Weber (bass)
+
Havestehuder Kammerchor conducted by Claus Bantzer

Tracklist:    
01. Hear My Prayer, Oh Lord (Purcell) 2.31
02. The Path Places (Garbarek) 16.51
03. Ringing (Garbarek) 8.18
04. Last Stage Of A Long Journey (Garbarek/Weber) 0.27
05. Unknown Title (Purcell) 4.05
06. Chorus (Weber) 8.31
07. Considering The Snail (Garbarek) 6-36
08. Alta Trinita (Traditional) 5.10

Alternate frontcover

ARMU 2361
ARMU 2361 (zippyshare)