Jan Garbarek Essentials

Having featured on dozens of albums since the late ‘60s, Norwegian composer and saxophonist Jan Garbarek ventures into the unknown— exploring free jazz, folk, Indian classical and traditional chants. In a series of mostly ECM-released offerings, Garbarek zigzags through space, time and traditions, on albums like Ragas & Sagas (1990), Officium (1994) and In Praise of Dreams (2004). These mesmerising jazz encounters marry sax and synths, including Kim Kashkashian's wandering viola and Ustad Fateh Ali Khan's heady vocals—the result is mysteriously unsettling and blissfully comforting.