CULTURE

Garbarek back with high-profile backup

Acclaimed Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek, who gained wider recognition in Greece via a collaboration with composer Eleni Karaindrou for her soundtrack to Theo Angelopoulos’s film «The Beekeeper» in 1990, is back in Greece for two performances, tonight at the capital’s Lycabettus Theater and tomorrow at the Gis Theater in Thessaloniki. For his current tour, Garbarek is joined by a team of high-profile musicians – French drummer Manu Katche, German bassist Eberhard Weber, and Scandinavian pianist Rainer Bruninghaus. A veteran recording artist whose activity dates back to the late 60s, Garbarek has intrigued a growing number of listeners with work conveying cinematic, languid and minimalist qualities. Reacting to his playing on «The Beekeeper» soundtrack, Karaindrou had noted, «He transformed the saxophone into an ancient wind instrument that treads on Greek land and embraces the Balkans.» Garbarek, who made his recording debut in the late 60s playing on a jazz album by the American artist George Russell, made an impact as a composer several years later with «Dis,» a commercially successful joint effort with guitarist Ralph Towner. The Norwegian’s most recent solo effort, 2003’s «In Praise of Dreams,» was nominated for a Grammy award. Garbarek’s most recent recording activity was for «Neighborhood,» an album released last year by Katche.

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