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Björn Meyer

For more than thirty years, Björn — Swedish-born and Swiss-based — has shaped a unique voice for his instrument inside the most diverse contexts. He has worked alongside Persian harpist and singer Asita Hamidi and is a long term collaborator with Tunisian oud master Anouar Brahem. He has spent more than twenty years with Swedish nyckelharpa player Johan Hedin and percussionist Fredrik Gille in Bazar Blå, co-defining the sound of contemporary Swedish folk music. For more than a decade he was a member of the minimalistic, zen-funk, groove-collective Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin. His first solo-album “Provenance” was released by ECM in the fall of 2017. It was their first, in a distinguished tradition of solo bass albums, devoted to the electric bass guitar.

Awards

Musikpreis des Kantons Bern 2018 (Switzerland)


Tags

10
Album Review

Simin Tander: Unfading

Read "Unfading" reviewed by Henning Bolte


The newly formed quartet of German-Afghani vocalist Simin Tander with Swiss-Swedish electric bass guitarist Björn Meyer, Tunisian violinist Jasser Haj Youssef and Swiss drummer Samuel Rohrer from Berlin is a remarkable force field of igniting, merging and amplifying energies, temperaments and temperatures. Tander herself has provided 12 compositions here and three times her own lyrics as a mature mark of class. Tander's voice fluctuates between confidence and yearning, joy and grief, and oriental and occidental spheres. Her singing ...

7
Album Review

Simin Tander: Unfading

Read "Unfading" reviewed by Ian Patterson


Simin Tander's evolution has been fascinating to behold since her impressive debut Wagma (Neuklang Records, 2011), which featured pianist Jeroen van Vliet, bassist Cord Heineking and Etienne Nillesen on drums. The German/Afghan singer's whispered gravitas and keening lyricism on jazz-filtered chanson, Latin American balladry and her poetic originals was captivating enough, but her non-syllabic vocal improvisations signalled an original artist, unbound by convention. That same line-up delivered the even stronger Where Water Travels Home (Jazzhaus Records, 2014), with Tander expanding ...

37
Album Review

Bjorn Meyer: Provenance

Read "Provenance" reviewed by Karl Ackermann


Bassist Björn Meyer strongly believes that there are multiple functions for bass. Born just outside of Stockholm, he started out playing piano and some guitar but when he randomly picked up a bass, he realized that he had found his instrument. Self-taught, he had been inspired by the diverse styles of Marcus Miller and Jaco Pastorius. Meyer came to prominence playing a style called Trip Folk with the Swedish group Bazar Blå and with the jazz-oriented European trio featuring reed ...

10
Album Review

Bjorn Meyer: Provenance

Read "Provenance" reviewed by Geno Thackara


From the fact that his best-known role consisted of a decade in Nik Bartsch's Ronin (not to ignore his other style-bending collaborations either), it's already clear that Bjorn Meyer isn't interested in what a bass or bassist is normally supposed to do. In keeping with that attitude, his solo debut puts his low-end string work to different uses on practically each track. Playing with sound is the real game, and the instrument is a sonically rich means toward that end. ...

19
Album Review

Bjorn Meyer: Provenance

Read "Provenance" reviewed by Mark Sullivan


Swedish electric bass guitarist Björn Meyer has worked with Persian harpist-singer Asita Hamidi (the program is dedicated to her memory), Swedish nyckelharpa player Johan Hedin and Tunisian oud master Anouar Brahem, and was a member of Nik Bärtsch's Ronin for a decade, often filling a lead instrument role. So he has a history of fitting his electronic instrument into normally acoustic environments, and has created a distinctive voice, which is showcased in this solo album--the first ECM release devoted to ...

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“.. The album is often stunningly beautiful; bittersweet tones and deeply affecting melodies brought to life with Meyer's unique guitar-like use of the bass. Highly recommended.” - Karl Ackermann, All About Jazz

“.. Meyer has taken a unique approach to composition for solo bass guitar. It is one that will move the instrument forward as much as it will move the listener emotionally.” - John Marley, Jazz Views

Bill Frisell
guitar, electric
Charlie Haden
bass, acoustic
Allan Holdsworth
guitar, electric
Carles Benavent
bass, electric
Skuli Sverrisson
bass, electric
Sebastien Pittet
bass, electric

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Unfading

Jazzhaus Records
2020

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Provenance

ECM Records
2017

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Videos

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