School of Rock
Random article All articles A–Z
2 languages

Esoteric Circle

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Work

Esoteric Circle is the second album by the Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek. It was originally released under the group name The Esoteric Circle on Flying Dutchman, Bob Thiele's label. Later it was reissued on the Freedom label, this time under his own name. Here he plays with the guitarist Terje Rypdal, the bassist Arild Andersen and the drummer Jon Christensen.

It is a raw, adventurous record. Garbarek plays only tenor saxophone, drawing mainly on the work of Albert Ayler and John Coltrane. His approach is much fiercer and more aggressive than the style for which he later became known on ECM. The nine pieces are all his own, ranging from short sketches of one or two minutes to extended tracks of almost nine minutes. AllMusic gave four stars and found the record comparable to what Tony Williams and John McLaughlin were doing at the time.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Traneflight and notice how fierce and direct the tenor saxophone sounds, very different from the restrained sound for which Garbarek later became known.

Track list

  1. 1Traneflight2:57Apple Music ↗
  2. 2Rabalder8:20Apple Music ↗
  3. 3Esoteric Circle5:27Apple Music ↗
  4. 4Vips5:47Apple Music ↗
  5. 5SAS 6447:53Apple Music ↗
  6. 6Nefertite2:09Apple Music ↗
  7. 7Gee1:14Apple Music ↗
  8. 8Karin's Mode7:36Apple Music ↗
  9. 9Breeze Ending3:44Apple Music ↗

30-second previews via Apple Music. Listen to the whole album on Apple Music ↗

Categories: Albums and songs