Afric Pepperbird

Afric Pepperbird is an album by the Jan Garbarek Quartet, recorded over two days in September 1970 and released on ECM the following year—Garbarek's second album overall, and his first released for the label. The quartet features rhythm section Terje Rypdal, Arild Andersen and Jon Christensen.

Afric Pepperbird
Studio album by the Jan Garbarek Quartet
Released	1971 (1971)
Recorded	22–23 September 1970 (1970-09-22 – 1970-09-23)
Studio	Bendiksen Studio Oslo, Norway
Genre	Jazz, post-bop, free jazz, progressive jazz
Length	40:51
Label	ECM ECM 1007 ST
Producer	Manfred Eicher
Jan Garbarek chronology
Esoteric Circle (1971) Afric Pepperbird (1971) Sart (1971)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide	[2]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings	[3]

Background

Regarding the album's title, author Jan Omdahl reports that Garbarek told Arild Andersen about a reading about a bird in a book "or something", speculating about which "pepperbird" was the inspiration for the title of the song and album.^[4]

Reception

The AllMusic review by Brian Olewnick states, "Together with Sart, Tryptikon, and Witchi-Tai-To (as well as a prior recording on Flying Dutchman), this album represents the strongest, most aggressive portion of Garbarek's career, before he succumbed to what became known as the ECM aesthetic. Very highly recommended."^[5]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Jan Garbarek, except as noted.

Side I

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Skarabée"		6:16
2.	"Mah-Jong"	Andersen	1:52
3.	"Beast of Kommodo"		12:23

Side II

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Blow Away Zone"		8:37
2.	"MYB"	Andersen	1:50
3.	"Concentus"	Andersen	0:50
4.	"Afric Pepperbird"		7:58
5.	"Blupp"	Christensen	1:05
Total length:			40:51

Personnel

Jan Garbarek Quartet

• Jan Garbarek – tenor and bass saxophones, clarinet, flute, percussion
• Terje Rypdal – guitar, bugle
• Arild Andersen – bass, thumb piano, xylophone
• Jon Christensen – percussion

Technical personnel

• Manfred Eicher – producer
• Jan Erik Kongshaug – engineer
• B & B Wojirsch – artwork
• Terje Engh – photography