Francis Jacob

Shunzo Ohno: Live at Joe's Pub

Read "Live at Joe's Pub" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
May 28, 2026

A string section? In Joe's Pub? Strange as that may seem, it is clearly the case on veteran trumpeter Shunzo Ohno's latest album, recorded Live at Joe's Pub in New York City. The seven-member section, led by Ohno's daughter, cellist Sasha Ohno, is not mere window dressing, as it plays a sizable role on every one of the album's eight numbers and is, in fact, the only voice heard on Ohno's gossamer “Firefly." What better way to get ...

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The Jazz Session

Francis Jacob: Jazz Passport

by Jason Crane
July 5, 2007

On the new episode of The Jazz Session, Jason Crane interviews French guitarist Francis Jacob. Jacob's career has taken him around the world: France, Switzerland, Boston, Brazil, Paris and now New York. Along the way, he's picked up a gift for improvisation and a taste for West African music. On his new CD, Side By Side (2006), he combines his many influences and creates two albums in one -- the same tunes, played by two wonderfully different bands.Listen ...

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Album Review

Francis Jacob and the Flying Saucers: Side-By-Side

Read "Side-By-Side" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
January 17, 2007

Call Francis Jacob a musical globetrotter. The guitarist was raised in Geneva, Switzerland, studied at Berklee in Boston, moved to Brazil in 1989 to study music there, then relocated to New York in 1991. And with Side-By-Side, he's crafted a two-sided world fusion sound driven by African rhythms.The set relies on one of the more interesting concepts I've heard: seven original tunes (plus one extra, with no match), each played in both an electric and acoustic versions, wisely ...