Jakob Bro, Lee Konitz, Bill Frisell, Jason Moran, Thomas Morgan, Andrew Cyrille – Taking Turns (2024) [FLAC 24bit/88,2kHz]

Jakob Bro, Lee Konitz, Bill Frisell, Jason Moran, Thomas Morgan, Andrew Cyrille – Taking Turns (2024)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/88,2 kHz | Time – 40:05 minutes | 615 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © ECM Records

Taking Turns, recorded in New York’s Avatar Studio a decade ago, finds Danish guitarist Jakob Bro joined by a multi-generational cast of improvisers, highly distinctive players all. Lee Konitz, Andrew Cyrille, Bill Frisell, Jason Moran and Thomas Morgan lend their energies to a session that bypasses conventions of the “all-star” band and puts the emphasis on teamwork. Bro’s space-conscious music encourages fresh responses: an atmospheric hint, or a fragment of gentle melody, opening up new trails to explore. “My compositions are about catching a glimpse of a feeling, sketching it down and then unfolding it as we record”, said Jakob Bro at the time.Danish jazz guitarist Jakob Bro’s Taking Turns features an exceptional, multigenerational lineup: the late saxophonist Lee Konitz, guitarist Bill Frisell, pianist Jason Moran, bassist Thomas Morgan, and drummer Andrew Cyrille. Recorded in a New York studio a decade prior to its release, the album presents seven tracks of melodic impressionism—all composed by Bro.

The opener, “Black Is All Colors At Once,” immerses the listener in the group’s sound world. Early on, quiet, ringing guitar tones, quick and nubby piano interjections, and flickering brush work set the scene. Konitz coolly slides into the music with expressive alto shapes that can turn edgy, slicing through the conglomeration of textures. Throughout the cut, Morgan’s bass creates an emotive, searching undertow.

Konitz switches to soprano sax for “Haiti,” a piece with an insistent hook and a gently chugging rhythm. Bluesy abstraction and a sense of focused jamming mark the track, one whose pleasantly bobbing ripples are moored by apt bass notes. A dance of riffs takes “Haiti” to its conclusion.

The title of “Milford Sound” refers to the drummer Milford Graves as well as to the name of a fjord in New Zealand that Bro is fond of. The piece has a mellow, drift-all-day vibe and its melody could grace a pop song. Cyrille, who played and recorded with Graves, ruffles the surface of this dreamy music with his ever-inventive stick work.

Konitz doesn’t appear on “Mar Del Plata,” where a catchy theme rides a lilting rhythm. (Interestingly, this piece by a Danish composer has the feel of nostalgic Americana.) Bro and Frisell’s guitars, breezy and easy going, are front and center. All in all, it’s a sweet closer for an appealing album. – Fred Cisterna

Tracklist:

1-01. Jakob Bro – Black Is All Colors at Once (06:18)
1-02. Jakob Bro – Haiti (07:47)
1-03. Jakob Bro – Milford Sound (05:03)
1-04. Jakob Bro – Aarhus (03:40)
1-05. Jakob Bro – Pearl River (06:45)
1-06. Jakob Bro – Peninsula (05:35)
1-07. Jakob Bro – Mar del plata (04:57)

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