ECM Vinyl & CDs

Review: The latest album on Manfred Eicher's mighty ECM Records imprint comes from Jakob Bro, a Danish jazz guitarist who has been releasing a mixture of beautiful, inspired and thought-provoking music since 2005. On "Bay of Rainbows", he's joined by double bassist Thomas Morgan and drummer Joey Baron, though it's his layered electric guitar work - part Pat Metheny, part Jonny Nash - that catches the ear. As with many ECM releases, the material on offer here is not standard "jazz", instead twisting the form into new shapes equally inspired by ambient and experimental electronica (see the backwards solos and freestyle drumming of "Dug"). While the album is evocative and entertaining throughout, the focal point is undoubtedly closing cut "Mild (Variation)", an 11-minute ambient jazz epic that's breathtakingly beautiful.