Marilyn Mazur Circular Chant

Elixir is the first album Danish percussionist Marilyn Mazur has recorded as a leader for ECM in 14 years. It is an interesting number for Mazur, because she has also spent 14 years as a member of saxophonist Jan Garbarek's recording and touring ensembles. He appears on about half of Elixir as Mazur's only collaborator (apart from producer Manfred Eicher). That said, the solo pieces are the first remarkable aspect of this set. When Mazur works alone, her pieces defy everything we think we know about solo percussion recordings: there is a warmth and directness in these proceedings that is songlike rather than merely hypnotic or virtuosic.

Danish master percussionist Marilyn Mazur and Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek join forces for this beautiful album.
Release Date: January 28, 2008
Number of Discs: 1
Label: Ecm Records (1962)
Genre: Jazz, Folk Jazz

“Celestial Circle” is the recording debut of the band of the same name. First assembled for Marilyn Mazur’s season as artist-in-residence at Norway’s Molde Jazz Festival in 2008, the group has since become a popular institution on the concert circuit, and the present disc, recorded in Oslo’s Rainbow Studio in 2010 is issued on the eve of a European tour. It’s a band of diverse strengths and changing moods, song-oriented but also instrumentally expressive.

Marilyn Mazur's album Shamania is fascinating. Both impressionistic and abstract, it emphasizes wordless vocals and sounds while incorporating elements of global jazz and world music. The ten artists who play with Mazur are all women and hail from the Scandinavian avant-garde jazz scene. Mazur's compositions are like kaleidoscopic postcards. The set begins with the ethereal "New Secret," where vocals permeate over a soft, flowing rhythm as the music evolves into a bird-like dream. On the safari-sounding "Rytmeritual," the vocal bounces off the horns over a rolling rhythm. "CHAAS" begins with a soft trumpet solo and develops into a rambunctious ride, like jeepney travel on the streets of Manila.

Marilyn Mazur is best known for her association with Miles Davis, but she has actually played in many settings. Born to Polish and African-American parents, Mazur has lived in Denmark since she was six. She studied classical piano and dance – eventually switching to drums – and improvised music. She attended the Royal Danish Conservatory of Music, worked locally and in 1985 was part of Palle Mikkelborg's recording of "Aura" with Davis. Soon afterward she began working with the trumpeter (off and on from 1985-89) and then had stints with Gil Evans and Wayne Shorter. In 1989 she formed her band Future Song, and in 1994 Mazur recorded as a leader for Storyville with her adventurous Pulse Unit, which mostly featured her own compositions.

Marilyn Mazur - Jordsange (2000) {dacapo DCCD 9454}
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© 2000 dacapo | DCCD 9454
Jazz / Post Bop / Straight-Ahead Jazz / Jazz Ensemble / Percussion

Born in New York yet reared in Denmark, percussionist Marilyn Mazur has performed with a who’s who of modern jazz artists, which includes a stint with the late Miles Davis. Basically, Ms. Mazur is recognized as a percussionist who melds supple rhythms and multihued patterns into lyrically rich frameworks while adhering to compositional structure, nuance and subtly via her variegated array of instruments. These days, Ms. Mazur has been recording and touring with Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek while also performing with Denmark’s highly esteemed “Copenhagen Art Ensemble” who along with the vocal group “Ars Nova” provide the percussionist with exemplary support on her new solo release titled, Jordsange (Earth Songs).