Garbarek Jan - Officium (CD)

Officium brings together two very distinct and distant musical styles -- medieval vocal music and jazz improvisation -- to create an entirely new world of sound. Once you hear saxophonist Jan Garbarek's cool tone soaring over the Hilliard Ensemble's radiant singing, you might wonder why it took so long for this marriage to take place. Garbarek dives in and out of the vocalists' undulating lines like a skywriter weaving his weightless trail among the clouds. The overall mood is restful and ruminative, though there are times when Garbarek lets the subtle tensions in these ancient pieces inspire him to render more rough-hewn riffs. Is it classical? Jazz? New Age? Officium refuses to be categorized. Andrew Farach-Colton