Vurdering: 3/5

"Danish guitarist Jakob Bro plays jazz as if in a dream; a harmonic sparkle of ocean spray, dispersing on a rocky shore. It's a sound he displays to potent, soothing effect on his third album for ECM (...), a set of deeply evocative, soulful, yet always restrained performances. Mikkelborg, who began his career in the '60s, is the perfect addition to Bro's ensemble, offering his lyrical lines and warm, somewhat mournful, Miles Davis-esque tone. Tracks like the opening "Oktober," with its far-eyed, Spanish-tinged melody, and the supple "Song for Nicolai" bring to mind a minimalist take on Davis' work with Gil Evans. Similarly, the eerie title track is a dissonant fever dream, with Mikkelborg and Bro filtered through a refraction of delay effects, like jazz played on the surface of the moon. Bro also clearly loves space and openness in his improvisations, and offers his bandmates plenty of room to express themselves. Though subtle and rife with harmonic nuance, there isastraightforward sensibility to many of the songs here, a style that recalls the work of fellow guitarist Bill Frisell"

"Jakob Bro er den primære komponist, og kvartetten lægger ud med hans »Oktober«, en rolig og intim vals, hvor guitaristen åbner med luftige akkorder, hvorefter Palle Mikkelborg kommer ind for - med sit på én gang magtfulde og melankolske spil - at fortælle et lille eventyr. Og den fint anlagte emotionelle stemning fortsætter i den blidt gyngende »Strands«, som har smukke reminiscenser af den gamle salme »Altid frejdig, når du går«. Og der er i det hele taget noget åndeligt og andægtigt over musikken, uden at den bliver hverken selvsmagende eller svulstig, tværtimod. En urkraft er til stede, og det er egentlig kun i Mikkelborg-kompositionen »View«, at en lidt for lang kontrabastromme-dialog bryder den fundamentale stemning. Men tingene falder fuldkomment på plads i den efterfølgende og meget betagende »Lyskaster«, hvor Palle Mikkelborg lancerer det sarte og lyriske tema, som Jakob Bro - med fordybelse og overblik - fantaserer over"