20 January 2008

Garbarek at Moers 1973



Following Boromir's fine posting of Garbarek from Bremen in 1974, I thought I'd back up one year and put up this concert from 1973 at Moers.

This was the line-up featured on the "Triptykon" album on ECM. Arild Andersen was the bassist in the original quartet (with Terje Rypdal and Jon Christensen), but on the album and on this concert, Edward Vesala features on drums. Vesala went on to record a series of albums under his name for ECM and the "Nan Madol" and "Satu" are specially recommended. In the eighties he formed his Sound and Fury band which provided a spring board for budding guitarist Raoul Björkenheim. Vesala has collaborated for many years with veteran saxophonist Juhani Aaltonen. Andersen went on to record many albums under his own name for ECM, including with the Mesqualero group. Andersen is still active; Vesala died in the late 90s.

What's here is a long medley, basically, of about 45 minutes, followed by two encores, one of which is a take on Bob Dylan's "My Back Pages". I really enjoy this set; long, flowing, loose, featuring some of Garbarek's most "freeish" playing, but the two others add considerably to the ambience as Garbarek is never one to insist on grabbing the spotlight all the time. The trio format also allows for more space for each player.

I always thought this trio was woefully under-recorded, so quite happy to grab this concert on Dime. Originally seeded by rudolff and re-seeded by jaype who added the artwork seen above. Thanks to both for their generosity (and good taste).


Players:

Jan Garbarek (ss, ts, bss, fl)
Arild Andersen (b)
Edward Vesala (d)


Tracks:

01. Rim (Garbarek - Andersen - Vesala) 17:36
A.I.R. (C. Bley) 16:48
Selje (Garbarek - Andersen - Vesala) 5:00
J.E.V. (Garbarek - Andersen - Vesala) 5:44
Bruremarsj (Norwegian Folk Song) 3:45

02. Encore 1 (My Back Pages)

03. Encore 2 (Unknown Title)

28 comments:

kinabalu said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
SOTISE said...

kinabalu
this looks tasty!!
a monster band, triptykon is one of the all time euro free jazz classics.
im looking forward to hearing this when i can download it.

the first garbarek album i heard was 'belonging 'with keith jarrett
back in the early 80's and i still think its a great record.
so although i love the 1st three garbarek albums most.. i do have time for some of the later things.
the problem for mehas always been the super slick reverby production.

garbarek, rypdal,and andersen are also worth checking out on george russells late sixties slabs.

if anyone else has concerts by this band.. come on and post them right here and we'll put them up on the main page.

please note we are also looking for anything on edward vesala's self produced leo label, particularly his work with tomasz stanko!
and the solo percussion lp's.

Tantris said...

Dl'g now; this is new for me so I'm looking forward to listening and in reading what others think of it.

intempestif said...

What a great recording!!!! Thanks a lot for sharing this. That was an excellent band indeed. Early Garbarek's live stuff is my favourite - that's when he was still playing jazz. And he really could play it. I think his output from the late 60's & early 70's occupies a pretty unique position in the history of jazz, and of free jazz in particular. Until he gradually started to move away from it - first by getting rid of the standard jazz line-ups and instrumentation, then moving out of jazz language altogether (less and less soloing, all gestures and phrases becoming predetermined, basic and functional).
It seems to me that he was looking for ways of making a musical gesture more direct and precise, to distill musical language and style. Various folk forms provided a model for this, and he proceeded by removing all the arbitrary and the chaotic aspects of his music. This (and other developments) certainly allowed him to create new and very refined styles. But the richness, physicality, immediacy of improvisation were gone for good. The sheer life-affirming ferocity of jazz was sacrificed. In his later music the only thing of value for me is the development of his saxophone language. Some modes, phrasings and inflections that he discovered are really unique.
Anyway, I've got a couple of his live recordings from '69 and '71 which I'll post here later today. Feel free to use them as you see fit. And thank you for keeping this blog running. It's a really invaluable source of inspiration for a lot of people including myself.

Denis

SOTISE said...

denis , thanks for your thoughts
more live material from this era of garbareks would be very welcome looking forward to your post.

Anonymous said...

RIP Edward Vesala, an original voice, sorely missed.

intempestif said...

Sorry for the delay. Here are the links:

Jan Garbarek Quartet - Bremerhaven 1971
http://www.divshare.com/download/3584964-5b2

Jan Garbarek Quartet - Sogn 1969
http://www.divshare.com/download/3584963-858

All the details are in the folders.

intempestif said...

The '69 recording available in flac as well. Let me know if it could be of any use to anybody (I didn't hear any difference though - same hiss, same frequency range...)

Denis

SOTISE said...

cheers denis, look forward to hearing them.

i guess flac isnt going to improve a poor source .
on the otherhand it depends what you're listening via.
if you listen through head phones or at medium to high volume on a good hi-fi unit with good speakers and amp, the difference between 192 and flac is very noticeable with certain musics where theres a wider dynamic range.

thanks again denis

kinabalu said...

Thanks for those two, Denis. I do have the Sogn (in Oslo), but not the Bremerhaven.

Since there seems to be an interest in early Garbarek, I'm hoping to post the very early George Russell - Garbarek collaborations at some point. That'll be back to the old vinyl, though, so not done in a jiffy.

Yes, flacs will sound better with headphones on a good hifi, but not much difference on an Ipod, though.

Anonymous said...

É uma gravação rara deste trio maravilhoso, obrigado.

Anonymous said...

thanks, nice memory. i remember the concert, it was in the small courtyard of the moers castle on a grey, rainy spring day. the concert was sold out, people tried to climb the walls to get in. inside the atmosphere was nice and peaceful, sitting under old trees. frank wright was on after this trio.

joesh said...

Well 'Intemestif' really hit the nail on the head when describing Garbarek's development away from 'pure' jazz. I suppose he moved or developed something that became a more commercial (not a bad thing) sound that can get through to thousands of people. It's a shame they don't listen to some of his back catalogue.

Haven't listened to this concert yet, but I'm stating to salivate thinking about it!

Great stuff and thanks.

Anonymous said...

Thanks from windy Finland, northern sounds, large landscapes, mz

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much!

Anonymous said...

Great Stuff, but Part 3 & 4 are missing. Could U please re-upp these parts? Thanx a lot for your work!

matt w said...

Listening to it again after a long long time -- the second encore is Billy Strayhorn's "Day Dream."

Ernst Grgo Nebhuth said...

Yes - I would like to hear this recording. Maybe a re-up is possible!?

kinabalu said...

Maybe ...

rapidshare

Ernst Grgo Nebhuth said...

...thank you, Kinabalu...for sure...

francisco santos said...

can you post it once more, please ?....
BIG THX !....

Anonymous said...

Can you please re-uoload it? Thank you very much!

propylaen2001 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
kinabalu said...

Hereby returned to sender:

Adrive

Anonymous said...

Thank you! This adds an important new facet to my picture of Garbarek (although I of course have the Triptykon-album). I love it!

rev.b said...

I agree kinabalu, I've always wished there was more material from this stellar trio. Thx for doubling what I've heard!

Anonymous said...

Great to come across this today, thanks

francisco santos said...

BIG THX!...