Jacob Young & Urban Gardening

"This up'n'mellow, funk-fuelled and vocal-rich session on [Young's] new Oslo Session Recordings label will surely raise an initial eyebrow or two from anyone expecting twilight rubato melodies and airy blue moods. I confess I approached the music with some caution - but quickly warmed to it. Stoked by Cuban drummer Torres and Malian percussionist Camara, the rhythm section is spot-on, with Aarum's Fender Rhodes and Berg's electric bass bringing a fresh R&B flavour to the proceedings ... The vocalists are all captivating, in a programme which sometimes courts cliché but which also features thoughtful, questioning lyrics, whether in the several Young originals (...) or material by Charles Bukowski ... Hear [Knut Riisnaes'] tenor swoop and dive on the gloriously stomping "Hey Ya" and "Dark Matter" - the latter a well-constructed, archetypal sectional jazz piece - and get deeply soulful on "Image of a Man". While the programme has plenty of heat to it, with West African or Cuban elements to the fore in, e.g. "Sunrise", "Image of a Man" and "Dance All Night", and Young employs wah-wah now and then, there is enough of the leader's laid-back yet questing phrasing (...) to satisfy those who may know him chiefly through [his] ECM sessions".

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