I Took Up the Runes

Personnel: Jan Garbarek (soprano & tenor saxophones); Ingor Antte Ailu Gaup (vocals); Rainer Bruninghaus (piano); Bugge Wesseltoft (synthesizer); Eberhard Weber (bass); Manu Katche (drums); Nana Vasconcelos (percussion).
Recorded at Rainbow Studio, Oslo, Norway in August 1990.
An introspective album, I TOOK UP THE RUNES, combines jazz with Norwegian folk music. This is nothing new for Jan Garbarek, who has long been interested in combining the traditional music of his homeland with modern jazz. Also typical of the Scandinavian saxophonist's work is an emphasis on ethereal tapestries of sound. Long tones are stressed throughout, and the rhythm section constructs contagious, hypnotic grooves on many of the album's 10 tracks.
The centerpiece for I TOOK UP THE RUNES is a five-part work called "Molde Canticle," but the highlight of the album is clearly the lush "Buena Hora, Buenos Vientos," a piece that features the vibrant yet sensitive piano playing of Rainer Bruninghaus. An explorative set of compositions that are smartly produced and finely wrought, I TOOK UP THE RUNES is an album that takes the listener on a journey to a far-off mystical place.