Keith Jarrett: Luminessence

Jan Garbarek

EN / DE
LP from the "Luminessence" Series.
 
Mysterious, dramatic and alluring, Luminessence comes from a peak period in the creative association between Keith Jarrett and Jan Garbarek, recorded in 1974, immediately after their vibrant Belonging album. Here, Jarrett creates shimmering orchestral frameworks to spur Garbarek to some of his most concentrated, impassioned and expressive playing. “The melodies that Jarrett writes sound like Garbarek improvisations, so great is the rapport between the two men,” wrote Ian Carr in his  Keith Jarrett biography, while DownBeat, in a 5-star review, observed that “probing deep into his own personal musical cosmos, Jarrett has brought back a chilling and singular achievement that promises to stand as a landmark in the musical landscape of the 70s”. Produced by Manfred Eicher, the album that gives the Luminessence audiophile edition its name is augmented with new liner notes providing historical context.
Luminessence ist ein geheimnisvolles, dramatisches und verführerisches Werk, das auf dem Höhepunkt der kreativen Zusammenarbeit zwischen Keith Jarrett und Jan Garbarek entstand. Es wurde 1974 aufgenommen, unmittelbar nach dem erfolgreichen Album Belonging. Hier schafft Jarrett schimmernde orchestrale Rahmenbedingungen, die Garbarek zu einige seiner konzentriertesten, leidenschaftlichsten und ausdrucksstärksten Improvisationen anspornen. "Die Melodien, die Jarrett notiert hat, klingen wie Garbarek-Improvisationen – so groß ist das Verständnis zwischen den beiden Männern", schrieb Ian Carr in seiner Keith-Jarrett-Biografie, während DownBeat in einer 5-Sterne-Kritik feststellte, dass "Jarrett tief in seinen eigenen musikalischen Kosmos eindringt und ein einzigartiges Werk geschaffen hat, das ein Meilenstein in der Musiklandschaft der 70er Jahre zu werden verspricht". Das von Manfred Eicher produzierte Album, das der audiophilen Luminessence-Edition ihren Namen gibt, wird durch einen neuen Begleittext ergänzt, der den historischen Kontext erläutert.
Featured Artists Recorded

April 1974, Tonstudio Bauer, Ludwigsburg

Original Release Date

01.03.1975

Keith Jarrett’s Luminessence is a musical enterprise that totally transcends the convenient labels that are used by the music industry, the public and the critics. Probing deep into his own musical cosmos, Jarrett has brought back a chilling singular achievement that promises to stand as a landmark in the musical landscape of the ‘70s. The musicianship is excellent. Garbarek’s amazingly harnessed high energy and the superb ensemble playing provide an outstanding performance. Like all great art, this music disturbs and unsettles by avoiding safe, readily accessible concepts and conventions.
Berg, Downbeat
 
Une telle débauche de moyens techniques, de talent, de sentiment parait Presque impudique. On peut pleurer en écoutant le passage majeur/mineur de «Numidor. Garbarek semble mener, écrire en même temps qu’il les interprète les partitions de ces cordes zéllées ; non, Keith est bien là, il s’est fondu dans l’esprit de Garbarek, a su adapter son projet aux qualités de son ‘exécutant’. Une des associations les plus fructueuses qui soient, et tout ceci se passe chez ECM évidemment. Sans nul doute l’Evénement.
Bruno Régnier, Jazz Hot
  
Listening again to ‘Luminessence’ one marvels at the detail in the orchestration and the playing of Jan Garbarek. ECM was a still a relatively new label at the time of recording this ambitious work and both Jarrett and Garbarek were not thirty years old. If much of their best work was still ahead of them, then ‘Luminessence’ is a remarkable achievement that has not dated at all.
Nick Lea, Jazz Views
 
‘Luminessence’, the classic album from which the ongoing series of ECM audiophile reissues takes its name, comes from a peak period in the creative association between Keith Jarrett and Jan Garbarek. Recorded in 1974, immediately after their stunning ‘European Quartet’ album ‘Belonging’, Jarrett’s writing for string orchestra and saxophone allows Garbarek to improvise freely over the mesmerising and dynamic orchestrations. So great was the rapport between the two musicians that Jarrett was able to compose the music for this album with a clear understanding and confidence in how Garbarek would respond. And the saxophonist’s impassioned and expressive playing speaks volumes in how he helped create such a powerful yet personal and immersive landscape of sound. […] And yet again in this wonderful Luminessence series, it is, apart from the music itself – obviously, the quality of the sound that stands out most. The vinyl is pristine, with the audio being of such a high quality that it’s difficult to imagine listening to anything better.
Mike Gates, UK Vibe
 
‘Luminessence’ est à (re)décrouvrir d’urgence.
Étienne Dorsay, Jazz Magazine
YEAR DATE VENUE LOCATION
2025 April 13 Theaterhaus Stuttgart, Germany
2025 April 29 Philharmonie Berlin, Germany