Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Location: Kino Šiška / Ljubljana / Slovenia
Concert date: 05.03.2010
Attendance: 800
Kino Šiška is slowly becoming a regular stop for top names from the jazz world, as last year’s shows by Mike Stern and Marcus Miller already signaled. That positive trend carries on this year with the arrival of the legendary Jan Garbarek, the celebrated Norwegian saxophonist of Polish descent. Mr. Garbarek came to our parts once again with his own outfit, the Jan Garbarek Group, made up of German keyboardist Rainer Brüninghaus, who has been working with Jan since 1988, Brazilian bassist Yuri Daniel, and Indian percussion oddity Trilok Gurtu, who is prized by plenty of jazz gourmets almost as much as Garbarek himself. This grand master of Eastern and Western rhythm drew a few more heads to Kino Šiška than would have shown up if the famous saxophonist had played with some less celebrated drummer.
The all-star lineup opened the concert with a piece that began with a long intro, slowly building a majestic atmosphere. The ambient layers of Rainer’s keyboards created a cold, almost Nordic ambience, and then the other three instruments came in and nudged the mood into somewhat warmer and increasingly eclectic waters, with a huge emphasis on improvisational interplay among the four musical masters.
With his saxophone playing, Garbarek immediately started proving why he has carried the reputation of a great innovator in the development of European jazz throughout his career. His style, which involves all three types of saxophone, is marked by a huge sonic range, from almost meditative calm to sudden outbursts of wind-instrument energy. As the show went on, the diverse musical influences of every band member, who come from all corners of the world, quickly came to the surface, and that helped create a completely unique sound and a whole range of different moods.
Jan’s music can be incredibly simple and calm, and then in the next moment it slips into extremely complex waters. Through the individual performances, concertgoers could also see for themselves the sonic variety of Garbarek’s solo output. Various motifs from his many past projects in Renaissance and chamber music also surfaced. Every member of the star lineup, except for Jan himself, got a longer solo spot and shone just about equally, though the title of solo star of the night would probably go first to the unbelievable Gurtu, who totally shocked everyone present with his incredible solo show.
Dressed in his recognizable Hindu garb, the percussionist whipped up a rising stampede across the drums, then threw himself completely into hilariously witty vocal improvisations, which he also performed several times in sonic “duels” with the other instrumentalists. In other words, whenever one of the other three band members played a certain motif, Gurtu echoed it right after in the form of vocal mimicry. Once Trilok was properly warmed up, he also unleashed himself on his whole array of percussion. Besides energetic swings across the cymbals, the tabla (a traditional Indian instrument) and African drums, he started pounding on a bowl of water that looked a lot like a village trough. Among other things, his show included the sounds of dripping water as he dipped little bells into the bowl. Gurtu undoubtedly delivered one of the most interesting and unusual drum performances in recent memory and confirmed his greatness in innovative percussion and vocal improvisation. After the end of his solo set, Jan joined Gurtu with a special flute that produced a completely distinctive sound and conjured a mood that called up visions of Nordic landscapes.
In the second part of the show they also played a few sonic collages containing motifs from newer rock compositions, which most of the crowd soon recognized and rewarded with somewhat more energetic support and louder applause. The whole time you could clearly feel the exceptional sonic harmony among all four musicians and the blending of their musical roots. On one side, Jan and Rainer traded Nordic sound principles, with a “cold Scandinavian wind” blowing through the interplay of sax and keys several times, while on the other side Trilok and Yuri diligently took care of the more relaxed, southern rhythmic direction. Yuri hung back a bit for most of the show, but still played a hugely important role in tying the individual rhythmic subtleties together. With his mostly slower bass lines, he held down the lowest register. He was also the first one up for a solo spot. In it, he pushed mostly funk-tinged melodies to the front. Then, over a previously recorded loop that he played for a while, he simultaneously let loose a few lively solo runs.
Rainer’s solo feat was also a real feast for the ears. His odyssey across the keyboard instruments could easily have lasted the whole evening. He kept switching radically between playing styles, and unexpectedly went from a faster jazz motif on the keyboards to a classically inspired motif on a real piano. The other three masters joined him in the closing motif, and at that moment the concert hit its peak. The floor of the hall shook properly a few times, because the enthusiasm in the room was indescribable and surprisingly loud for a jazz concert. After two hours they had to play an encore too, taking all the jazz devotees up to the “summit of Parnassus” once more.
Mr. Garbarek and his band of jazz greats actually exceeded expectations over a set lasting more than two hours, delivering an exceptional concert experience with just the right balance of sonic diversity and ambient breadth, something only the best in the business can pull off. So many varied and above all rich motifs, amid a host of witty improvisations and sonic collages, while still leaving the right amount of room for fantastic solo odysseys, could not leave even the most demanding jazz gourmet cold. Let’s hope these four remarkable musicians show up in our parts again as soon as possible, because what they showed that night belongs right at the golden summit of the contemporary European jazz scene.
photos: Tine Kolenik
Photo gallery
