Jan Garbarek - Places

Recorded in 1977 in Oslo, Places was an important album for Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek, and � with its stellar line-up including Americans Jack DeJohnette and Bill Connors � one that also drew significant attention in the US. A free download is offered with the album's re-issue on 180g vinyl. How does Garbarek set up his floating dreamlike moods? asked Down Beat, and proceeded to itemize components of this eerie, desolate, bleak music: John Taylor plays sustained legato chords, much more like Lutheran church music than, say, Jimmy Smith. The organ provides a backdrop of shifting sonorities�DeJohnette's playing is airy, concentrating on cymbals, creating shimmering webs of rhythm. Up front is Garbarek, the only real solo voice. He speaks slowly, with attention to detail. He has a fine sense of pitch, so that when he ornaments a note with a bend, a slur or a grace note, it is done precisely, consciously� The album stands as one of Garbarek's strongest statements as a player. Reviewing Places in 1978, Don Heckman wrote in High Fidelity that Garbarek was easily the best sax player to emerge from Europe in the last decade. Personnel: Jan Garbarek (tenor and soprano saxophones), Bill Connors (guitar), John Taylor (organ, piano), Jack DeJohnette (drums)