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Jan Garbarek: Magico - Cara de Amor

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: ECM Records
Released: 2012.11.06
Time:
 51:20 / 56:12
Category: Jazz
Producer(s): Manfred Eicher
Rating:
Media type: CD double
Web address: www.garbarek.com
Appears with: Keith Jarrett, Eberhard Weber, The Hilliard Ensemble
Purchase date: 2013
Price in €: 2,00





 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


Disc One:

[1] Carta de Amor (E.Gismonti) - 7:25
[2] La Pasionara (Ch.Haden) - 16:26
[3] Cego Aderaldo (E.Gismonti) - 9:50
[4] Folk Song (Traditional) - 8:09
[5] Don Quixote (E.Gismonti) - 8:25
[6] Spor (J.Garbarek) - 14:01


Disc Two:

[1] Branquinho (E.Gismonti) - 7:37
[2] All That Is Beautiful (Ch.Haden) - 15:35
[3] Palhaço (E.Gismonti) - 9:12
[4] Two Folk Songs (Traditional) - 3:39
[5] Carta de Amor, Var. (E.Gismonti) - 7:35

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


Jan Garbarek - Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone
Charlie Haden - Bass
Egberto Gismonti - Guitar, Piano

Manfred Eicher - Mixing, Producer
Martin Wieland - Engineer
Jan Erik Kongshaug - Mixing
Bernd Kuchenbeiser - Design
Ralph Quinke - Photography

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


2012 CD -  ECM Records - ECM 2280/81
2012 CD -  ECM Records - ECM 2280/81



In 1979, ECM released Magico and Folk Songs, two gorgeous albums by the creative trio of saxophonist Jan Garbarek, guitarist/pianist Egberto Gismonti, and bassist Charlie Haden. Magico: Carta de Amor is a double-disc recorded live in 1981 in Munich which has been sitting in ECM's vaults until now. The recording features a seasoned band in full command of a shared musical language developed after an extended period touring together. It contrasts sharply with the work they issued as individual players during this era: Garbarek's Eventyr in 1980 and Paths and Prints in 1981, Gismonti's Frevo (1980), and Sanfona and En Familia (1981), and Haden's collaborations with Old and New Dreams, Ornette Coleman, and Pat Metheny. The material here features five iconic Gismonti compositions - yet only "Palhaço" appears on this trio's studio albums. Haden’s 16-minute "La Pasionaria," a number closely associated with his Liberation Music Orchestra, is presented in a glorious trio version. It features intense, forceful playing by Garbarek which contrasts with Gismonti's spacious guitar playing. Garbarek's own "Spor," which also appeared on the trio's studio album Magico, is presented as a more elliptical group improvisation here. Haden's high-pitched bowing adds a tinge of the otherworldly, while Garbarek's voice is simultaneously emotive and icy. Gismonti's pianism is given an ample showcase on "Palhaço" and Haden's "All That Is Beautiful," the latter with lovely, ethereal soprano work from Garbarek. The bassist's "Two Folk Songs" is given an urgent, dark-tinged, exotic treatment thanks in no small part to Gismonti's virtuoso 12-string playing and Haden's elegant yet propulsive push at the melody articulated by Garbarek's soprano. It differs considerably from the version he presented on Metheny's 80/81. "Folk Song," from the trio's Folk Songs album, is a group improvisation based on a traditional hymn, but moves far afield with startling guitar effects and soprano soloing. Like Keith Jarrett's Sleeper, a live quartet date from 1979 that also saw the light of day from ECM in 2012, Magico: Carta de Amor is a musical treasure trove that features three players from three continents working in near-symbiotic dialogue, offering music that showcases compositional and improvisational mastery, yet transcends the limitations of genre classification.

Thom Jurek  - All Music Guide



It's sure been a banner year for fans of the ECM label, with a slew of fine new releases from artists including guitarist John Abercrombie (Within a Song), bassist Arild Andersen (Celebration), pianist Tord Gustavsen (The Well), and saxophonist Tim Berne (Snakeoil). Previously out-of- print or never-before-in-print studio recordings from saxophonist Jan Garbarek (Dansere) and pianist Jon Balke (Magnetic Works: 1993-2001 ) are now back in circulation. And, for the first time since bassist Charlie Haden's duet record with pianist/guitarist Egberto Gismonti (2001's In Montreal, from a 1989 concert), the label has dug back into the past, with Terje Rypdal's Odyssey: In Studio & In Concert coupling the guitarist's 1975 classic, Odyssey—finally on CD in its full, two-disc glory— with a previously unreleased Swedish radio performance, Unfinished Highballs, and Sleeper: Tokyo, April 16, 1979 debuting a full concert from Keith Jarrett's influential European Quartet.

The year's not over by a long shot, but Magico: Carta de Amor may ultimately emerge as ECM's most significant archival release to date, trumping the Jarrett if only because, as superb as it is, Sleeper is not the pianist's first live recording with this group to see the light of day. Culled from live performances by a relatively short-lived trio that, with Magico (1980) and Folk Songs (1981), already stood as one of label head Manfred Eicher's most inspired collaborative suggestions, Carta de Amor liberally expands on material from both studio dates, but also adds plenty of music that, if familiar to fans of Garbarek, Gismonti and Haden individually, has not been heard performed by this vibrant chamber trio before—and, in the case of Haden's uplifting "All That is Beautiful," appears on record for the first time.

The record demonstrates just how far this trio had come by the time of its April, 1981 performances at Munich's Amerika Haus—no surprise, given the established reputations of all three members, and that it had been almost 18 months since Folk Songs was recorded, just a scant five months after the Magico sessions. Gismonti's characteristically lyrical yet emotionally ambiguous "Palhaço" was a tremendous closer to Magico and a highlight of the Brazilian's more heavily produced Circense (Carmo, 1980), but here Garbarek soars even higher in a version nearly double both studio counterparts' length and, taken at a brighter tempo, indicative of this trio's profound interconnectivity, as all three players transcend mere soloing to interact at a near-mitochondrial level.

If, as a pianist, Gismonti has always felt a little more schooled—without suggesting either predictability or an inability to stretch boundaries—his more rough- hewn guitar work is the fulcrum on which both Garbarek and Haden balance on the bassist's Spanish-tinged "La Pasionaria," which he had yet to record at this point, and which would ultimately swing far harder and brighter on his Liberation Music Orchestra's Ballad of the Fallen (ECM, 1983). But if Gismonti provides the initial context, it's Haden who ultimately assumes role of both anchor and animator/instigator, in a free middle section that, despite form reasserting itself nearly ten minutes in to reiterate the theme, opens up once again for a closing bass solo that, in its muscular avoidance of grandstanding, is an early standout of Carta de Amor's 108-minute set.

Beyond Garbarek's arrangement of traditional folk songs ("Folk Songs," "Two Folk Songs"), the saxophonist's "Spor"—first heard on Magico, but reinterpreted, three years later, in more electrified form on Wayfarer (ECM, 1983)—is another example of this trio's remarkable connection, another piece that breaks down into the kind of collective free play that's only hinted at on the studio recordings. As ever, Garbarek's attention to purity of tone is a marker, here matched by Haden, who has always favored tone, texture and the right note over pyrotechnic displays and whose rare use of a bow here is another distinguishing point in a set filled with highlights.

Carta de Amor is a reminder of how a particular point in time, when the pan-cultural and cross-genre interests of three artists from vastly different backgrounds and musical upbringings, could come together in rare synchronicity. That such confluence couldn't have occurred before nor could it likely have happened again is only bolstered by Haden and Gismonti's subsequent In Montreal. A fine disc, to be sure, but without Garbarek, lacking that certain spark that clearly ignites throughout Magico: Carta de Amor, a set defined by selfless interplay, unrestrained yet ever-purposeful exploration, and the kind of power made all the more dramatic for Garbarek, Gismonti and Haden's ability to instantly change directions, as one, with the subtlest of gestures. In Galacian, "magico" means "magical" and "Carta de Amor" means "love letter," and in its decision to unveil Magico: Carta de Amor thirty years after the fact, ECM has delivered just that. The press sheet refers to the many recordings apparently made at Amerika Haus as "an artistic treasure trove awaiting further investigation." It sounds like the magic has just begun.

JOHN KELMAN - October 30, 2012
© 2014 All About Jazz



Magico: Carta de Amor is live album by saxophonist Jan Garbarek, guitarist Egberto Gismonti and bassist Charlie Haden recorded in 1981 and released on the ECM label in 2012. The album follows the trio's first two recordings Magico (1979) and Folk Songs (1981). The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek awarded the album 4 stars stating "Magico: Carta de Amor is a musical treasure trove that features three players from three continents working in near-symbiotic dialogue, offering music that showcases compositional and improvisational mastery, yet transcends the limitations of genre classification". The Guardian's John Fordham noted "It's an impassioned and fiercely improvisational collection of variations on powerful themes by all three, touching on Haden's Liberation Music Orchestra repertoire and Garbarek's free-jazz history". All About Jazz correspondent John Kelman commented "Carta de Amor is a reminder of how a particular point in time, when the pan-cultural and cross-genre interests of three artists from vastly different backgrounds and musical upbringings, could come together in rare synchronicity".

Wikipedia.org



Das faszinierende Aufeinandertreffen dreier starker und gegensätzlicher musikalischer Charaktere: Jan Garbarek, Egberto Gismonti und Charlie Haden sind auf dieser bisher unveröffentlichten Liveaufnahme dabei zu erleben, wie sie zusammen entschlossene und hoch kreative Musik entstehen lassen.

"Carta de Amor" dokumentiert einen Auftritt im Münchner Amerikahaus im April 1981. Zwei Jahre nach den vielgeliebten Alben "Magico" und "Folk Songs" hatten sich die improvisatorischen Sensibilitäten und die Feinabstimmung des Trios durch gemeinsame Tourneen weiter geschärft. Das Repertoire hier enthält fünf Stücke aus der Feder von Gismonti, wobei das Titelstück in zwei Variationen zu hören ist, die dieses packende Doppelalbum eröffnen und beschließen. Zudem gibt es Garbareks Folksong-Arrangements und eine ausgedehnte Fassung seiner Komposition "Spor". Charlie Haden bringt "La Pasionaria" aus dem Repertoire seines Liberation Music Orchestra ein, sowie "All That Is Beautiful", das bisher nicht auf Tonträger dokumentiert war.

Der Mitschnitt wurde 1981 von Manfred Eicher und Martin Wieland aufgenommen, und 2012 von den originalen Analogbändern von Eicher und Jan Erik Kongshaug gemischt.

JPC.de



"Was man auf der Doppel-CD hört, ist ein einziger Flow an befeuerter Inspiration, drei Musiker auf Augen- und Ohrenhöhe. Ein Zeitzeugnis, dessen Vitalität die Musik mühelos ins Heute transportiert. Eine Sternstunde des Jazz.

Stereo, Dezember 2012



"Im Strudel des norwegischen Saxofonisten Garbarek, des brasilianischen Gitarristen und Pianisten Gismonti und des US-Bassisten Haden entstand eine unverkrampfte, völlig schlüssige Lesart des globalen Jazz, noch weit bevor der Terminus ,,Weltmusik" zum Schubladenbegriff geriet.

Jazzthing, November 2012 - Januar 2013



The unearthing and release of previously unissued jazz recordings has become its own industry. ECM has gotten into the act. Earlier this year they released Keith Jarrett’s Sleeper, from 1979, and now there is Carta de Amor, a two-CD set by the trio that called itself Magico. They were together for just two albums recorded in 1979, Magico and Folk Songs. The new album comes from a 1981 performance at Amerikahaus in Munich, ECM’s hometown. In the ’70s and ’80s, ECM presented and recorded many concerts in this recital hall, and expects to release more of them.

The point of this trio was to juxtapose three starkly contrasting musical personalities and create a new alchemy. Egberto Gismonti (guitars, piano) is rich Brazilian ethnicity. Jan Garbarek (soprano and tenor saxophones) is Nordic passion channeled through lyric austerity. Charlie Haden (bass) is red-blooded American jazz chops.

Despite their individual strengths, their collective efforts result in a surprisingly inconsequential album. On Gismonti’s “Cego Aderaldo,” the composer’s nervous, fidgeting rhythmic thrusts and counter-melodies incite unattractive squealing from Garbarek’s soprano. The two versions of Gismonti’s title track are pretty, filigrees of guitar counterpoint set against yearning, floating tenor saxophone, but they never transcend languidness. On Haden’s “All That Is Beautiful,” Gismonti’s repetitive piano section is long on indulgence, short on revelations.

While the ensemble entity is the priority, the live setting creates opportunities for extended blowing, sometimes meaningful, sometimes not. On Garbarek’s 14-minute “Spor,” group improvisation stays in a static three-way suspension of clicks and sighs and random gestures. Because of individual solos, the strongest piece is Haden’s 16-minute “La Pasionaria.” It has Garbarek’s complete series of fervent, ascending cries, and Gismonti’s densely layered tapestry, and Haden’s dramatic emergence from accompaniment. He takes the song out for the final five minutes in a dark, rapt bass ceremony.

Thomas Conrad
© 1999–2014 JazzTimes, Inc.



Back in 1979, ECM released two albums by the creative trio of Jan Garbarek on tenor and soprano saxophones, Egberto Gismonti doubling on guitar and piano, and bassist Charlie Haden. All three contributed to the content of Magico and Folk Songs, but at the time, that seemed to have been that.

Garbarek went on to record the celebrated albums Eventyr (1980) and Paths, Prints (1981), and his career took a different turn. However, in 1981, the trio was briefly reunited, and recorded by ECM in concert at the Amerika Haus in Munich. Two albums’ worth of material from these sessions had been languishing in the vaults, but now ECM has collected the recordings into a double-CD package. On learning of the release, Gismonti commented that it was “like a message in a bottle that has taken 31 years to reach the shore”.

There is so much dazzlingly effective music here that it is extraordinary it took this long to appear. Haden’s La Pasionaria, better known in versions by his Liberation Music Orchestra, gets an intense, punchy reading from Garbarek. The saxophonist spits out notes with venomous feeling, before withdrawing to allow space for a shimmering guitar solo from Gismonti. Over 16 minutes, the piece never flags.

Garbarek’s disjointed, vocal-toned style (reminiscent of his early work on the recently repacked Dansere set) comes to the fore on an otherworldly version of his Spor, with Haden bowing shrieks from below the bridge of the bass, creating an eerie overall landscape.

Haden’s All That Is Beautiful, with Gismonti on piano, gets the kind of lyrical treatment we might have heard from a Keith Jarrett group at the time; Gismonti’s own Palhaço is a more sombre showcase for his pianism.

The main benefit of hearing this music freshly now, as if it was entirely new, is the passionate commitment of all three protagonists. The punchy spark in Garbarek’s playing is not quite so omnipresent nowadays, and even in his own Quartet West, Haden is seldom so totally on show, so exposed and so daring. Gismonti anchors it all, matching his European and American counterparts at every turn.

Alyn Shipton, 2012 - BBC Review


“I know that the stars when I vanish will remain pegged way up there, fixed, immutable, gazing on the absurd hustle and bustle of men, small and ridiculous, striving with each other during the sole second of life allotted them to learn and to know about themselves, wasting it stupidly, killing one another, the ones fighting to avert exploitation by the others.”

Dolores Ibárruri

2012 has seen quite the magic act of releases from ECM’s archives. The encore comes literally so in the case of Magico: Carta de Amor, as the trio of saxophonist Jan Garbarek, guitarist/pianist Egberto Gismonti, and bassist Charlie Haden takes the stage in newly restored 1981 performances at Munich’s Amerika Haus, host to such classic recordings as Ralph Towner’s Solo Concert and the Art Ensemble of Chicago’s Urban Bushmen. From their studio work, these three mavericks draw a distinct blend of signatures, while from the two years spent touring prior to this recording they accomplish feats of improvisation that perhaps no studio could have induced or contained.

Bookended by two versions of Gismonti’s title track, a beautiful love letter indeed to the wonders within, Haden’s 16.5-minute tribute to Dolores Ibárruri, “La Pasionaria,” lends substance to the feathers in between. The entrance of bass is as effortless as it is invisible, dropping into the foreground as it does from the line of Garbarek’s ornamental reed. Changing his Liberation Music Orchestra clothing for something more romantic, Haden offers “All That Is Beautiful” (making its first appearance on record), an emotionally epic vehicle for Gismonti, who takes seat at the keyboard and sprinkles it with clouds and weighted dew.

If these are the tire tracks left behind, then “Cego Aderaldo” is the vehicle that left them. Driven by the 12 focused strings of its composer, it keeps us balanced along the album’s craggiest terrain. Here Garbarek does something wondrous as he opens the passenger-side door and jumps over the cliff, spreading burnished metal wings across a landscape that welcomes his flight with thermals galore. Gismonti continues on, spiraling up to the apex. There he plants not a flag of conquest, but seeds of thanksgiving. From the dulcet “Branquinho,” with its distant ideas of brotherhood, to the shining reprise of “Palhaço,” his fulfilling melodies bring out the playful best in Garbarek. If there were ever any doubts about the group’s unity, let “Don Quixote” stand as Exhibit A toward quelling them. Like the novel for which it is named, it is a critique of belittlement and insincerity in a society gone mad. It moves at the leisurely pace of a mule whose grandeur resides not without but within.

Garbarek gives us a triangle of stars, including folk song arrangements that whistle through dynamic peaks and valleys and a fully opened rendition of “Spor” (compare this to its infancy in the studio on Magico). To this mysterious canvas, Garbarek applies shadow on shadow, seeking out wounds of color in the language of his band mates before diving into repose.

While the unity expressed by these musicians is surely enthralling, it comes closest to perfection in the monologues. Garbarek’s energy is, if I may appropriate a Douglas Hofstadter subtitle, an eternal golden braid—one that nourishes itself on the light of which it is made, self-replicating and beyond the measure of value. Haden unfolds themes fractally. Trundling through empty streets with dog-eared book in hand and love in its margins, he brings closure to uprisings of the heart. Gismonti, for his part, is as breath is to lungs.

Let their individuality inspire you to action.

ECM Records



Norwegian sax star Jan Garbarek and Brazilian composer, guitarist and pianist Egberto Gismonti teamed up with bassist Charlie Haden for this trio, Magico. They released good studio albums in 1979 and 1980, but this is a set of previously unreleased performances from 1981. It's an impassioned and fiercely improvisational collection of variations on powerful themes by all three, touching on Haden's Liberation Music Orchestra repertoire and Garbarek's free-jazz history. It also showcases Gismonti as a lyrical and abstract-effects guitarist, an inspired composer and a resourceful, Jarrettish pianist. Haden's simmering La Pasionara, usually an orchestral piece, sounds equally thrilling for a threesome; Gismonti's percussive and chordal effects are dazzling on Cega Aderaldo and Garbarek's traditional Folk Song; while Spor sets Garbarek's free improvisations against jaw's harp sounds, wah-wah noises and frenetic strumming. There are surprises on all eleven tracks.

John Fordham - 1 November 2012
The Guardian Review
 

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