Bjarke Falgren: Turkis
Zacks Talent

Danish violinist Bjarke Falgren is one of those special musicians where there's no apparent separation between heart, mind, and fingers, his expressions emerging as naturally as the blood pulsing through his body. Playing a nearly 300-year-old gypsy violin, Falgren has seen his artistry recognized in his homeland with four Danish Music Awards, and Turkis suggests there could be more. No, the album isn't his homage to the music of Turkey; instead the title refers to the hue turquoise, as seen in the colour-tinted photos on the release sleeve and in the colour of his beloved 1963 Citroën ID19: more importantly, the hue represents for him openness and connection, qualities that vividly inform the performances. If his playing seems to come effortlessly, the fact that he picked up the instrument at the age of seven is clearly a factor. Further to that, while Turkis is his second solo album, he's had a hand in thirteen and thus has ample experience to draw upon.

While such an observation might seem odd when we're talking about a player whose instrument's front and centre, there's a humility, even almost shyness to Falgren's playing that's endearing. Never shrill or grotesque, his playing is like that of an eloquent speaker who, naturally inclined to keep his voice low, draws listeners in all the more intently to catch every word. He appears to adopt the role of lead soloist almost in spite of himself, as if he'd prefer to let someone assume the spotlight but because of his position must honour his obligation and step into it. His projects are not always solo ones, however: when not leading his own band, this father of four boys shares the stage with German guitarist Sönke Meinen and bandonéon player Paolo Russo in respective duo outfits.

While the ten pieces on Turkis range broadly, they share two things in particular: Falgren's penchant for hewing to a song's melodic line, and the ‘vocal' character of his thoughtfully articulated expressions. As refined as his technique is, it also exudes a subtle graininess that gives it an earthy, even rustic character. Compositionally, the writing is as direct as his playing, and he and his bandmates—pianist Heine Hansen, guitarist Jakob Riis Holm, double bassist Morten Lundsby, drummer Anders Holm Jensen, and percussionist Eliel Williams Lazo Linares—deliver his jazz- and folk-influenced pieces with authority. That humility also extends to compositions that never push beyond the five-minute mark, Falgren content to have each piece succinctly make a case for itself and then step aside. Some are laid-back and even verge on mellow, yet tension and unpredictability remain.

It's easy to warm to the music when a subtly swinging pulse in “Embrace” sets a stage for the leader's seductive statements and the splendour of his accompanists' contributions. Falgren's the leader, of that there's no doubt, but the ensemble playing shows his band to be a tight and focused unit. The music's at its prettiest in “Rosas forår,” which enchants with the silkiest of melodies and a lustrous, soothing tone. “Il Posto del Padre” finds the group at its most aromatic and atmospheric, the Latin-tinged groove slow and sultry and the leader's emoting sinuous and romantic (Holm's tremolo-sweetened solo also amplifies the spirit of the material). Jazz and Latin converge in the uptempo “Cigarillos por favor,” the music percussion-driven and the leader and Hansen maximizing the swing feel in their solos, Falgren scintillating. In calling his piece “Low five,” he acknowledges the echo of Brubeck's “Take Five” in his composition, though truth be told there also seems to be a bit of “So What.” Turkis exits as sinuously as it enters when the dreamily melodic “Hora azul” guides it to a beguiling conclusion.

June 2026