Oh hell yes another Jakob Bro recording

When the water’s surface is clear and affords a view of what lies below, it’s like a window to an entirely different world.  The imagery is fuzzy and the motion of the underwater objects is blurred, but the lack of definition makes the colors radiate with a vibrancy that’s no less affecting than what we see above the water’s surface.  It’s the kind of thing I think about whenever I listen to the music of Jakob Bro.  His melodies shine with brilliant colors and they dart from side to side like fish within a bed of coral, and all of that imagery and activity bleeds in all directions, as if there was nothing to contain them.  It’s an effect that I find quite addictive.

Historically, I’ve found Bro’s trio work not quite as compelling as his quartet, quintet and large ensemble works.  Don’t get me wrong… I listen to all of this stuff, and often.  But that fuzziness to Bro’s music and the way it spreads out, it’s a quality that provides room for other musicians to fill that space with some of their own loveliness.  But Bro’s latest trio session, Bay of Rainbows, is about as beautiful as it gets.  This live performance at the Jazz Standard with bassist Thomas Morgan and drummer Joey Baron doesn’t require other musicians to fill the space opened up by the trio… they do the job themselves.  Whether it’s Bro stretching out a melody like morning sunlight filling room or Morgan spreading complementary shadows in all directions or Baron developing a comforting chatter, the trio’s presence is everywhere, and it’s like looking through the water’s surface at an entirely different world.

Here’s some beauty your life deserves and needs.

Your album personnel:  Jakob Bro (guitar) Thomas Morgan (double bass) and Joey Baron (drums).

Released on ECM Records.

Music from Copenhagen, Denmark.

Available at:  Amazon