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Rites

Luminessence Series 2LP
Artist: 
Jan Garbarek
€53,99

Release date: 16 October 2026

Jan Garbarek’s powerful new double-album is a magnum opus, and well-titled. "Rites" suggests initiations, rituals, the archaic, the magical, but also "rites of passage", and the Norwegian saxophonist reflects, in his choice of material, upon pivotal episodes and influences in his own life and those of his associates. Pieces include a tribute to Don Cherry and reworkings of the Garbarek classics "It’s OK to listen to the gray voice" and "So mild the wind, so meek the water". There are abundant references to scattered musics of the world, from Norway to India, as well as a setting – for voices and saxophone – of a Native American poem, and the surprise inclusion of Jansug Kakhidze’s "The moon over Mtatsminda", sung by its composer with the Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra. In total, this is the most comprehensive recording Jan Garbarek has made to date, and his subtle saxophone artistry has never been more persuasive.

Released as part of the ECM Luminessence series, Rites is now available on vinyl for the first time – in a high-quality tip-on gatefold sleeve, complete with a comprehensive booklet featuring lyrics, photographs and all the original material from the first CD release.

Jan Garbarek - Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Samplers, Percussion
Rainer Brüninghaus - Keyboard, Piano
Eberhard Weber - Bass
Marilyn Mazur - Percussion, Drums
Bugge Wesseltoft - Synthesizer/Electronic Effects

 

Tracklisting:

LP1
A1. Rites
A2. Where The Rivers Meet
A3. Vast Plain, Clouds
A4. So Mild The Wind, So Meek The Water

B1. Song, Tread Lightly
B2. It's Ok To Listen To The Gray Voice
B3. Her Wild Ways
B4. It's High Time

LP 2
A1. One Ying For Every Yang
A2. Pan
A3. We Are The Stars
A4. The Moon Over Mtatsminda

B1. Malinye
B2. The White Clown
B3. Evenly They Danced
B4. Last Rite