Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Jakob Bro recorded this singular blend of wispy European textures and New York cool just over a decade ago. At the time, the Danish guitarist was midway between recording as a sideman with the late saxophonist Lee Konitz and becoming a bandleader in his own right — he would make his ECM debut a few months later. Konitz, who was 86 at the time of this recording, played on the seminal sessions for Miles Davis’s Birth of the Cool in 1949, and his icy tone and melodic poise are on show here. But it is the ensemble’s delicate interplay and shifting textures that stand out, and make Taking Turns such a welcome, albeit delayed release.The combination of sax, two guitars, piano, bass and drums is unusual and, with rhythmic orthodoxy set aside, unusually fraught. But sensitive musicianship avoids clutter. Bro and fellow guitarist Bill Frisell craft resonant textures, pianist Jason Moran adds jangly left-field edge and sax dives in while bass and drums swirl below. The all-original set begins with a clear guitar melody, spacious Thomas Morgan double bass and piano trilling gently underneath. As “Black Is All Colours at Once” gently unfolds, wistful sax tantalises amid shimmers of guitar and a quiet rumble of piano adds depth. The downbeat melody of “Haiti” comes next, with Konitz on soprano saxophone, followed by the light-touch ensemble interplay of “Milford Sound”. Drummer Andrew Cyrille supports both pieces with a broken-beat pulse.Bro’s straightforward melodies and slowly unfolding harmonies allow the music to flow freely and give musicians the space to interact. The shimmering melodic weave of “Aarhus” is built on four sustained chords; “Pearl River”, named after an Asian emporium in New York’s Chinatown, begins with a plaintive sax soliloquy before floating to a peak; and the gleaming “Peninsula” seems guided by an inner hand. “Mar del Plata” closes the set, inspired by a tour of Argentina. Gently upbeat and delivered with clarity, it conjures motion, landscapes and a feeling of warmth.★★★★☆‘Taking Turns’ is released by ECM
