The album features one of the most recognisable singles of the 1980s.
I hadn't realised (or had forgotten more likely) that L. Shankar played violin and added vocals to several tracks on the album. I saw him play live several times in Peter Gabriel's band and he has also worked with Jan Garbarek.
Here's a live performance from 1984 of 'Song for Everyone'.
Lakshminarayana Shankar - electric violin
Jan Garbarek - saxophones
Zakir Hussain - tabla, percussion
Trilok Gurtu - drums, percussion
I've seen Trilok play with Jan many times in the years since.
This has an inunnguaq (ᐃᓄᙳᐊᖅ, 'imitation of a person', plural inunnguat) on the front cover.
Three figures are scaling the inukshuk. Hugh Syme, the graphic designed, always dealt in threes for Rush.
Here's 'Half the World' from that album:
Half the world lives Half the world makes Half the world gives While the other half takes
Half the world cries Half the world laughs Half the world tries To be the other half
Jan Garbarek released 'Visible World', perhaps his last great album as he hasn't released new music for many years now - although he remains a superb live act and I will always go to see him when he tours in the UK.
The Blue Nile released 'Peace at Last', seven years after their previous album. This didn't have the same power as 'Hats'.
A surprise new release today from Jan Garbarek... not new material - there's been none of that for a long time now sadly... but a lengthy compilation album called Nordic Light.
The track selection is actually really good on this one, and gives you a good sense of the variety of styles that he has been involved with over the years.
He played with a great many of my favourite musicians.
The first time I saw him I was completely blown away by his style and sound. This was a concert with the Jan Garbarek Group performing 'Molde Canticle' from 'I took up the Runes' at the Cambridge Corn Exchange.
I then saw him around a half dozen other times with the Jan Garbarek Group, including a concert at the St. Andrews Hall in Norwich, where I had front row seats.
One night in Norwich I also went to see him play a solo concert at the Norwich Arts Centre. He said quite a bit between the music that he played expressing thanks and surprise that people would come out to watch him "playing with himself".
This was a reference to the echo and delay unit that he used to layer up sounds and create some wonderful effects and tunes.
He started out working with other musicians, and recorded several solo albums too.
He also played with the Colours Quartet and recorded several albums, which had Lyle Mays as one of the players too.
Here's an early performance.
A tribute concert was held in Stuttgart in 2015.
It was released as an ECM album called 'Hommage a Eberhard Weber' - I have a copy of that album.
Musicians playing were: Gary Burton, Pat Metheny, Scott Colley, Danny Gottlieb, SWR Big Band, Helge Sunde.
Weber's latest albums, Résumé (2012) and Encore (2015) comprise solos from his performances worldwide with The Jan Garbarek Group, overdubbed with keyboards/treatments by Weber, saxophone by Garbarek, and flügelhorn by Ack Van Rooyen.
This included a long piece which was written by Pat Metheny.
This was recorded with musicians in front of a screen which showed some of his solo work.
She called me once when I was in Hamburg. I couldn’t even believe it was her. The hotel had a message from Kate Bush and I called her back. She told me she loved ECM music in general and my music in particular. She wanted me to participate in one of her albums. She sent me a tape of the two tracks she wanted me to play on and asked me to think about countermelodies. So I did that and flew to London where she lived. I thought it would be like the jazz people I work with and that within two hours, the first tune is done and within another hour, the second tune is done.
No. It’s very different, which I learned in this, my first appearance in the pop world. They checked every note—everything, everything, everything. The first tune took six to eight hours. The second one the same. It explained to me why these pop people take so long to produce their albums. They never decide right away what to do. So when I came up with some ideas they said “yes, yes, let’s record it to 48 tracks.” Then I’d have another idea and again, it would be “yes, yes, yes, let’s do it this way.” I recorded dozens of ideas and in the end, only one was accepted. These people have the attitude that it’s only later when they mix that they decide. This is very unusual compared to the older ECM productions in the '70s when I started.
Making a record only took three days: two days of recording and one day of mixing.
Only later on when it became more complicated with synths and such did it take longer.
But pop people take six months or even longer to make a record."
I used to use Radio Garden but it changed its interface... I used to listen to a American classic rock radio station which was based in Chicago, and which used to go out during the evening rush hour at a time when I was going to bed, so I'd fall asleep listening to the traffic building up on the interstate, and some great tunes... then that stopped broadcasting free of charge and needed an app which didn't work outside the USA.
Tune Journey is a globe featuring hundreds of circles - each of which is a radio station... spin the globe and dive into radio stations around the world.
At the moment this is still open and free, and looks excellent.
Why not head for a random country and see what's on the radio.
I popped to Iceland of course, and the first radio station I clicked on was playing this lengthy raga featuring Jan Garbarek, Ustad Fateh Ali Khan and musicians from Pakistan.
Is it possible to capture the 'sound' or visual spectacle of the Northern Lights in musical form? Jan Garbarek - All those Born with Wings is an excellent album with Jan's sax and the usual bandmates... and one of the best CD covers there is... showing a display of aurora. On the ECM label, which will also be showcased elsewhere on the blog.
From this album, check out the 3rd piece which perhaps best captures the atmosphere.
Suns of the Tundra - Aurora
A track on the 'Bones of Brave Ships' album from Suns of the Tundra, which tells the story of Shackleton's famous 'Endurance' expedition.
Apart from having a name which references a type of ecosystem, they also have chief examiner and top geographer Simon Oakes on lead guitar and vocals, adding to their geographical (and musical) credentials.
Lyle Mays - Alaskan Suite - Northern Lights, Invocation, Ascent
A track from Lyle Mays' debut album, and one of the finest albums there is.
Here's part of the three part movement...
I remember listening to this very loud while sitting on the shores of Loch Slapin on Skye. We'd been down to the Suisnish peninsula - an area cleared of crofters during the clearances, and across the loch was Bla-bheinn as the moon came up...
If you get the chance to go to Iceland during the winter months please do. 2025 saw a solar maximum of activity and some remarkable displays. 2026 will hopefully be just as good - January has certainly started out well.
Here's a picture of mine from 2024, taken at Laugarvatn.
Image by Alan Parkinson, shared on Flickr under CC license.
Have I missed other musical attempts to capture this remarkable phenomenon?
Here's five of my favourites, although ask me again tomorrow and I'll choose a different five:
1. 'Twelve Moons' - Jan Garbarek Group (1993)
2. Pat Metheny - 'Bright Size Life' (1976)
3. Keith Jarrett - 'Köln Concert (1975)
4. Anouar Brahem - 'Le pas du cat noir' (2002)
5. Ale Moller and Lena Willemark - 'Nordan' (1994)
Some of these will have their moment on the blog as well....
Here's the opening track from one of the albums, the wonderful 'Twelve Moons' - played live. I saw this band and this track performed live.
We also had sad news yesterday of the passing of an artist who has recorded many times with ECM: the virtuoso guitarist and pianist Ralph Towner. A real multi-instrumentalist.
