Jacob Young
Norwegian guitarist Jacob Young is a lyrical, nuanced improviser whose albums showcase his deeply poetic, harmonically expansive approach to modern creative jazz. Influenced by Jim Hall and John Abercrombie, Young first gained attention in the mid-'90s playing with vocalist Karin Krog. He issued a handful of highly regarded albums including 2004's Evening Falls, 2008's Sideways, and 2018's Last Things with vocalist Siril M. Hauge.
Born in 1970 in Lillehammer, Norway, Young first began studying guitar on his own at the age of 12 after being introduced to jazz by his father, an American. He studied music at the University of Oslo and received a scholarship to the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York City. While in New York, he studied the jazz repertoire as a gateway to harmonic improvisation. His primary instructor was the legendary guitarist Jim Hall, who influenced his tone. Young studied with Hall privately as well as in ensemble settings. He also took private instruction from guitarist John Abercrombie, one of the mainstays of ECM Records. In addition to studying his chosen instrument, Young studied jazz composition as well with pianist Richie Beierach and Kenny Werner. He graduated in 1993 and spent time freelancing and apprenticing in the city with notables Rashied Ali, Marc Copeland, Junior Mance, Larry Goldings, and Arnie Lawrence.
Young eventually returned to Norway and recorded three titles for local labels with musicians such as Nils Petter Molvaer, Trygve Seim, Arve Henricksen, and Jarle Vespestad. While gigging in Norway with Seim's band, Young garnered the attention of Norwegian vocalist Karin Krog. The pair recorded a duet album, Where Flamingoes Fly, on the Grappa label, produced by John Surman. The duo did a world tour behind the album. ECM Records' impresario Manfred Eicher heard Young playing with Seim's band and eventually signed him. Jacob Young's debut for ECM, Evening Falls, features his own compositions and a two-year-old band containing three generations of Norwegian musicians including veteran drummer Jon Christensen, who has been part of the ECM roster since the '70s; maverick trumpeter Mathias Eick, bass clarinetist and saxophonist Vidar Johansen, and bassist Mats Eilertsen.
He was the guitarist in the experimental jazz-rock-electronics outfit Interstatic and played on their self-titled debut in 2007. His own effort, Sideways, followed in 2008; recorded with the same band that cut his first album, it appeared in 2008. In 2009, Young was the guitarist in drummer Manu Katché's band for Third Round, which was issued in 2010. He spent the next three years playing live in Europe on his own and backing others. He re-entered an Oslo studio as a bandleader in 2013 with saxophonist Trygve Seim and pianist Marcin Wasilewski's trio on Forever Young, issued in the early summer of 2014. In 2017, he collaborated with pianist Lars Jansson and vocalist Siril M. Hauge on the Nordic Circles jazz project Under the Clouds. The following year, he again joined Hauge for the album Last Things. The trio album, Rathkes Gate 12:21:58, arrived in 2019 and featured Young with saxophonist Bendik Hofseth and drummer Paolo Vinaccia.
© Thom Jurek /TiVo
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Eventually
Jacob Young, Mats Eilertsen, Audun Kleive
Jazz - Released by ECM Records on 12 May 2023
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Forever Young
Jacob Young, Trygve Seim, Marcin Wasilewski, Slawomir Kurkiewicz, Michal Miskiewicz
Jazz - Released by ECM Records on 16 May 2014
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Chasing Sunsets
Siril Malmedal Hauge, Jacob Young
Vocal Jazz - Released by Oslo Session Recordings on 6 Nov 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
They Say Humans Exist
Jacob Young, Sidiki Camara, David Rothenberg
Electronic - Released by Oslo Session Recordings on 1 May 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
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Last Things
Jacob Young, Siril Malmedal Hauge
Vocal Jazz - Released by Oslo Session Recordings on 19 Jan 2018
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rathkes gate 12:21:58
Paolo Vinaccia, Jacob Young, Bendik Hofseth
Jazz - Released by Oslo Session Recordings on 18 Aug 2017
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Eventually
Jacob Young, Mats Eilertsen, Audun Kleive
Jazz - Released by ECM Records on 12 May 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Lovesong (Radio Edit)
Siril Malmedal Hauge, Jacob Young
Pop - Released by Oslo Session Recordings on 24 Sep 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Forever Young
Jacob Young, Trygve Seim, Marcin Wasilewski, Slawomir Kurkiewicz, Michal Miskiewicz
Jazz - Released by ECM Records on 16 May 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jacob Young & Urban Gardening
Funk - Released by Oslo Session Recordings on 30 Nov 2018
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
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Pieces of Time
Jazz - Released by Oslo Session Recordings on 1 Jan 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
This Is You
Jazz - Released by Oslo Session Recordings on 1 Jan 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Little Wing
Jacob Young, Siril Malmedal Hauge
Vocal Jazz - Released by Oslo Session Recordings on 24 Nov 2017
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lilac Wine
Jacob Young, Siril Malmedal Hauge
Vocal Jazz - Released by Oslo Session Recordings on 15 Dec 2017
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Get Involved
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by WM Poland - WMI on 9 Apr 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Magiske Kroker & Hemmeligheter
Children - Released by Barneselskapet on 17 Nov 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo