"The Electronic Sonata For Souls Loved By Nature" was recorded live at a concert held at the Sonja Henie/Niels Onstad Center For The Arts, on April 28, 1969 at Høvikodden; near Oslo, Norway. The concert was sponsored by Ny Musikk, the Norwegian Branch of the International Society For Contemporary Music of which I [the person who uploaded the album] am a member. The essential concepts which inspired the creation of 'Electronic Sonata For Souls Loved By Nature' lay in philosophical and socio/musical areas. Its socio/musical object was to create a pan/stylistic electonic tape; a tape composed of fragments of many different styles of music, avant-garde jazz, ragas, blues, rock, serial music etc., treated electronically. And to have this tape serve as a palate upon which non-electronic musical statements of a pan-stylistic nature could be projected. The wedding of non-electronic pan-stylism to electronic pan-stylism was meant to convey the cultural implosion occuring among the earth's population, their coming together. Also it is meant to suggest that man, in the face of encroaching technology, must confront technology and attempt to humanize it; using it to enrich his collective soul...not to only his purse...to explore inner, as well as outer space. The philosophical concept which the title itself suggest is based upon a casual remark made by Turid Aarstad, a friend, who stated te following: 'Nature likes those who give in to her but she loves those who do not'. It suggests a human soul will come under a special cosmic law when it is willing to devote itself, without compromise to the elevation of man. It implies that though nature might seem to resist the efforts of the soul who will not bend or give in short of its goal, nature is perhaps only testing the truth of a soul's belief in itself, its belief in its essence. It suggest that nature will reward a dedication to one's essence in some special way, especially when one's essence is in consonant and in tune with the part of nature having to to with the spiritual enrichment of man. The voices heard on the Electronic Sonata are of a 70-year-old African and his two sons. An Africat lute is being used. It was recorded by American filmmaker Cal Floyd in Feb. 1967 in the Nile headquarters region of North Uganda while Mr. Floyd was on a relief mission for UNICEF. The recordings are used with Mr. Floyd's kind permission. The Electronic Sonata For Souls Loved By Nature is the first jazz composition to be recorded live featuring musicians performing simultaneously with a pre-recorded electronic tape. The electronic tape was composed in the Electronic Music Studios of the Swedish Radio in Stockholm. Engineer Gøte Nilsson of that establishment gave his invaluable assistance in both the areas of engineering and composition. " - George Russel -
Musicians: Jan Garbarek - tenor sax Manfred Schoof - trumpet Terje Rypdal - electric guitar Jon Christensen - drums George Russel - piano Red Mitchell - bass
Recording Engineer - Gøte Nilsson, Bjørnar Andresen Cover Textil Print - Anna Russell Photograph of Textil - Barry Savenor RUSS-HIX Music Publ. Co (BMI) 1976 Strata-East Records USA