Garden of Sounds is a fascinating jazz collaboration by Swedish pianist/composer Lars Jansson and Danish saxophonist/flutist/composer Thomas Agergaard. Both artists are celebrated as significant, influential figures in Scandinavian jazz, and this album pays homage to some of their own greatest influences including John Cage, Wayne Shorter, Keith Jarrett, Charlie Haden, Duke Ellington and George Gershwin. The eighteen tracks on the album are seventeen originals by the two composers, both singly and jointly, plus their arrangement of Gershwin's "I Loves You Porgy."

The album has a very "live," immediate feeling much like being in the room with the performers and experiencing the music as it is created. A significant portion of the album is comprised of two "Birds Flying Suites."

The first Suite is in three parts and the second is in four and both are freely improvised adventures in musical discovery. Although the two artists have performed together often, they had never ventured into this form of improvisation before, and the results are both inspiring and beautiful to listen to. In his liner notes for the album, producer Thomas Lyngdam-Lange says: "A sense of space is how I would describe this project, and what I am searching for as a producer. To find the rooms or niches in the music where the unexpected happens. This album is full of these moments."

Garden of Sounds begins with the title track, Lars Jansson's homage to American classical composer John Cage (1912-92). Smooth, open and very soulful, Jansson's piano and Agergaard's sax let us know right away that we are embarking on a very special musical experience!

Agergaard's "Everyday" is a celebration of the magic in the quiet moments of everyday life. Very relaxed and smooth with a hint of mystery, it's a favorite.