Uma Elmo is Danish guitarist and composer
Jakob Bro's fifth date as a leader for
ECM. To mark the occasion, he introduces us to a luminous new trio composed of Norwegian trumpeter
Arve Henriksen and Spanish drummer
Jorge Rossy. Produced by
Manfred Eicher, it was recorded in Switzerland over two days during the summer of 2020 pandemic summer. The title is drawn from the middle names of
Bro's two young children. He composed all nine works here; some of the newer material was penned between his son's naps. The sense impression of that particular situation is pervasive on
Uma Elmo.
"Reconstructing a Dream" is a resurrected version of a tune
Bro wrote and recorded during his tenure with
Paul Motian's band; it appeared on the guitarist's
The Stars Are All New Songs, Vol. 1. Its halting intro is offered by fingerpicked electric guitar and muted high notes from
Henriksen. It establishes the trumpeter as the tune's melodic centerpiece -- a central role for him throughout.
Rossy's brushed snares and cymbals emerge haltingly as the lyric instruments entwine. During its final third,
Henriksen's simple improvisations become more complex, floating above turbulent drumming and overdriven guitar and electronics. "To Stanko" is an almost magical tribute to the late Polish trumpeter and bandleader
Tomasz Stanko, who
Bro worked with on
Dark Eyes in 2009.
Henriksen's whispered lyric delivery and bare-bones harmonics hover as
Bro's beguiling guitar lines trace those statements with lacy, fingerpicked chords; they're underscored by
Rossy's brushed, syncopated tom-toms. Penned in 1998, "Beautiful Day" is humid, virtually edgeless. It consists of a series of slightly atonal lines articulated by
Henriksen.
Rossy adds shifting accents throughout as
Bro paints with sonic EFX across the backdrop before joining
Henriksen up front during the gorgeous final section. There are two versions of the shimmering "Morning Song" included. The first tune the trio played each morning,
Bro included both just as they were captured, sans overdubs. "Housework" is the set's longest and most abstract work; it feels freely improvised, but its deliberate pauses, warm, liquidy sound bleeds, and tapered, overlapping harmonic lines reveal otherwise. "Music for Black Pigeon" was titled after many thought-provoking conversations about music between
Bro and the late
Lee Konitz. A signature
Bro work, it emerges seemingly from the ether, employing sound itself as a body. Texture and shadow combine with angular melody lines adorned by percussive and ambient space in sumptuous, ever-evolving combinations.
Henriksen is especially probing, querying his bandmates then enfolding their answers into new collective statements.
Uma Elmo is so inviting it is tempting to embrace it just for its graceful, dark, meditative beauty. But it requires careful, attentive listening to decipher and decode the intricately layered communicative balance of composition, improvisation, and deliberate textures. ~ Thom Jurek
