Joe Lovano and Jakob Bro return to Village Vanguard on February 18—23, 2025 with the full septet from Once Around The Room (ECM Records). Tickets are available now at villagevanguard.com
Recorded as tribute to the late great drummer, composer, mentor and friend Paul Motian (1931-2011), Jakob Bro and Joe Lovano’s Once Around The Room came out to high praise in 2023 and played at concert halls across Europe last year.
On ‘Once Around The Room’ ECM recording artists and key jazz musicians from several generations unite in a small ensemble to celebrate the musical legacy of drum icon Paul Motian in a big way. Joe Lovano and Jakob Bro lead a party of seven through fiery originals that recall the idioms and idiosyncrasies which Motian brought to light over six influential decades behind the drums.
Lovano and Motian had been intimate colleagues for many years with their most notable collaboration being the groundbreaking trio featuring Bill Frisell. Jakob Bro on the other hand made his ECM debut on Paul’s album ‘Garden of Eden’ (2006) and has since enlisted Paul Motian on the albums Pearl River, The Stars Are All New Songs and the Nordic Council Music Prize-nominated Balladeering from 2009.
On ‘Once Around The Room’, compositions by Joe and Jakob appear alongside collective improvisation and Motian’s own “Drum Music”, seamlessly tied together and developed by an accomplished musical collective with stalwarts Larry Grenadier, Thomas Morgan and Anders Christensen respectively on bass as well as drummers Joey Baron and Jorge Rossy
★★★★: “The core essence of this heartfelt homage: Lead and follow at the same time, share the space and let the music carry you — a Motian-like mantra if there ever was one.“ – Downbeat (US)
★★★★★: “In dreams – if you dream music rather than pictorial imagery and we often do – the soundtrack which is always an abstraction and mysterious is something ideally like Once Around the Room.” – Marlbank (IR)
★★★★: “Much more than a tribute, Once Around The Room captures Motian’s spirit and walks with it to a performance that has a compelling sense of vibrant celebration as well as solemn recognition of greatness.” – Jazzwise (UK)
“Everything is played with mastery and respect. The repertoire is round and the music brilliant. Also, it contains the best Lovano we’ve heard on a record in recent times, and that’s no small thing.” – El Pais (ES)
Jakob Bro / Joe Lovano “Once Around The Room”
Date: February 18–23, 2025
Venue: Village Vanguard, New York, US
Jakob Bro · Guitar
Joe Lovano · Tenor Saxophone, Tarogato
Larry Grenadier · Double Bass
Thomas Morgan · Double Bass
Anders Christensen · Bass Guitar
Eric Harland · Drums
Jorge Rossy · Drums
Once Around The Room is available via ECM Records.
Stream: https://ECM.lnk.to/OnceAroundTheRoom
Buy on vinyl: http://shop.jakobbro.com