Much is made of the difference between European and American jazz, but the most interesting players are often those with a foot on each shore – Keith Jarrett's European quartet in the 1970s comes to mind. Norwegian drummer Jon Christensen, who played on those legendary recordings, is the link here as Danish guitarist Jakob Bro makes his ECM debut as leader. A disciple of Bill Frisell's twangy, glowing guitar sound, Bro was a member of Paul Motian's influential Electric Bebop band, and it is Motian's sparseness and sense of space that dominates here. Christensen and first-call New York bassist Thomas Morgan (another Motian alumnus) are equal partners in a riveting exchange of ideas poised between Europe and America, hovering on the edge of abstraction without ever falling in. propermusic.com