Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Palle Mikkelborg / Jakob Bro / Marilyn Mazur: Strands

Palle Mikkelborg / Jakob Bro / Marilyn Mazur: Strands

By Chris May
December 27, 2023
View read count

Palle Mikkelborg / Jakob Bro / Marilyn Mazur: Strands

Like a door that keeps revolving in a half-forgotten dream, or the ripples from a pebble someone tosses in a stream... like a circle in a spiral, like a wheel within a wheel... and so on. There are more d��j�� vu moments in Strands than Marcel Proust could have waved a madeleine at.

Three of the six tracks—"Gefion," "Lykaster" and "Oktober"—were first heard on guitarist

Jakob Bro

guitar
b.1978

" data-original-title="" title="">Jakob Bro's ECM debut, Gefion (2015). Five of them—"Lykaster" and "Oktober" plus "Returnings," "Strands" and "Youth"—then surfaced on Bro's Returnings (ECM, 2018). Trumpeter

Palle Mikkelborg

trumpet
b.1941

" data-original-title="" title="">Palle Mikkelborg was part of Bro's Returnings quartet and is part of the trio that recorded Strands. The cover art on Strands is a spin on the cover art on Returnings. Giddy yet?

The third member of the Strands lineup is percussionist

Marilyn Mazur

percussion
b.1955

" data-original-title="" title="">Marilyn Mazur. All three musicians are Danish or part-Danish and know each other well. The album was recorded live at the Danish Radio Concert Hall in early 2023 (see the video below). Walking out together onto the stage "felt like a homecoming," says Bro.

Note that despite all but one track (Mikkelborg's "Youth") being written or co-written by Bro, and his relationship with some of the material going back to 2013, when he recorded Gefion, the three musicians receive equal billing on Strands. There is no leader and definitely no showboating. Spacious and unhurried—most of the tracks come in around the eight-minute mark—the album features Mikkelborg and Bro exploring each tune in turn, with Mazur playing a largely supportive, albeit glittering, role. The performance is generally sotto voce and gentle, only reaching a degree of intensity on "Returnings," co-written by Mikkelborg and Bro, with its distorted guitar and high-register trumpet. Strands is an album the listener has to lean into—and the effort is rewarded.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Gefion; Oktober; Returnings; Strands; Youth; Lyskaster.

Personnel

Palle Mikkelborg

trumpet

Jakob Bro

guitar

Marilyn Mazur

percussion

Additional Instrumentation

Palle Mikkelborg: flugelhorn.

Album information

Title: Strands | Year Released: 2023 | Record Label: ECM Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

John Sharpe's Best Jazz Albums Of 20...
< Previous

The Christmas Show with Norah Jones ...
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.