There is a meditative quality to the recent collaboration between pianist Steve Tromans and percussionist Mark Sanders that allows its gentle insinuations to permeate the psyche.
Thoughtful minor key repetition is allied to rolling percussion, a background rush that evokes cars passing on wet streets. It is no surprise that the first four pieces are titled “Murmurations” and “Meditations”, the minimalist scene setting of the two finds the insistence of the piano notes needled by the prodding of drums that bubble and turn with constant presence.
Some of it is so gentle that you have to lean into the speakers to make out the softly falling tones as cymbals flash like temple bells. There is also melancholy here, but the sort that warms the stomach, an early morning suggestion that gathers momentum as birds gather and cajole, the swaying motion palpable as you lay on your back allowing the spectacle to unfold and then dissipate as the days crawls onward. Barely above a whisper in places, the rustle and whine of the cymbals reflecting the percussive nature of the piano as insides are stroked and teased, a rhythmic patter eked out. As the album progresses, so the reflective spaces fill, as much a meditation as before but building into something stronger, tempos more insistent. There is a curiously far Eastern echo, the drums as spare as possible but exactly right, the piano at times driving a triplet home, pushing it onto the listener, a twin-pronged seduction that works even when taking an inprov tumble, scattering noes to the four winds.There is a lightheartedness that shines through and it is that stretch across emotions that really gives the album its subtle power. One for any time of the day or night.
-Mr Olivetti-
