Twelve Moons

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 Brüninghaus's piano provides a reflectively lyrical contrast, while the shifting rhythms of percussionists Manu Katché and Marilyn Mazur add variety to the reiterated themes. The CD is filled with distinctively Norwegian touches. Grieg's "Arietta" is a wistful vehicle for Garbarek's soprano, while the traditional "Gautes-Margjit" is the briefest of melodies. The haunting "Psalm" is sung by Agnes Buen Garnås with whom Garbarek recorded Rosenfole, while Mari Boine, singer and Laplander activist, performs her "Darvanam" with just Garbarek's tenor as accompaniment, invoking another world of musical possibilities. The CD concludes with a serenely beautiful version of Jim Pepper's "Witchi-Tai-To," first recorded by Garbarek almost two decades before, and touching on Pepper's Native American roots. --Stuart Broomer