Jan Garbarek

Born in Mysen, Norway, in 1947 and raised in Oslo, Jan Garbarek established himself by the late 1960s on the European jazz scene with a saxophone sound that is clear, often taut, and built on long tones, space, and a great economy of means. First noted on recordings with George Russell, Garbarek then developed at ECM a trajectory linking modern jazz, the avant-garde, Scandinavian folk music, ambient forms, and extra-European repertoires. Albums such as Afric Pepperbird (1971), Triptykon (1973), Dis (1977), Twelve Moons (1993), and In Praise of Dreams (2004) illustrate this evolution toward a more open writing, where improvisation converses with contemplative atmospheres and melodies inspired by northern traditions. Garbarek also moved widely across jazz and cross-genre scenes through collaborations with Keith Jarrett in the European Quartet on Belonging (1974) and My Song (1978), and with Ralph Towner, Bill Frisell, Eberhard Weber, Trilok Gurtu, and Zakir Hussain. With The Hilliard Ensemble, Garbarek further shifted his language toward the encounter between saxophone and early music on Officium (1994), Mnemosyne (1999), and Officium Novum (2010).