Jakob Bro Trio ft. Thomas Morgan & Joey Baron – 10th anniversary tour

a new project from ecm recording artist and award winning composer, pianist and organist kit downes - this time playing the piano alongside paris-based acoustic guitarist nelson veras, and norwegian bass titan ole morten vågan. this acoustic trio of colourful contemporary improvisers has a strong focus on melody and interplay. the material is written by downes, and is inspired by some of the great love songs and folk melodies from all over europe - ranging from the carpathian mountains, to norwegian glaciers, to the green hills of central italy. british pianist and organist kit downes is acclaimed for his various albums on ecm records. he has collaborated with a wide range of artists including drum and bass pioneer squarepusher, singer-songwriter sam amidon, and composer mica levi. he has written commissions for london contemporary orchestra and ensemble klang, among many others. ole morten vågan plays an important role in scandinavian jazz as a double bassist, for example in the trondheim jazz orchestra. nelson veras combines jazz with the classical guitar tradition and his brazilian background.

for the first time they form a group, these four well-known players from norway, sweden and finland. throughout the years they have encountered each other in various bands and projects. as a result of that, we can hear a mutual respect on their new album. the foundation is formed by the lyrical compositions of saxophonist trygve seim and double bassist anders jormin. their imaginative improvisational playing is complemented in a sparse, but accurate way by trumpeter arve henriksen and percussionist markku ounaskari. arcanum’s eponymous debut album will be released this year on the well-respected label ecm recordings. alongside original compositions, it contains variations on the finnish traditional ‘armon lapset’, as well as ‘what reason could i give’ by ornette coleman. on the one hand, the music contains influences from various cultures, such as jormin’s composition ‘koto’, which was inspired by japanese traditional music. on the other hand, arcanum has a recognizable group sound that is related to contemporary jazz and free improvisation.

on the album elastic wave on ecm records, the gard nilssen acoustic unity achieved a balanced mix of acoustic jazz and free improvisation. the band members seemed to have achieved a perfect unity, so the time was right for a new challenge in the form of two extra saxophone players. signe emmeluth has performed on our stage several times, for example with her own band amoeba. kjetil møster previously played here with, among others, the trondheim jazz orchestra. drummer gard nilssen is one of the spearheads of progressive scandinavian jazz. alongside acoustic unity he’s part of bushman’s revenge, which has been described as the missing link between albert ayler and black sabbath. he also plays in amgala temple, which draws comparisons with jimi hendrix experiece and electric-era miles davis. and he leads the supersonic orchestra, which can sound as energetic as his other bands. this concert with his acoustic unity is the release concert for his new album great intentions.