HELGE SUNDE | NORSKE STORE ORKESTER ft. Olga Konkova Marilyn Mazur — Denada (2006) SACD | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

 "A grooving, exhilarating musical experience." - (JAZZPODIUM) ACT
Tracklist :
1    IO 6:17
 Composed By – Helge Sunde
Soprano Saxophone [Solo] – Nils Jansen
2    R.I.P. (PianoSsolo)    3:06
 Composed By – Helge Sunde
3    Requiescat In Pace (R.I.P.) 6:56
 Composed By – Helge Sunde
Flute, Flute [Alto] – Nils Jansen
Soprano Saxophone – Petter Wettre
Tenor Saxophone [Solo] – Atle Nymo
4    Denada 7:00
 Composed By – Helge Sunde
Alto Saxophone [Solo] – Petter Wettre
Baritone Saxophone [Solo] – Børge Are Halvorsen
5    Nocturnal Nature    1:40
 Composed By – Helge Sunde
6    At Dawn (Om Kvelden) 5:10
  Traditional
 Arranged By – Helge Sunde
Tenor Saxophone [Solo] – Petter Wettre
Trombone [Solo], Trumpet [Solo] – Helge Sunde
7    Small Landscape 9:00
 Composed By – Marilyn Mazur
 Arranged By – Helge Sunde
Alto Saxophone, Flute – Børge Are Halvorsen
8    Idapida 6:26
 Composed By – Helge Sunde
Trombone [Solo] – Helge Sunde
9    Lesson III 6:21
 Composed By – Helge Sunde
Bass Clarinet – Atle Nymo, Petter Wettre
Clarinet – Nils Jansen
Flute – Børge Are Halvorsen
Tuba, French Horn – Helge Sunde
10    The Ugly... (Den Grimme) 4:33
 Composed By – Camille Saint-Saëns
 Arranged By – Helge Sunde
Flute, Flute [Alto] – Nils Jansen
Credits :
Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone – Petter Wettre
Baritone Saxophone – Børge Are Halvorsen
Bass – Per Mathisen
Conductor, Producer – Helge Sunde
Cover – Olav Christopher Jenssen
Drums – Rune Arnesen
Guitar – Jens Thoresen
Percussion – Marilyn Mazur
Piano – Olga Konkova
Soprano Saxophone – Nils Jansen
Tenor Saxophone – Atle Nymo
Trombone – Even Andersen, Geir Arne Haugsrud, Øyvind Brække
Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Anders Eriksson, Eckhard Baur, Frank Brodahl

MARILYN MAZUR'S FUTURE SONGS — Small Labyrinths (1997) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Tracklist :
1    A World Of Gates 2:12
Composed By – M. Mazur
2    Drum Tunnel 2:24
Composed By – A. Kleive, M. Mazur
3    The Electric Cave 1:43
Composed By – E. Aarset, M. Mazur, N. P. Molvær
4    The Dreamcatcher 5:45
Composed By – Marilyn Mazur
5    Visions In The Wood 5:30
Composed By – A. Kleive, K. Hovman, M. Mazur
6    Back To Dreamfog Mountain 6:03
Composed By – M. Mazur
7    Creature Talk 1:11
Composed By – A. Kleive, M. Mazur
8    See There 7:18
Composed By – M. Mazur
9    Valley Of Fragments 1:21
Composed By – Future Song
10    Enchanted Place 3:12
Composed By – Future Song
11    Castle Of Air 4:20
Composed By – M. Mazur
12    The Holey 7:13
Composed By – M. Mazur
Credits :
Bass [Basses] – Klavs Hovman
Drums – Audun Kleive
Guitar – Eivind Aarset
Percussion – Marilyn Mazur
Piano, Keyboards – Elvira Plenar
Producer [Album Produced By] – Manfred Eicher
Saxophone [Saxophones] – Hans Ulrik
Trumpet – Nils Petter Molvær
Voice – Aina Kemanis

MARILYN MAZUR'S FUTURE SONG - Small Labyrinths (1997) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Marilyn Mazur is best known today as the flamboyant percussionist at the heart of the Jan Garbarek Group (Twelve Moons, Visible World), speeding around an ever burgeoning array of multi-ethnic metal, wood and clay instruments. Garbarek: 'Marilyn is like the wind. An elemental force.' Prior employers Gil Evans, Wayne Shorter, and Miles Davis have similarly valued her pervasive, penetrating percussion. Marilyn drew up the blueprint for Future Song - an American-Danish-Nowegian-Yugoslavian musical alliance - while working the stadiums with Miles in 1989 and the group has survived with intact personnel for eight years. Mazur says: 'The music is intended to be like a living organism, expanding through specific dramatic sequences into more open structures. It represents a wide dynamic spectrum, explores many emotions.' Small Labyrinths is the Danish-American percussionist's leader-date debut for ECM. ecm
Tracklist :
1    A World Of Gates 2'12
(Marilyn Mazur)
2    Drum Tunnel 2'24
(Marilyn Mazur, Audun Kleive)
3    The Electric Cave 1'43
(Marilyn Mazur, Eivind Aarset, Nils Petter Molvaer)
4    The Dreamcatcher 5'45
(Marilyn Mazur)
5    Visions In The Wood 5'30
(Klavs Hovman, Audun Kleive, Marilyn Mazur)
6    Back To Dreamfog Mountain 6'03
(Marilyn Mazur)
7    Creature Talk 1'11
(Marilyn Mazur, Audun Kleive)
8    See There 7'18
(Marilyn Mazur)
9    Valley Of Fragments 1'21
(Marilyn Mazur)
10    Enchanted Place 3'12
(Marilyn Mazur)
11    Castle Of Air 4'20
(Marilyn Mazur)
12    The Holey 7'13
(Marilyn Mazur)
Credits :
Marilyn Mazur - Percussion
Aina Kemanis - Voice
Hans Ulrik - Saxophones
Nils Petter Molvaer - Trumpet
Eivind Aarset - Guitar
Elvira Plenar - Piano, Keyboards
Klavs Hovman - Basses
Audun Kleive - Drums

MARILYN MAZUR - Celestial Circle (2011) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Marilyn Mazur’s work has always expressed a free-spiritedness beyond idioms and borders. Born in New York, raised in Denmark, she has contributed powerfully to improvisation on both sides of the Atlantic, and her resume has included stints with Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter and Gil Evans as well as 14 years on the road with the Jan Garbarek Group. In recent years her own groups have been the primary focus and the adventurous, song-oriented “Celestial Circle” has been active since 2008. The present disc is the group’s first recording. Material intersperses songs and instrumentals penned by Mazur with collectively improvised trios and duos. Singer Josefine Cronhom (who previously worked with Mazur in the Percussion Paradise ensemble) has her ECM debut here and old friends John Taylor and Anders Jormin make welcome returns. ecm
Tracklist :
1    Your Eyes 5'49
(John Taylor)
2    Winterspell 6'10
(Marilyn Mazur)
3    Kildevaeld 3'53
(Marilyn Mazur)
4    Gentle Quest 2'30
(Anders Jormin, John Taylor, Marilyn Mazur)
5    Secret Crystals 2'43
(Marilyn Mazur, John Taylor)
6    Temple Chorus 2'51
(Marilyn Mazur)
7    Antilope Arabesque 6'44
(Marilyn Mazur)
8    Chosen Darkness 2'05
(Marilyn Mazur, Josefine Cronholm, Anders Jormin)
9    Among The Trees 4'13
(Marilyn Mazur)
10    Color Sprinkle 2'20
(Marilyn Mazur, John Taylor, Anders Jormin)
11    Tour Song 5'09
(Marilyn Mazur)
12    Drumrite 4'33
(Marilyn Mazur)
13    Oceanique 2'14
(Marilyn Mazur, Anders Jormin)
14    Transcending 2'07
(Marilyn Mazur)
Credits :
Marilyn Mazur - Percussion, Drums, Voice
Josefine Cronholm - Voice
John Taylor - Piano
Anders Jormin - Double-Bass

JON BALKE - Magnetic Works : 1993-2001 (2012) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This 2-CD anthology, assembled by Jon Balke, contains music from a trilogy of albums made in the period 1993 to 2001 by the Magnetic North Orchestra, drawing upon the same core of musicians, with Audun Kleive and Anders Jormin as the ensemble’s pulsating engine and Morten Halle, Per Jørgensen and, later, Arve Henriksen as the leading melodic improvising players. The integration of string players was a key element of the music, and the MNO worked with a high profiled line of musicians. Balke: “My agenda after leaving Oslo 13 was to work my way around the overwhelming big band sound as the defining characteristic of a large improvising ensemble. Inspired by Gil Evans, Claus Ogerman and Oum Khalsoum, I saw the possibility of blending my favourite musicians into a sound that could wrap itself around my compositional ideas.” The compilation includes music from Magnetic North’s ECM albums “Further” (1517) and “Kyanos” (1822) albums as well as nine tracks from the album “Solarized”, previously issued by Emarcy and long out-of-print. ecm
Tracklist 1 :
1    Departure    0:53
2    Changing Song    5:21
3    Flying Thing    4:56
4    Horizontal Song    4:56
5    Moving Carpet    5:19
6    Taraf    6:18
7    Shaded Place    4:38
8    Present Position    5:36
9    Solarized    6:40
10    Dark And Slow    5:34
11    In Degrees    1:31
Tracklist 2 :
1    Curve    7:51
2    Circular    4:04
3    Vertical    1:31
4    Encoded    3:44
5    Elusive Song    3:52
6    In Vitro    4:12
7    Plica    2:49
8    Zygotos    4:34
9    Karyon    3:04
10    Mutatio    4:53
11    Katabolic    5:04
12    Kyanos    3:44
All Credits

MARILYN MAZUR - Elixir (2008) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Elixir is the first album Danish percussionist Marilyn Mazur has recorded as a leader for ECM in 14 years. It is an interesting number for Mazur, because she has also spent 14 years as a member of saxophonist Jan Garbarek's recording and touring ensembles. He appears on about half of Elixir as Mazur's only collaborator (apart from producer Manfred Eicher). That said, the solo pieces are the first remarkable aspect of this set. When Mazur works alone, her pieces defy everything we think we know about solo percussion recordings: there is a warmth and directness in these proceedings that is songlike rather than merely hypnotic or virtuosic. There is much to tell here, not merely to show. These short works are, in effect, aural stories. They arise from her intuitive understanding of an instrument and sound as well as her improvisational abilities as a percussionist, but they emerge as almost sung narratives told on her array of bells, marimba, bowed vibraphones, log drums, udu, cymbals, gongs, waterphone, hang, and metal utensils -- instruments and tools from all of the earth's continents. They are startling vignettes, because they offer a connection to something earlier to be sure, but also to something very universal in their accessibility as a kind of folk art. When she works with Garbarek, the sheer intuitive nature of their communication is simply startling. They do know one another well, but this is truly out of the ordinary. To be honest, as fine as Garbarek's own records have been, listeners haven't really heard him play like this for many years. The structured melodies and dynamic reaches in "Orientales," for instance, come from a very simple idea that he modulates on and returns to over and over again, but his intonation and sense of attack are very different than on his own records. Likewise, the tribal-sounding "Dunun Song" allows for the saxophonist to take his tenor and dance along a thematic idea that is as rooted in blues and New Orleans music as it is in African cultures. The relatively free abstraction in "Winter Wish," the longest of these 21 improvisations at a little over four minutes, is nonetheless measured by Mazur's sense of pace and space, and how her own measured tones offer another voice for her collaborator. The beautiful cymbal, cowbell, and log drums on "Creature Walk" are knotty, ever shifting in pulse and timbre, but always toward rather than away from the listener. The nocturnal waterphone on "Metal Dew," with the longish tones of shimmering small bells and rubbed cymbals, presents another piece of musical alchemy that, while sounding utterly strange and almost exotic, is nonetheless fantastically approachable and beautifully nuanced. In fact, the manner in which this album is structured draws the listener from front to back without once being overwhelming. Indeed, if anything, one is drawn increasingly and with great fascination into these gorgeous rhythmic poems, as if to a new land that is simultaneously welcoming and strange. Fantastic.    
(This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa')
Tracklist:
1  Clear 3:01
Marilyn Mazur
2  Pathway 2:53
Marilyn Mazur
3  Dunun Song 3:25
Marilyn Mazur
4  Joy Chant 3:13
Marilyn Mazur
5  Bell-Painting 0:59
Marilyn Mazur
6  Elixir 3:05
Marilyn Mazur
7  Orientales 3:01
Jan Garbarek / Marilyn Mazur
8  Metal Dew 2:55
Marilyn Mazur
9  Mother Drum 2:39
Marilyn Mazur
10  Mountain Breath 1:16
Jan Garbarek / Marilyn Mazur
11  Creature Walk  2:34
Marilyn Mazur
12  Spirit of Air 1:08
Jan Garbarek / Marilyn Mazur
13  Spirit of Sun 1:58
Jan Garbarek / Marilyn Mazur
14  Sheep Dream 1:40
Marilyn Mazur
15  Talking Wind 2:39
Marilyn Mazur
16  Totem Dance 3:18
Jan Garbarek / Marilyn Mazur
17  The Siren in the Well 3:30
Marilyn Mazur
18  River 3:05
Jan Garbarek / Marilyn Mazur
19  On The Move  2:24
Marilyn Mazur
20  Winter Wish 4:13
Jan Garbarek / Marilyn Mazur
21  Clear Recycle 1:58
Marilyn Mazur
Credits
Marimba, Vibraphone [Bowed Vibraphone], Waterphone, Percussion [Hang], Bells, Gong [Gongs], Cymbal [Cymbals], Percussion [Magic Drum], Percussion [Log Drum], Bells [Sheep Bells], Cowbell, Udu [Udu Drum], Drums [Various Drums], Percussion [Metal-Utensils] – Marilyn Mazur
Producer – Manfred Eicher
Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Flute – Jan Garbarek
Written-By – Jan Garbarek (tracks: 7, 10, 12, 13, 18, 20), Marilyn Mazur

EBERHARD WEBER - Stages Of A Long Journey (2007) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Stages of a Long Journey was recorded in Stuttgart in March of 2005, as part of a celebration of both the 20th anniversary of the Theaterhaus Jazzstage festival and as a 65th birthday celebration for bassist Eberhard Weber. Weber was asked to pick a number of his own compositions, rearrange them by writing new charts for the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, and select his own band as well. Weber picked on former and current bandmates such as Gary Burton, Jan Garbarek, Rainer Bruninghaus, Marilyn Mazur, Wolfgang Dauner, Reto Weber, and human beatbox Nino G., and carefully chose material from his own catalog and pieces he had performed on in their initial recordings, such as Bruninghaus's "Piano Transition," Jerome Kern's "Yesterdays," Mazur's "Percussion Transition," and Carla Bley's "Syndrome." Those wondering if there is any actual "jazz" on this record need look no further than the gorgeous version of Bley's tune here, where Burton, Garbarek, and the bassist all shine. Another consideration for the listener is in Weber's beautiful, inventive, rhythmic charts for the orchestra (under the direction of Roland Kluttig). "Silent Feet," which opens the set, is one such exercise. What begins as a slow bowed bassline is colored and enlarged by the orchestra entering gradually, tensely, and dramatically, as grey dawn emerges from the night sky. A pulse begins just after Mazur's percussion entry, the band plays these intricate rhythmic phrases, and the orchestra adds genuine color, texture, and depth. They follow rhythmic signature perfectly, allowing the tune to evolve and bring its delightfully understated melodic frame (which is not inseparable from the pulse) to the fore. By the time Garbarek takes his solo and Weber plays double time behind him, the big brassy horns are ready to push and drop out only as Burton enters with a truly lovely and poetic solo.
There are a fine pair of duets played here as well, between Dauner on piano and Weber's bass on the lovely Kern number, and also "Seven Movements," shared by the bassist and Garbarek. They set the stage for what follows, the elongated "Birthday Suite" that encompasses five pieces -- bookended by gorgeous readings of two of Weber's best-known pieces, "The Colours of Cloë" and "Yellow Fields." On "Hang Around," a trio of Nino G., Weber's downright funky acoustic bass, and the self-designed percussion instrument played by Reto Weber (no relation) called the "hang," are in deep intuitive interplay. The work by G. is not a novelty, but something inventive, utterly fresh, and full of the energy -- especially in G.'s solo. The final two pieces of the evening are in many ways the most satisfying. The full band returns on "The Last Stage of a Long Journey," where the orchestra introduces the brooding and melancholy composition. Strings and the deep brass of tuba and euphonium gradually bring up the tempo and introduce the lithe melody, as Weber brings his bass up from the ether. When Bruninghaus restates the theme on the piano and Weber is allowed free play inside the rhythm, Burton begins to color it. When Garbarek's icy soprano saxophone cries out, it is arresting and rings true. The concert ends with a brief bass solo by Weber on "Air." In just over three minutes, the great bassist is not remotely interested in showing his chops but in playing this bittersweet little song as a folk tune. This is a watershed moment in Weber's recorded output, because it reveals his collective gifts as a musician, which, even when understated, are shining examples of the European jazz, folk, classical, and new music he has forged these last 40 years as a leader and as a valued sideman and composer.
(This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa')
Tracklist :
1     Silent Feet 7:37
Bass, Written-By – Eberhard Weber
Conductor – Roland Klutting
Orchestra – SWR Radio Symphony Orchestra Stuttgart
Percussion – Marilyn Mazur
Piano – Rainer Brüninghaus
Soprano Saxophone – Jan Garbarek
Vibraphone – Gary Burton    
2     Syndrome 7:44
Bass – Eberhard Weber
Percussion – Marilyn Mazur
Piano – Rainer Brüninghaus
Tenor Saxophone – Jan Garbarek
Vibraphone – Gary Burton
Written-By – Carla Bley
3     Yesterdays 5:03
Double Bass [Double-Bass] – Eberhard Weber
Piano – Wolfgang Dauner
Written-By – Jerome Kern    
4     Seven Movements 5:54
Bass, Written-By – Eberhard Weber
Soprano Saxophone – Jan Garbarek
5     The Colours of Chloë
Bass – Eberhard Weber
Conductor – Roland Kluttig
Orchestra – SWR Radio Symphony Orchestra Stuttgart
Percussion – Marilyn Mazur
Piano – Rainer Brüninghaus
Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone – Jan Garbarek
Vibraphone – Gary Burton
6     Piano Transition 4:11
Written-By [From "Solo Piano Suite"] – Rainer Brüninghaus    
7     Maurizius 7:04
Eberhard Weber
8     Percussion Transition 3:03
Marilyn Mazur
9     Yellow Fields 7:01
Eberhard Weber
10     Hang Around 4:17
Bass – Eberhard Weber
Hang Drum [Hang], Written-By – Reto Weber
Human Beatbox [Beatbox] – Nino G.    
11     The Last Stage of a Long Journey 11:06
Bass, Written-By – Eberhard Weber
Conductor – Roland Klutting
Orchestra – SWR Radio Symphony Orchestra Stuttgart
Percussion – Marilyn Mazur
Piano – Rainer Brüninghaus
Soprano Saxophone – Jan Garbarek
Vibraphone – Gary Burton    
12     Air 3:10
Eberhard Weber
   

JAN GARBAREK GROUP - Twelve Moons (1993) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This 1992 recording by the Garbarek Group has their customary blend of Norwegian folk themes and original compositions, with the leader's big-toned soprano and tenor saxophones at the heart of a music that combines cool lyricism and intense, if restrained, passion. It's the emotion that Garbarek can concentrate in a single note that distinguishes his work. His soprano is a keening wail in the unaccompanied introduction to "Brother Wind March," his high-register tenor an impassioned cry on "The Tall Tear Trees." Rainer Bruninghaus's piano provides a reflectively lyrical contrast, while the shifting rhythms of percussionists Manu Katche and Marilyn Mazur add variety to the reiterated themes. The CD is filled with distinctively Norwegian touches. AllMusic

Tracklist:

1. Twelve Moons 7:35

Part One: Winter-Summer

Part Two: Summer-Winter

Jan Garbarek

2. Psalm 6:32

Jan Garbarek / Traditional

3. Brother Wind March 10:37

Jan Garbarek

4. There Were Swallows… 8:36

Jan Garbarek

5. The Tall Tear Trees 5:45

Jan Garbarek 

6. Arietta 6:21

Jan Garbarek / Edvard Grieg

7. Gautes-Margjit 11:53

Jan Garbarek / Traditional

8. Darvanan 4:54

Mari Boine / Mari Boine Persen

9. Huhai 7:29

Jan Garbarek

10. Witchi-Tai-To 5:43

Jim Pepper

Musicians

Jan Garbarek - soprano and tenor saxophones, keyboards

Rainer Bruninghaus - keyboards

Eberhard Weber - bass

Manu Katche - drums

Marilyn Mazur - percussion

Agnes Buen Garnas - vocal

Mari Boine - vocal

JAN GARBAREK - Visible World (1995) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Apart from David Sanborn, probably no living saxophonist has a more instantly recognizable voice than Jan Garbarek; actually, given the fact that Sanborn's sound is so widely copied, Garbarek's may be easier to identify in a blindfold test. This album in particular puts that sound front and center. Garbarek's the show; he composed all of the music, and is essentially the only soloist. The music (much of which was composed as soundtrack material for film or video) is quintessential Garbarek, full of the world music influences that have characterized his work since the 1970s. Garbarek's resonant, carefully articulated tenor and soprano tone suits the spacious, minor/modal themes. He's as much a singer as instrumentalist. Garbarek also plays digital synthesizers, mostly as string or flute pads underneath the folkish melodies. The record's most notable secondary player is Garbarek's ECM labelmate, the bassist Eberhard Weber, whose lyric sensibility is a virtual mirror of Garbarek's. This is quiet, contemplative music for the most part -- attractive, but not superficially pretty. Its grooves are less celebratory than melancholic. There's an intensity here borne of deep concentration and commitment to beauty. Garbarek has come a long way since his early days as a quasi-free jazz experimentalist. This music is not jazz, nor is it experimental. But it is compelling in its way, representative of a first-rate creative musician, beyond category. by Chris Kelsey
Tracklist:
1    Red Wind 3:53
Jan Garbarek
Shaker – Marilyn Mazur
2    The Creek    4:33
Jan Garbarek
3    The Survivor    4:46
Jan Garbarek
4    The Healing Smoke    7:16
Jan Garbarek
5    Visible World, Chiaro -    4:09
Jan Garbarek
6    Desolate Mountains I    6:47
Jan Garbarek
7    Desolate Mountains II    6:02
Jan Garbarek
8    Visible World, - Scuro    4:34
Jan Garbarek
9    Giulietta    3:46
Jan Garbarek
10    Desolate Mountains III    1:33
Jan Garbarek
11    Pygmy Lullaby 6:14
Arranged By – Jan Garbarek
Music By [Melody] – African traditional
12    The Quest 3:00
Jan Garbarek
Synthesizer – Rainer Brüninghaus
13    The Arrow 4:23
Jan Garbarek
Tabla, Performer [Spiral] – Trilok Gurtu
14    The Scythe    1:50
Jan Garbarek
15    Evening Land 12:29
Jan Garbarek
Vocals, Composed By – Mari Boine
Credits:
Bass – Eberhard Weber (tracks: 2, 3, 7, 8, 11, 12)
Composed By – Jan Garbarek (tracks: 1 to 10, 12 to 15)
Design [Cover] – Barbara Wojirsch
Drums – Manu Katché (tracks: 2, 3, 11, 13), Marilyn Mazur (tracks: 6, 7, 9)
Percussion – Marilyn Mazur (tracks: 4, 5, 8, 9, 11 to 13, 15)
Piano – Rainer Brüninghaus (tracks: 3, 4, 6, 7, 10, 11)
Producer – Manfred Eicher
Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Keyboards [Electronic], Percussion [Additional], Clarinet [Meraaker] – Jan Garbarek
Note
Tracks 1, 2, 4, 12 and 13 are parts of a "Mangas Coloradas Suite" involving descendants of the Chiricahua Apache Chief Mangas Coloradas.
Tracks 3 and 4 were made for the feature film "Trollsyn".
Tracks 5 and 8 were made for the TV ballet "Bønn".
Track 15 was done for a music-video production entitled "Aftenlandet". 

JAN GARBAREK - Rites (1998) 2xCD / FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Since the late '70s, Jan Garbarek has been carving out a place within jazz for the folk and spiritual traditions of the indigenous peoples of Scandinavia, the Netherlands, and finally of those people all over the world. Rites, a double CD, is his attempt at forging a synthesis that takes improvisation into the heart of ritual music and creates a new form of spiritual from them both. Using a strategy for each of the discs, the first one digs deep into the spiritual and mystical side of his language. Garbarek plays soprano and tenor as well as synthesizers, drum machines, and samples -- always understated, always elegant -- and utilizes the talents of some of his running mates as well as new ones. Rainer Bruninghaus appears sporadically throughout, as does bassist Eberhard Weber, and drummer/percussion wizard Marilyn Mazur is ubiquitous. The music is slow, tenuous, and repetitive. It hardly matters -- on disc one, anyway -- which of the pieces are being played. All of them have spare, chant-like melodies that are lifted by myriad percussion instruments and keyboards, which provide a spacious ambience in which to enfold them both. Even Garbarek's trademark icy saxophone -- usually made more so by Manfred Eicher's production -- is warm, watery, and deeply entrenched in this warm mix that falls over listeners like a fine meditation blanket; like that blanket, it begins to stir emotions from deep within the heart of the listener. While these songs all segue into one another, it is worth noting that Garbarek recut "It's OK to Listen to the Grey Voice" for this collection, where it's performed with deeper conviction and fits better than it did on the album it was named for. Disc two of Rites is a bit of a different story. While the music is indeed intended for ritual, it comes from the celebratory side of the aisle rather than the contemplative one. Here are dances, Garbarek's versions of gospel shouts, processionals, festival waltzes, and all manner of joyful ceremonies completing the circle. On one collection, listeners get music for prayer, contemplation, and grief, as well as a funky European read of indigenous music for moving to and celebrating. Clearly this is what sets Rites above Garbarek's other recordings, him taking that balance he possessed so early in his career back again and putting it to work in a near-sacred setting. (This comment is posted on allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog O Púbis da Rosa)

Tracklist 1 :
1    Rites 8:27
Composed By – Jan Garbarek
Synthesizer [Additional Synthesizer], Effects [Electronic Effects] – Bugge Wesseltoft
2    Where The Rivers Meet 7:01
Composed By – Jan Garbarek
Cymbal [Additional Cymbals], Tom Tom [Additional Toms] – Marilyn Mazur
3    Vast Plain, Clouds 5:53
Bass – Eberhard Weber
Composed By – Jan Garbarek
Drums – Marilyn Mazur
Keyboards [Keyboard] – Rainer Brüninghaus
4    So Mild The Wind, So Meek The Water 6:09
Bass – Eberhard Weber
Composed By – Jan Garbarek
Drums – Marilyn Mazur
Piano – Rainer Brüninghaus
5    Song, Tread Lightly 7:40
Composed By – Jan Garbarek
Slit Drum, Cymbal [Additional Cymbals], Tom Tom [Additional Toms] – Marilyn Mazur
6    It's OK To Listen To The Gray Voice 6:43
Bass – Eberhard Weber
Composed By – Jan Garbarek
Drums – Marilyn Mazur
Keyboards [Keyboard], Piano – Rainer Brüninghaus
7    Her Wild Ways 6:44
Bass – Eberhard Weber
Composed By – Jan Garbarek
Composed By [Including Fragments Of] – Trad. Halling-Joron
Drums – Marilyn Mazur
Piano – Rainer Brüninghaus

Tracklist 2 :
1    It's High Time 3:31
Composed By – Jan Garbarek
Composed By [Including Fragments Of A] – Sami Trad. Joik
Synthesizer [Additional Synthesizer], Effects [Electronic Effects] – Bugge Wesseltoft
2    One Ying For Every Yang 6:32
Bass – Eberhard Weber
Composed By – Jan Garbarek
Drums – Marilyn Mazur
Keyboards [Keyboard] – Rainer Brüninghaus
3    Pan 6:11
Composed By – Jan Garbarek
4    We Are The Stars 5:00
Choir – Boys From The Choir "Sølvguttene"
Composed By – Jan Garbarek
Conductor – Torstein Grythe
5    The Moon Over Mtatsminda 3:57
Composed By – Jansug Kakhidze
Orchestra – Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra
Vocals [Singer], Conductor – Jansug Kakhidze
6    Malinye 6:19
Accordion – Bugge Wesseltoft
Composed By – Don Cherry
Drums – Marilyn Mazur
7    The White Clown 3:44
Bass – Eberhard Weber
Composed By – Jan Garbarek
Drums – Marilyn Mazur
Keyboards [Keyboard] – Rainer Brüninghaus
8    Evenly They Danced 5:14
Composed By – Jan Garbarek
Synthesizer [Additional Synthesizer], Effects [Electronic Effects] – Bugge Wesseltoft
9    Last Rite 8:24
Composed By – Jan Garbarek
Synthesizer [Additional Synthesizer], Effects [Electronic Effects] – Bugge Wesseltoft
Credits :
Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Synthesizer [Synthesizers], Sampler [Samplers], Percussion – Jan Garbarek

MILES DAVIS - Aura (1989) APE (image+.cue), lossless

Miles' last recording for the Columbia label before heading for the financial allure of Warner Bros. in the mid-'80s was not released until 1989. This critic's guess is because largely they had no idea what to do with it. Unlike anything else in his catalog, Aura is a ten-part suite composed by Danish flügelhornist Palle Mikkelborg as a tribute. Influenced deeply by serialism and the inspiration of Gil Evans, Mikkelborg composed a theme from ten notes based on the letters of Davis' first and last names. The notes yielded a chord, which led him through the work. Employing a full orchestra and the guitar talents of former Davis collaborator John McLaughlin and famed European bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted Pederson, Aura's sections are named for the color spectrum, with the addition of white and "electric red." The music is an amalgam of classical impressionism, European new music, jazz, rock, electronic, and other genres. As a tribute and separate orchestral work, it's quite moving and beautiful, full of moody interludes and evocations of nuance, color, texture, and dynamic. With Davis added, soloing in his trademark muted, rounded warmth, the music becomes almost breathtaking. The Gil Evans influence is everywhere apparent in the way strings segue into keyboards and float there until the trumpet or wind section comes for them and brings them home. It's easy to be cynical about a work like this, and call it a pastiche of Miles clichés. Far harder is it to place the entirety of Davis' career in one place and hear it expressed with so much warmth and elegance, because that career was so mercurial. Mikkelborg gave Miles a fine parting gift when he left Columbia, and listeners are so very fortunate for his generosity.  by Thom Jurek 
Tracklist:
1 Intro 4:25
2 White 6:02
Soloist, Guitar – John McLaughlin
3 Yellow 6:45
4 Orange 8:34
Soloist, Guitar – John McLaughlin
5 Red 9:56
6 Green 4:20
Soloist, Acoustic Bass – Niels Henning Oersted Pedersen
Soloist, Fretless Bass – Bo Stief
7 Blue 6:33
8 Electric Red 4:16
9 Indigo 5:58
Soloist, Acoustic Bass – Niels Henning Oersted Pedersen
Soloist, Piano [Acoustic] – Thomas Clausen
10 Violet 9:01
Soloist, Guitar – John McLaughlin
Credits:
Bass – Niels Henning Oersted Pedersen
Bass Trombone – Axel Windfeld, Ole Kurt Jensen
Cor Anglais, Oboe – Niels Eje
Drums – Lennart Gruvstedt
Electric Bass [Fender Bass], Fretless Bass – Bo Stief
Electronic Drums – Vince Wilburn
Flugelhorn [Additional], Trumpet [Additional] – Palle Mikkelborg
Guitar – Bjarne Roupé, John McLaughlin
Harp – Lillian Thornquist
Keyboards – Kenneth Knudsen, Ole Koch-Hansen, Thomas Clausen
Percussion – Ethan Weisgaard, Marilyn Mazur
Piano – Thomas Clausen
Saxophone, Woodwind – Bent Jaedig, Flemming Madsen, Jesper Thilo, Per Carsten, Uffe Karskov
Trombone – Jens Engel, Ture Larsen, Vincent Nilsson
Trumpet – Miles Davis (tracks: 1 to 8, 10)
Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Benny Rosenfeld, Idrees Sulieman, Jens Winther, Palle Bolvig, Perry Knudsen
Vocals – Eva Thaysen