Two Days in April, a Quintet Crystallizes
Garbarek and company captured something rare here—a conversation between five musicians who understood each other immediately.
In April 1971, Jan Garbarek walked into the studio with four musicians he trusted: Bobo Stenson on piano, Terje Rypdal on guitar, and the rhythm section of Arild Andersen and Jon Christensen. They had two days to work. The result was Sart (1971), Garbarek's second album for ECM, and it remains one of his strongest records from that period. This is Garbarek early in his relationship with the label, before his sound solidified into the distinctive voice people recognize now. The quintet setup gave the music room to breathe—Rypdal's guitar and Stenson's piano circle each other without crowding Garbarek's saxophone, while Andersen and Christensen lock into rhythms that feel both structured and loose, like they're deciding the direction as they play. The session produced something coherent and alive without sounding rehearsed or stiff. AllMusic reviewer Brian Olewnick gave it four stars and noted it belonged on the shelf alongside Garbarek's other early ECM work, especially for listeners discovering him later. The Penguin Guide awarded it three out of four stars. Neither review overstates what happened here, but both recognize a solid, purposeful recording. If you've only heard Garbarek's later, more ambient work, this quintet version shows a different side—one more concerned with interplay than atmosphere, more focused on what the five players could do together in real time.
Who's playing
Where next?
The musicians on this record
Terje Rypdal 1971
Terje Rypdal
plays guitar here
plays guitar here
Witchi-Tai-to 1973
Jan Garbarek
plays saxophone here
plays saxophone here
A Molde Concert 1982
Arild Andersen
plays bass here
plays bass here
♫
Personal Mountains 1989
Jon Christensen
plays percussion here
plays percussion here
