Jan Garbarek Group – Twelve Moons

Viny issue , ever ? Hello ECM , is there anybody listening ?

Deserves a wax reissue, it really is one of his best albums.

A fantastic album to start with Jan garbarek. Relaxing, insightful.
Buy without any doubts.

JAN GARBAREK - TWELVE MOONS (ECM 519 500-2) CD 76m
A curious musician Jan Garbarek, whilst principally a saxophonist, he's covered a lot of ground musically, from traditional jazz through to groundbreaking fusions of folk and electronic musics. I say that Jan is curious, because although his music is so wide-ranging, one can always recognise his style - elusive as it is - sometimes, when guest even, he manages to turn another's work into his own!
Twenty Four years of ECM, and the 500th release on their standard series, TWELVE MOONS is a celebration of the many styles of Jan Garbarek, in a modern setting and with some of his favourite cohorts: Eberhard Weber, Rainer Brüninghaus, and the esoteric voice of Agnes Buen Garnås. There's nothing really new here, and I'm sure the Garbarek aficionado will be well pleased with this lengthy release. Strangely, my favourite tracks are the two featuring vocals: Psalm, with Agnes Buen Garnås, which is very mysterious yet also powerful, and Davánan which is more abstract, featuring Irish singer Marie Bone. Brother Wind March is in contrast Garbarek at his most dramatic, with a real haunting melody. And there's much more here besides (there's ten tracks in all). I'm certainly not a Garbarek authority, although I must comment on one odd inclusion: Witchi-Tai-To, an old jazz standard, and a strange way to end the disc.
review by Alan Freeman in Audion magazine #25 (June 1993)

A low point in Garbarek career, don't waste you time with this easy-listening release.