Danish guitarist and composer
Jakob Bro makes expansive, forward-thinking jazz that's atmospheric and experimental while still being grounded in tradition. What's more, his rich tone usually translates into intimate musical settings, making his work accessible to a wide swath of jazz fans. A former member of
Paul Motian's
Electric Bebop Band and
Tomasz Stanko's
Dark Eyes quintet,
Bro's playing is informed by smoky, harmonically rich modernist jazz ballads, making him a kindred spirit of some of his non-guitar playing Scandinavian brethren such as
Jan Garbarek,
Bobo Stenson, and
Eberhard Weber. That said, he is not unfamiliar with aggressive, distortion pedal angularities that shift the calm center of his folk-inflected pastoral tunes to reflect dissonance and tension. His use of loops and effects sets him apart from many of his jazz-guitar playing peers. Though he established his reputation as an original voice on his 2003 leader debut Daydreamer (in a sextet setting with three horns), it was
ECM's
Gefion, his trio debut in 2015 that brought him to the attention of global audiences, and 2016's
Streams charted.
Bro followed with two outings in 2018: The studio date
Returnings, and the concert album
Bay of Rainbows.
Born in Risskov, Denmark in 1978,
Bro played trumpet in his youth and was first exposed to jazz through his father's big-band and jazz record collection. Around age 12,
Bro also started playing guitar, a passion that overtook trumpet and led to stints studying music at such institutions as Denmark's Rhythmic Conservatory, the Berklee College of Music in Boston, and the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York. Although he never secured a degree, his adept approach to improvisation and group interplay caught the ear of local N.Y.C. musicians including
Paul Motian, who hired him to play with his
Electric Bebop Band and featured him on the 2004 album
Garden of Eden.
Since the mid-2000s,
Bro has worked with a bevy of artists including
Lee Konitz,
Bill Frisell,
Paul Bley,
Chris Cheek,
Ben Street,
Mark Turner,
Chris Speed,
David Virelles, and others. As a leader,
Bro has released a steady stream of albums, beginning with Daydreamer (2003) on Loveland. More efforts followed on the label, including Pearl River (2007), The Stars Are All New Songs (2008), Balladeering (2009), Bro/Knak (2011), and December Song (2013).
Bro made his
ECM debut in 2015 with
Gefion, which showcased his trio with bassist
Thomas Morgan and drummer
Jon Christensen.
Streams followed a year later, with
Joey Baron in the drummer's chair. In 2018 he delivered the deeply lyrical
Returnings, featuring longtime drummer
Christensen, bassist
Thomas Morgan, and Scandinavian jazz giant trumpeter
Palle Mikkelborg. In October,
ECM issued
Bay of Rainbows, featuring the
Streams trio. The release captured the band live at New York's Jazz Standard in 2017, playing a selection of tunes from
Bro's catalog. In early 2021, he issued his fifth outing for
ECM. Entitled
Uma Elmo, his trio on the date included Norwegian trumpeter
Arve Henriksen and Spanish drummer
Jorge Rossy, musicians he admired but hadn't recorded with before. Composed of eight original tunes, it was produced by
Manfred Eicher. ~ Matt Collar