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Jan Garbarek (born March 4, 1947 in Mysen, Norway) a Norwegian tenor and soprano saxophonist, active in the jazz, classical, and world music genres. Garbarek was the only child of a former Polish prisoner of war and a Norwegian farmer's daughter. Garbarek grew up in Oslo. At 21, he married Vigdis. His daughter Anja Garbarek is also a musician.

Garbarek's sound is one of the hallmarks of the ECM record label, which has released virtually all of his recordings. His style incorporates a sharp-edged tone, long, keening, sustained notes strongly reminiscent of Islamic prayer calls, and generous use of silence. He began his recording career in the late 1960s, notably featuring on recordings by the American jazz composer George Russell (such as Othello Ballet Suite and Electronic Sonata for Souls Loved by Nature). If he had initially appeared as a devotee of Albert Ayler and Peter Brötzmann, by 1973 he had turned his back on the harsh dissonances of avant-garde jazz, retaining only his tone from his previous approach.

As a composer, Garbarek tends to draw heavily from Scandinavian folk melodies, a legacy of his Ayler influence. He is also a pioneer of ambient jazz composition, most notably on his 1976 album Dis. This textural approach, which rejects traditional notions of thematic improvisation (best exemplified by Sonny Rollins) in favour of a style described by critics Richard Cook and Brian Morton as "sculptural in its impact", has been critically divisive. Garbarek's more meandering recordings are often labeled as New Age music, a style generally scorned by more orthodox jazz musicians and listeners, or spiritual ancestors thereof. Other experiments have included setting a collection of poems of Olav H. Hauge to music, with a single saxophone complementing a full mixed choir; this has led to notable performances with Grex Vocalis, but not yet to recordings.

After recording a string of unheralded avant-garde albums, Garbarek rose to international prominence in the mid-1970s playing post-bop jazz, both as a member of and a leader of Keith Jarrett's successful "European Quartet". He achieved considerable commercial success in Europe with Dis, a meditative collaboration with guitarist Ralph Towner that featured the distinctive sound of a wind harp on several tracks. (Selections from Dis have been used as incidental music in several feature films and documentaries.) In the 1980s, Garbarek's music began to incorporate synthesizers and elements of world music. In 1993, during the Gregorian chant craze, his album Officium, a collaboration with early music vocal performers the Hilliard Ensemble, became one of ECM's biggest-selling albums of all time, reaching the pop charts in several European countries. (Its sequel, Mnemosyne, followed in 1999.) In 2005, his album In Praise of Dreams was nominated for a Grammy.

In addition to the selections from Dis, Garbarek has also composed music for several other European films, including French and Norwegian films. Also his song "Rites" was used in the American film The Insider.

• Keith Jarrett
• Gary Peacock
• Miroslav Vitouš
• Anouar Brahem
• Zakir Hussain
• Charlie Haden
• Ralph Towner
• David Torn
• Egberto Gismonti
• Manu Katché
• Nana Vasconcelos
• Eberhard Weber
• Terje Rypdal
• Palle Danielsson
• Jon Christensen
• George Russell
• Bill Connors
• Ustad Bade Fateh Ali Khan
• Deeyah (Deepika Thathaal)
• Ustad Shaukat Hussain Khan
• Ustad Nazim Ali Khan
• Oystein Sevag

• Jazz Moments (1966) with Karin Krog
• Til Vigdis (1967)
• Joy (1968) with Karin Krog
• Esoteric Circle (1969)
• Afric Pepperbird (1970)
• Trip to Pillargui (1970) with George Russell Sextet
• Listen to the Silence (1971) with George Russell
• Terje Rypdal (1971) with Terje Rypdal
• Sart (1971) with Terje Rypdal
• Hav (1971) with Jan Erik Vold and Terje Rypdal
• Triptykon (1972)
• Witchi-Tai-To (1973)
• Red Lanta (1973) with Art Lande
• Belonging (1974) with Keith Jarrett
• Luminessence (1974) with Keith Jarrett
• Solstice (1974) with Ralph Towner
• Personal Mountains (1974) with Keith Jarrett
• Dansere (1975) with Bobo Stenson Quartet
• Arbour Zena (1975) with Keith Jarrett
• Dis (1976) with Ralph Towner
• Places (1977)
• Of Mist And Melting (1977) with Bill Connors
• December Poems (1977) med Gary Peacock
• Deer Wan (1977) with Kenny Wheeler
• Sol Do Meio Dia (1977) with Egberto Gismonti
• Sound And Shadows (1977) with Ralph Towner
• My Song (1977) with Keith Jarrett
• Photo With Blue Sky, White Cloud, Wires, Windows and a Red Roof (1978)with Bill Connors
• Folk Songs (1979) with Egberto Gismonti and Charlie Haden
• Magico (1979) with Egberto Gismonti and Charlie Haden
• Aftenland (1979)
• Nude Ants (1979) with Keith Jarrett
• Eventyr (1980)
• Paths, Prints (1981) with Bill Frisell
• Voice from the Past Paradigm (1981) with Gary Peacock
• Cycles (1981) with David Darling
• Wayfarer (1983) with Bill Frisell and Eberhard Weber
• Vision (1983) with L. Shankar
• It's OK To Listen To The Gray Voice (1984)
• Chorus (1984) with Eberhard Weber
• Song For Everyone (1984) with L. Shankar
• All Those Born With Wings (1986)
• Making Music (1986) with Zakir Hussain
• Guamba (1987) med Gary Peacock
• Legend Of The Seven Dreams (1988)
• Rosensfole (1989) with Agnes Buen Garnås
• Living Magic (1990) with Trilok Gurtu
• I Took Up The Runes (1990)
• StAR (1991) with Miroslav Vitous
• Alpstein (1991) with Paul Giger
• Music For Films (1991) with Eleni Karaindrou
• Ragas and Sagas (1992) with Ustad Bade Fateh Ali Khan
• Twelve Moons (1992)
• Atmos (1993) with Miroslav Vitous
• Madar (1993) with Anouar Brahem and Shaukat Hussain
• Officium (1994) with the Hilliard Ensemble
• Visible World (1995)
• Caris Mere (1995) with the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra
• Rites (1998)
• Memosyne (1999) with the Hilliard Ensemble
• Monodia (2002) with Kim Kashkashian
• Universal Syncopations (2003) with Miroslav Vitous
• In Praise of Dreams (2003)
• Neighbourhood (2006) with Manu Katché

• Discography from ECM
• Jan Garbarek at the Internet Movie Database
• Jan Garbarek's daughter, singer Anja Garbarek