Eventually is guitarist Jacob Young’s fourth album as a leader for ECM Records. Following previous recordings with ECM stalwarts including pianist Marcin Wasilewski’s trio, trumpeter Mathias Eick and the late drummer Jon Christensen, this release finds Young’s quiet, subtle style in partnership with Norwegian double bass and drums team, Mats Eilertsen and Audun Kleive.
Although Young was also born and educated in Norway, his father was American and his musical influences are as much from America, particularly from New York where he lived and studied for several years, as from Europe.
Fellow guitarists John Abercrombie and Jim Hall have been major influences on Young’s playing and composing. He is, however, a distinctive and confident player in his own right and this is apparent on Eventually where he revels in the freedom that a trio allows.
As with his previous ECM albums, all nine tunes are Young’s. His music is sometimes oblique and angular, occasionally groove-based, but most often quiet and lyrical. The opening title track is true to its name, introducing itself quite gradually and remaining relatively soft and tentative throughout.
The album generally is distinguished by strong melodies and a delicate interplay between the three musicians. ‘One For Louis’ pays tribute to Louis Armstrong, if with only the most subtle echoes of the great trumpeter, and titles such as ‘The Dog Ate My Homework’ illustrate Young’s sense of humour.
While quite different in instrumentation from its predecessor, Forever Young, where Young was joined by Norwegian saxophonist Trygve Seim and the Marcin Wasilewski Trio, Eventually continues that album’s mood of gentle lyricism and is a fine showcase for the guitarist’s musicianship.