his playing sounds fresh and invigorating
ECM 2856 / 578 0286
Andy Sheppard (tenor & soprano saxophones); Rita Marcotulli (piano); Michel Benita (double bass)
Recorded March 2025
It has been quite some time since Andy Sheppard’s last ECM album as leader, and the saxophonist has made some changes in the interim. From the Trio Libero group sans harmony instrument and the quartet featuring the soundscape guitarist Eivind Aarset, the saxophonist returns to a less ambiguous harmonic foundation with a new trio featuring pianist Rita Marcotulli and bassist Michel Benita who returns from the earlier recordings.
Sheppard of course is no stranger to playing in a drummerless trio as his extended tenure with Carla Bley and Steve Swallow testifies. Similarly, Andy’s association with Rita Marcotulli goes back for more than twenty years, and the two musicians pick up seamlessly the longstanding musical relationship. Bassist, Michel Benita is also familiar with the saxophonist’s methods and the three musicians, although having never worked collectively before, have quickly established a rapport and empathy that bring a lyricism and grace to Sheppard’s eight new original compositions that make up the bulk of the album.
As if relishing the opportunity to record with this new line up, Sheppard has written some bold new compositions, taking on a very different sound world from the two quartet albums, and his own playing sounds fresh and invigorating. This can be heard right from the opening number ‘Elevation’ with the saxophonist’s distinctive signature sound on tenor in this gentle and lyrical composition and continues through on ‘Encantos’ that boasts a beautiful melody that is played with great expression by Sheppard.
Any thoughts that this is simply Sheppard’s outing is quickly dispelled when listening carefully to the overall sound world of the trio as the music seems inconceivable with the contribution of Marcotulli and Benita. The introduction to ‘This Too – Three Hills’ features a lovely intro from the pianist prior to Benita laying down a subtle ostinato for Sheppard’s tenor saxophone to float over.
In a set that features a remarkable diversity in the material, ‘Salgado’ features another strong bass line that gives support and lift to this joyous piece, Andy explores the full range of his tenor on ‘Those That Left’ accompanied by Benita with the mood changing instantly as Rita Marcotulli enters on piano bringing a lyrical yet melancholy and reflective feel to the music. This melancholy mood is in stark contrast to the title track, a dynamic composition that finds Marcotulli using the pedals and strings inside the piano along with double bass to create a darker setting for Sheppard’s soprano saxophone.
Andy has acknowledged that he learnt much from playing with Carla Bley, and indeed doffs his hat to Carla by playing her composition ‘Lawns’ which the saxophonist says they never got to record together, and the lessons learned have been assimilated and transferred to this exceptional new trio in which Sheppard has continued to develop his own unique sound on both tenor and soprano saxophones, and the engaging manner in which he approaches composing.
