Rites

Artist: Jan Garbarek
Label: Ecm Records
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 2

UPC: 731455900620
EAN: 0731455900620
ASIN: B0000245JD

Release Date: 2000-01-25

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Listmania:

My Top 10 Jazz Albums (In no particular order)

Tracks:

Rites
Where The Rivers Meet
Vast Plain, Clouds
So Mild The Wind, So Meek The Water
Song, Tread Lightly
It's OK To Listen To The Gray Voice
Her Wild Ways

Tracks:

It's High Time
One Ying For Every Yang
Pan
We Are The Stars
The Moon Over Mtatsminda
Malinye
The White Clown
Evenly They Danced
Last Rite

Similar Items:

Twelve Moons
I Took Up the Runes
Visible World
In Praise of Dreams
Legend of the Seven Dreams

Customer Reviews:

A Good Place To Start Exploring Jan Garbarek.......2006-08-30

"Rites," a double album, was released in 1998 on ECM Records. It acts, at least in my opinion, as a musical timeline of Jan Garbarek's career. Some really interesting pieces of music here. This album could be enjoyed by everyone, especially those that are into new age/jazz/world type of fusions.

Garbarek (soprano and tenor saxophones, keyboards, samples) is joined by some stellar musicians. His usual quartet at that time, which consisted of Rainer Bruninghaus on piano and synthesizers, Eberhard Weber on bass, and Marilyn Mazur on drums and percussion, but on "Rites" he's also joined by conductor and singer Jansug Kakhidze, Bugge Wesseltoft on additional keyboards and accordion, and finally the Boys of choir Solvguttgene. All of these musicians have memorable roles and have really made Garbarek's music special.

I've been a fan of Jan Garbarek's for a long time and "Rites" is one of my personal favorites right next to "I Took Up The Runes" and "Twelve Moons." Really beautiful music that deserves to be heard.

Very interestingly situated in the vast Garbarek canon.......2004-12-20

I think we're talking pagan, not Christian, rites here. A number entitled "Pan" tips us off. That's OK, even for Christians. Jan Garbarek has earned the right to write about any rite he wants. But, as he had previously just recorded (mostly) sacred music with the Hilliard ensemble, I think it's a safe bet to think of this recording along the lines of what C. S. Lewis said when reflecting on when he first encountered the Delphic Oracle: It was almost by believing in the gods that I came to believe in God.

Whatever.

What makes this disc so interesting is that it neatly bridges two phases in Garbarek's musical pilgrimage: his pretty constant interest in ritualized musics (he has always played Jim Pepper's great theme, "Witchi Tai To," in his concerts) and his movement toward stylized world jazz that reaches its apex, perhaps, on his latest disc (as of this writing), In Praise of Dreams.

If this disc is a little messy, in that the artist seems to be probing and grasping for his next musical phase, incorporating lots of different rhythmic and cultural sensibilities, it is never less than interesting, and often compelling. If everything doesn't work optimally, that's as much because of its experimental nature as of it's imperfectly realized and, it must be admitted, somewhat inchoate aesthetic. Definitely worth acquiring, especially if you can get it at a discount.

Was a double studio CD advisable?.......2001-05-07

After the massive commercial success (for a classical CD) of the 'Officium' album with the Hilliards, Garbarek stretched the wallets of his many fans by releasing two double studio CDs: 'Rites' and the unpronounceable 'Mnemosyne', in quick succession.

OK, we know the guy can be prolific, but there's an impression that he releases too much -- the mediocre as well as the excellent -- and lets the fan decide. It's fine if you've got a recordable CD or mini-disk player, so that you can make your own compilation of the truly outstanding tracks. But that's hardly the purpose of releasing an album.

'Rites' starts very promisingly, with the atmospheric title track, and then what is for many, the stand-out track, 'Where the Rivers Meet'. I know of at least one secondary school where the band had a go at this piece (within months of the album's release), and it went down a blast, even though few of the parents knew the tune.

Elsewhere there is not enough material that is exceptional. I would have much preferred to have seen this released as two single CDs. It's all very pleasant and marvellously cinematic, but it lacks a certain passion.

Nordic jazz at its best.......2000-05-31

The young Jan Garbarek listened to the radio and heard John Coltrane. He decided to become a saxophonist, and what a saxophonist.

In his career he has progressed from his Coltrane inspired Esoteric Circle through his work with Keith Jarrett's Bleonging Quartet (fantastic performances particularly on the Belonging CD) to a more austere world jazz. He can swing with the best of artists (listen to The Wind up on Belonging), but as time has moved on and he has been influenced by Arabic musicians (listen to Madar), and the folk songs and musical tradition of Scandinavia, his work has matured.

He constantly innovates, works with acoustic groups and with electronics. On this album there is Marilyn Mazur, former Miles David percussionist, Bugge Wesseltoft, one of the most interesting young electronic performers in Europe (listen to his New Conceptions of Jazz), along with group regulars Bruninghaus and Weber. Weber is one of the finest bass players in the world, and all side players are given their turn in the spotlight.

This album seems a summation of Garbarek's career to date. There are tunes form previous albums, slow meditative pieces, and in Her Wild Ways, a tune that was reminiscent of his work with the Jarrett Quartet.

Garbarek is a great artist, great to listen to live, and with his colleagues in Norway (Wesseltoft and Nils Petter Molvaer among others) gives the lie to the notion that jazz is dead.

Buy this. Buy everything by Garbarek.

The best showcase of Garbarek's talent and unique style.......1999-06-14

Rites condenses the best elements of both Garbarek's style and versatily as a player and composer. From ethereal and peaceful musical landscapes that easily evoke his homeland to totally original use of modern rythms. Garbarek's unique and signature playing style is shown fully in these albums. A must for anyone with an ear for a beautiful,deep and adventurous kind of jazz.

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