Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Jacob Young: Evening Falls

416

Jacob Young: Evening Falls

By

Sign in to view read count
Jacob Young: Evening Falls
While guitarist Jacob Young has been on the Norwegian circuit for ten years, releasing three albums under his own name as well as a beautiful duet record with singer Karin Krog, Evening Falls is his first to receive widespread exposure. And that's a good thing as Young, in those ten years, has developed, much like piano counterpart Tord Gustavsen, into a singular artist who manages to blend a more ethnic Scandinavian approach with a clear respect for the American tradition. But whereas Gustavsen's sound owes much to New Orleans and the gospel tradition, Young comes from the more subdued and restrained approach of Jim Hall, with whom which he studied at New York's New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music.

Young manages to blend an understanding of playing changes with an almost naive folk song-like simplicity. "Blue," which opens the album, is based around a simple chorus that sounds how Pat Metheny might have, had he grown up in Norway instead of the American Midwest. Young's choice of acoustic guitar for this and nearly half the programme of nine originals, lends to the ethnic leaning of the record, although his harmonic choices are often blended with more advanced harmonic ideas. And his solos, whether on acoustic or electric, are clearly informed by ideas he developed in study with artists including John Abercrombie, Richie Beirach and Kenny Werner. His playing is defined by a strong lyricism and understanding of the importance of space, two characteristics that are common denominators with all his educators. But by melding these qualities with a certain Norwegian roots element, he has created a sound that, again like Gustavsen, sounds refreshingly new while, at the same time, oddly familiar.

Evening Falls is also notable as the first ECM recording featuring drummer Jon Christensen since the '99 sessions that resulted in Bobo Stenson's Serenity . While Young's approach is less free, motivating Christensen to work more within a defined yet still elastic rhythmic framework, his playing is as subtle as ever. His playing on the rubato tone poem "Minor Peace" is filled with implication, but never resolves into the obvious.

The other members of Young's quintet, which has been together for two years, are bass clarinetist Vidar Johansen, trumpeter Mathias Eick, whose melancholy melodicism harkens to Kenny Wheeler while displaying a charming simplicity, and bassist Mats Eilertsen, known to ECM fans as the bassist for saxophonist Iain Ballamy's Anglo-Norwegian free group, Food. Johansen shines, even as his style places him more in a support role, through the intuitive counterpoint he provides to both Young's and Eick's more overt explorations. Eilertsen proves himself to be a strong player with a tender side that he examines on the subtle tango rhythm of "Sky."

Like Gustavsen's Changing Places , Evening Falls heralds the international arrival of an artist who, with a number of years behind him, has already developed a mature and personal approach. As a player, composer and bandleader he will clearly be someone to watch.

Track Listing

Blue; Evening Air; Minor Peace; Looking for Jon; Sky; Presence of Descant; Formerly; The Promise; Falling.

Personnel

Jacob Young
guitar

Jacob Young: guitars; Mathias Eick: trumpet; Vidar Johansen: bass clarinet, tenor saxophone (6); Mats Eilertsen: double-bass; Jon Christensen: drums.

Album information

Title: Evening Falls | Year Released: 2004 | Record Label: ECM Records

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

What Was Happening
Bobby Wellins Quartet
Laugh Ash
Ches Smith
A New Beat
Ulysses Owens, Jr. and Generation Y

Popular

Eagle's Point
Chris Potter
Light Streams
John Donegan - The Irish Sextet

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.