Description

An introspective album, I TOOK UP THE RUNES, combines jazz with Norwegian folk music. This is nothing new for Jan Garbarek, who has long been interested in combining the traditional music of his homeland with modern jazz. Also typical of the Scandinavian saxophonists work is an emphasis on ethereal tapestries of sound. Long tones are stressed throughout, and the rhythm section constructs contagious, hypnotic grooves on many of the albums 10 tracks. The centrepiece for I TOOK UP THE RUNES is a five-part work called Molde Canticle, but the highlight of the album is clearly the lush Buena Hora, Buenos Vientos, a piece that features the vibrant yet sensitive piano playing of Rainer Bruninghaus. An explorative set of compositions that are smartly produced and finely wrought, I TOOK UP THE RUNES is an album that takes the listener on a journey to a far-off mystical place.