This is a guitar trio album
recorded at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen in May 2008, and is a
collection of standards. The album title "Who Said Gay Paree?" is
said to be written by Cole Porter, but I've never heard it anywhere else. They
also do Coltrane's "Fifth House," which adds a little twist to the
album. Before signing with ECM in 2015, they released a lot of albums at a pace
of about one per year on their local label "Loveland," but in Japan,
I remember them being "only known by those in the know." After
signing with ECM, I think their recognition has finally increased due to
differences in label publicity. I picked this up second-hand more than 10 years
ago, and at the time I had no prior knowledge of it, but I was attracted to the
fact that it was a pure guitar trio playing standards, and the jacket, which
somehow gave me a good feeling. The whole album is played as a medium to slow
ballad, reminiscent of a quiet cityscape late at night. The light and shadows
that emerge in the dim light, the empty cobblestone road, the music that tries
to express such silence. I think many people are looking for this kind of
music, but its existence itself is too quiet. The atmosphere is different from
the music he made after signing with ECM. For better or worse, ECM colors the
music, which sometimes brings out the artist's hidden personality, and
sometimes it is painted over by ECM's colors. This album is free from such
concerns, and I think this is probably his true self. His guitar is like no one
else's. It's not that he has a strong personality, but it's not that he has no
personality. He is immersed in singing old melodies, but the music itself has a
modern atmosphere, and the balance is exquisite. In the silence of the night, a
rich music flows that cherishes the old memories that everyone has. ~ Memories
Of The Night [Translated From Japanese]
Loveland Records, LLR010, 2008
Recorded 25th-28th May, 2008
at Sweet Silence Studios, Copenhagen, Denmark
Musicians:
Jakob Bro - Guitar
Anders Christensen - Bass
Jakob Høyer - Drums
Tracks:
01. Come Rain Or Come Shine
{Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer} (5:49)
02. So In Love {Cole Porter}
(8:10)
03. Love Me Tender {Vera
Matson, Ken Darby} (5:10)
04. All Of Me {Gerald Marks,
Seymour Simons} (3:45)
05. How Long Has This Been
Going On? {George & Ira Gershwin} (5:33)
06. The Thrill Is Gone {Ray
Henderson, Lew Brown} (5:11)
07. Fifth House {John
Coltrane} (5:00)
08. She's Funny That Way
{Neil Moret, Richard A. Whiting} (3:19)
09. Speak Low {Kurt Weill,
Ogden Nash} (5:33)
10. Who Said Gay Paree? {Cole
Porter} (4:30)
Total Time: 52:07
Credits:
Producer, Engineer - John
Fomsgaard
Photos, Art Direction &
Cover - Harmoni
