Jakob Bro - Gefion (2015) [Hi-Res]

'Gefion', named for the Norse goddess associated with ploughing, prophecy and premonition, is the ECM leader debut of Danish guitarist Jakob Bro. It introduces a group with US bassist Thomas Morgan and Norwegian drummer Jon Christensen.
Jakob Bro first recorded for ECM with Paul Motian on 'Garden of Eden' in 2004, followed by Tomasz Stanko's 'Dark Eyes' album of 2009. The guitarist's feeling for melody, sound-colour and atmosphere served him well in those contexts, as it does here in the realization of his own free floating ballads and drifting, spacious-yet-focused pieces.

The open forms of Bro's compositions leave plenty of space for his companions - drum legend Jon Christensen and creative bassist-of-the-moment Thomas Morgan - to make their statements, interactively and in parallel. And there is space too for the listener's imagination to follow the flow and the delicate melodic tracery of Bro's electric guitar in this thoughtful and poetic album. Gefion was recorded in Oslo's Rainbow Studio in November 2013 and produced by Manfred Eicher.

Bro views Thomas Morgan as a "soulmate in music". As Craig Taborn once said of the bassist, nobody is more rigorous about holding onto the compositional fabric of a piece of music and honouring its intentions. In the stripped-to-essentials context of 'Gefion', the bassist is able to make his well-chosen notes say a great deal; Bro and Morgan thoughtfully explore the music together, buoyed and stimulated by the lapping waves of Jon Christensen's drums and cymbals. Whether driving or detailing the music, Christensen plainly relishes the freedoms offered by the trio formation.

Jakob Bro (guitar),
Thomas Morgan (double bass),
Jon Christensen (drums).