Jan Garbarek: The Norwegian Jazz Maestro
Early Life
Jan Garbarek, a renowned Norwegian jazz saxophonist, was born on March 4, 1947, in Mysen, Østfold, southeastern Norway. He is the only child of a former Polish prisoner of war, Czesław Garbarek, and a Norwegian farmer’s daughter. Garbarek grew up in Oslo, stateless until the age of seven, as there was no automatic grant of citizenship in Norway at the time.
Personal Life
When he was 21, he married the author Vigdis Garbarek. He is the father of musician and composer Anja Garbarek. His personal life has been as harmonious as his music, providing a stable backdrop to his illustrious career.
Musical Style
Garbarek’s style incorporates a sharp-edged tone, long, keening, sustained notes, and generous use of silence. He began his recording career in the late 1960s, notably featuring on recordings by the American jazz composer George Russell.
Career Highlights
By 1973, Garbarek had turned his back on the harsh dissonances of avant-garde jazz, retaining only his tone from his previous approach. He gained wider recognition through his work with pianist Keith Jarrett’s European Quartet which released several albums.
Compositions
As a composer, Garbarek tends to draw heavily from Scandinavian folk melodies. He is also a pioneer of ambient jazz composition, most notably on his 1976 album Dis, a collaboration with guitarist Ralph Towner.
Experimentation
Garbarek’s more meandering recordings are often labeled as new-age music, or spiritual ancestors thereof. Other experiments have included setting a collection of poems of Olav H. Hauge to music, with a single saxophone complementing a full mixed choir.
Collaborations
In the 1980s, Garbarek’s music began to incorporate synthesizers and elements of world music. He has collaborated with Indian and Pakistani musicians such as Trilok Gurtu, Zakir Hussain, Hariprasad Chaurasia, and Bade Fateh Ali Khan.
Awards that Garbarek has received:
- Knight 1st Class of the Order of Saint Olav: He was honored with this prestigious award in Norway in 1999.
- Norwegian Arts Council Award: Garbarek received this award in 2004.
- Willy Brandt Award: He received this award from the Willy Brandt Foundation in 2004.
- Swedish Polar Music Prize: In 1992, he was awarded this prestigious prize.
- French Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres: He received this honor in 2005.
- Norwegian Grammy Awards (Spellemannprisen): Garbarek has been honored with several of these awards for his outstanding achievements in the field of music.
- GRAMMY Nominations: He has also been nominated for the GRAMMYs.
Quintessential recordings and compositions:
- Afric Pepperbird: This album is regarded as a European jazz classic and marked the beginning of Garbarek’s remarkable career. The music is empowered by Ornette Coleman’s ‘freedom principal’, but it also has something more, something that sounded closer to home.
- Triptykon: This 1973 album is a radical twist in Garbarek’s music, drawing on both free improvisation and Scandinavian folk tunes. It evokes an aural equivalent of an Edvard Munch painting, with Garbarek’s work on all his reeds assured and imaginative.
- Witchi-Tai-To: This is one of Garbarek’s favorite albums. The mutual empathy this group shared, and the sheer joy of making music together is perfectly captured on this disc. It is often pentatonic in conception, often eliding into rubato ruminations.
- Nude Ants: This album features Jarrett’s European Quartet in full-flight with Garbarek imperious on the title-track. The recordings of this ensemble are ranked with the finest in jazz.
- Wayfarer: Guitarist Bill Frisell provided Garbarek with inspiration and energy at a crucial period of his career. Together they produced a creative synergy that is both inspired and inspiring. This album is from a key period in Garbarek’s evolution as an artist.
- Dis: This 1976 album is a pioneer of ambient jazz composition, a collaboration with guitarist Ralph Towner.
- Places: This 1978 album is another one of Garbarek’s quintessential recordings.
- I Took Up the Runes: This 1990 album is another one of Garbarek’s quintessential recordings.
- Legend of the Seven Dreams: This 1988 album is another one of Garbarek’s quintessential recordings.
- It’s OK To Listen To The Grey Voice: This 1985 album is another one of Garbarek’s quintessential recordings.
