Showing posts with label Jakob Bro. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jakob Bro. Show all posts

Monday, November 11, 2024

Jakob Bro Trio - Who Said Gay Paree? (2008)

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 

All Of Me