Jakob Bro & Joe Lovano celebrates the spirit of drummer-composer-mentor Paul Motian with the new Once Around The Room Studio Session to be released in three parts before the US live premiere Village Vanguard in May.
“As It Should Be”, “Song For An Old Friend” and “For The Love of Paul” performed by Joe Lovano, Jakob Bro, Larry Grenadier, AC, Jorge Rossy and Joey Baron in February 2023 © ECM Records, compositions by Joe Lovano, Jakob Bro
Filmed by Andreas Koefoed and Adam Jandrup
Jakob Bro: “Paul’s music and legacy is forever tied to the legendary Village Vanguard, and that is why we could imagine no better place to present our album Once Around The Room in New York than that place that encapsulates his spirit and the history of jazz in the deepest way. The first time I ever played The Village Vanguard was with Paul Motian’s Band, and I have of course always loved and admired all the great jazz recordings that was made there, from Bill Evans, John Coltrane etc., and I think that goes for everyone in the group, you are very aware of the stories that run deep in that room. And we aim to honour Paul as that extraordinary drummer, composer, mentor, friend and human being in the spirit of a forward thinking vanguard.”
Once Around The Room is on tour throughout 2023.
Next stop: Village Vanguard, New York, May 23–28.
Tickets are available now. Visit villagevanguard.com
European tour, Oct 25–Nov 6. See all upcoming tour dates: https://jakobbro.com/web/calendar/
★★★★: “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)