Brad Mehldau, The Art of the Trio, Volume Two, (Warner, 1997)

Brad Mehldau, piano
Larry Grenadier, bass
Jorge Rossy, drums

Recorded July 29 - August 3, 1997

The Village Vanguard

Engineer: James Farber

It's difficult to review any Brad Mehldau album without engaging the controversy regarding opinions he has expressed regarding his influences. But I am not going to fall into the trap laid by others who have criticized Mehldau unfairly for disrespecting pianists to whom he has inappropriately been compared, notably Bill Evans. Reading that stream of commentary, which goes back to the 1990s, puts me in a sour mood. I would rather simply explain why Mehldau's The Art of the Trio, Volume 2 is one of my favorites. 

In Mehldau, I discovered an artist who took the idea of a piano trio to places I never dreamed possible. He takes more liberties in improvising than I had ever heard previously. Listening to all four volumes in the series actually became a sport for me. For example, I'd hear a long tempo-free introduction and grinned when I figured out what standard was being played. I'd ask myself, "Is this really going to be "All the Things You Are"? (from Volume 4). As the improvisations unfolded, I could admire the cleverness, depth, and ingenuity of what Mehldau does with standard material. 

Volume Two is my favorite of the Art of the Trio series because I know all six tunes intimately. They are:

"It's Alright with Me"

"Young and Foolish"

"Monk's Dream"

"The Way You Look Tonight"

"Moon River"

"Countdown"

I have not compared Mehldau's versions with those of other artists; I tend to enjoy who I am hearing without ranking or rating different versions. If I am mesmerized by the ingenuity on display, I am a happy man.

Incidentally, Brad Mehldau does not sound at all like Bill Evans.

Tobias Delius - The Heron (ICP, 1977)

Tobias Delius, tenor sax
Tristan Honsinger, cello
Joe Williamson, bass
Han Bennink, drums

Recorded July 6, 1997

Polanentheater, Amsterdam

Engineer: Dick Lucas

Tobias Delius is a tenor sax player participating in Amsterdam's free jazz community. I found this group from reading the Penguin Guide and currently own 5 of their CDs recorded between 1997 and 2009. Delius's style on tenor sax is a complex mixture of raw, tender, free and lyrical expression. He definitely has his own voice and a good sense of humor. In 2004 Delius was awarded the Boy Edgar Prize, the Netherlands' most prestigious award in improvised music.

Although based in Amsterdam, the quartet includes only one native Dutchman, drummer Han Bennick. Delius was born in England, bassist Joe Williamson in Canada, and cellist Tristan Honsinger in the United States. Despite this geographical diversity, their musical identity is firmly tied to the thriving free jazz community in Amsterdam. That is to say, the group has an irreverent sense of humor, a disdain for tradition, and a lust for experimentation.

Having paid several visits to Amsterdam, I can appreciate why so many expatriate jazz artists from the U.S. and other countries chose their base in the Dutch capital. There is an active jazz club scene, a large community of like-minded jazz artists, and a generally liberal social attitude. Visitors like me are also treated very kindly in The Netherlands.

On The Heron, Bennink is his usual playful self, refuting any expectations that the drummer should "keep time." He and Delius provide most of the sparks throughout the 52:23-minute performance. Bennink also created the cover art for The Heron and numerous other ICP recordings.

I first encountered Bennink on Eric Dolphy's Last Date album (Limelight, 1964), recorded during Dolphy's fateful European tour. At last report, the 84-year-old Bennink remains active on multiple ICP projects.

Cellist Honsinger is a revelation, reminiscent of Ernst Reisinger whom we tagged previously for his work with the Gerry Hemingway quintet. Honsinger is a bit more disciplined than Reisinger but admirably fills the role that a piano might play in a more conventional quartet. He also composed 5 of the 13 sections in the 7 suites that comprise The Heron's program. Honsinger died in 2023 at age 73.

The Heron was recorded at Polanentheater, described on their website as "an intimate, privately owned venue in Amsterdam celebrated for its warm and welcoming atmosphere. It serves as a community hub for local theater productions, musicals, and performing arts rehearsals." The intimacy of the venue is appropriate for Delius' music and fans. It also has very good acoustics, so that the live recording is very realistic.

Jazz lovers unfamiliar with Delius's music should begin with an audition of The Heron, and move quickly to Toby's Mloby (1999), Pelikanismus (2001), and Luftlucht (2009). All are on the ICP label. They are all played by the same quartet, and are equally enjoyable to hear.

Michel Portal - Dockings (Label Bleu, 1997)

 
Michel Portal, bass clarinet, clarinet, bandoneon, alto sax
Markus Stockhausen, trumpet
Bojan Zulfikarspsic (aka Bojan Z), piano
Steve Swallow, electric bass
Bruno Chevillon, bass
Joey Baron, drums

Recorded June 1997

Studio Gil Evans, Amiens, France

Engineer: Pierre Guinot

French reed player Michel Portal received many insightful tributes upon his death on February 12, 2026. He was 91 years old. Dockings was my introduction to his music and is still one of the most treasured albums in my library. Although Portal was in his early 60s for this recording, he never sounds old to me. The last of his albums that I acquired was MP85 (Label Bleu, 2021), signifying his 85th birthday. 

Calling Portal a legend is an understatement. His omnipresence in France and across Europe yielded hundreds of compositions, recordings and performances, not only of jazz but also classical and contemporary music, as well as film scores. A comprehensive discography at Michel Portal Discography is overwhelmingly long and detailed.

Dockings begins with "Barouf," roughly translated as "commotion" or "racket". It's not a wild racket but it features long ostinato passages with Portal conversing with Joey Baron. This pattern recurs on "Dolphy," "Lion's Dream," and "Tourniole." While not as intense as, say, John Coltrane's duets with Elvin Jones or Rashied Ali, Baron's steady beat gives Portal and trumpeter Markus Stockhausen a firm foundation for their improvisations.

Portal also engages with Stockhausen in duets between bass clarinet and muted trumpet. "Barouf," and "Mutinerie" are key instances of their exchanges. 

Each track on Dockings brings new musical surprises using various players in differing roles. The ostinato passages usually preface more complex interplay, and the combinations of timbres vary throughout. With two bass players, additional options become available to delight and surprise. 

The varied settings and collective talents of the band members support Portal's musical ambitions. The album is not a series of "jams," but rather carefully devised combinations of sounds that might feel improvised, but which mostly are not. Portal appears to draw from his classical resources to avoid all-out free jazz. His own numerous solos always tip on the edge of free expression but never dissipate into mindless blowing. 

The band are pictured on the tray card. From left to right, they are Swallow, Zulfikarspsic, Portal, Stockhausen, Chevillon, and Baron.

The only cover in the program is Carla Bley's "Ida Lupino," given a reverent treatment by Portal on bandoneon and Swallow on electric bass. It's a tasteful gesture in an otherwise adventurous album. Bley's and Portal's deaths less than three years apart make "Ida Lupino" even more poignant.

I've read many reviews of Dockings and heard it dozens of times over the past 25 years. It receives almost universal admiration and should not be missed by any serious jazz aficionado.

Pierre Favre - Souffles (Intakt, 1997)

Pierre Favre, drums, percussion
Lucas Niggli, drums, percussion
Roberto Ottaviano, soprano & tenor sax
Michel Godard, tuba, serpent

Recorded June 1997
Propstei St. Gerold, Austria
Engineer: Martin Pearson

Souffles continues a marvelous sequence of albums from Swiss percussionist Pierre Favre. This time, he assembles a quartet of European players, including fellow Swiss drummer, Lucas Niggli, and two contrasting horns. Playing under the moniker of Singing Drums, the band conjures a wide variety of moods and gestures. It's one of the most pleasurable releases of the 1990s, and part of a series that would continue on various record labels in the decades to follow.

Niggli is a protégé of the older Favre, who is known for his mentorship of European drummers. Favre and Niggli played together frequently, and it's obvious that they found ways to coordinate their extensive arrays of percussion instruments to fulfill their musical ambitions. Niggli has collaborated with numerous other European artists, whose recordings have appeared regularly on the Intakt label.

Frenchman Michel Godard's tuba and serpent play significant roles in shaping the sound of Singing Drums. Tubas have a long history in jazz, dating back to marching bands in New Orleans. The string bass generally replaced the tuba for indoor performances, but on occasion tubas still sneak into recording studios. Godard is also, perhaps, the lone practitioner of the serpent, a wind instrument whose name becomes obvious on sight. 

The fourth member of the quartet, Roberto Ottaviano, is Italy's most celebrated saxophonist, mostly specializing on soprano. He also appears on Favre's Window Steps, reviewed earlier in this blog. I find the timbres of the lower brass and higher reeds to be especially enthralling. Overall, this is a wonderful band that turns Favre's compositions into some of the most unique music of the decade.

Souffles is postmodern, as it draws from different styles: dirges, folk dances, Medieval drones, modern jazz, and free improvisation to name several. These styles coexist without competing with each other. For example, the 14:14 minute "Erba Luce" (an Italian phrase ironically promising delicacy) begins with a dark, quiet exchange between the two percussionists, then turns into a folk dance once the horns join it. Ottaviano then seizes the opportunity to engage in a raucous, tongue-slapping solo before shifting into a more lyrical mode backed by tuba and drums. More drumming precedes Goddard's serpent solo, which then leads back to the folk dance, a drum interlude, and a final melody statement. 

Favre's writing is often unconventionally beautiful, as on "Ritual to a Funeral." Here the hesitant dirge-like drums introduce the warm timbre of soprano and serpent playing first in unison, then in harmony. It's the most emotionally powerful track on Souffles. 

"Red Socks Dance" offers a special treat as the percussionists drive their conventional jazz drum kits in a frenzied duet. The closest comparison I can draw is to The Grateful Dead's "Drums," a concert feature for drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzman. 

By contrast, "Michelangelo" sounds completely improvised. Did I mention that Souffles is post-modern?

The recording venue is a Benedictine monastery in the Austrian Alps near the Swiss border. Established in the year 960 C.E., St. Gerold has been updated and expanded over 1,000 years and rededicated in 1958 as a cultural and educational center. The church's exceptional acoustics make it a desirable location for recording. Numerous ECM and Intakt albums, including Souffles, were recorded in St. Gerold.

Thomas Clausen & Severi Pyysalo - Turn Out the Stars (Storyville, 1997)

Thomas Clausen, piano
Severi Pyysalo, vibes

Recorded June 17 & 18, 1997
Copenhagen
Engineer: Bjarne Hansen

In my previous post, I wrote about the historical importance of Gary Burton and Chick Corea's vibes-piano duet. Twenty-five years after their pioneering Crystal Silence LP (ECM, 1972), we find a Dane and a Finn performing in the same format. Coincidently, both Turn Out the Stars and Corea and Burton's Native Sense were recorded in the same month.

Thomas Clausen is a prolific Danish pianist whose first recordings were made in 1979 when he was 22 years old. Since his debut, Clausen has recorded in solo, trio, and quartet formats and compiled 154 performance credits according to Discogs. His solo Piano Music on the German M-A Music label drew the attention of the audiophile community. (See the link below for my review of Piano Music).

Clausen is well-versed in playing in groups with vibes. His brother, Bent Clausen, is a vibist, and he has recorded two albums with Gary Burton in a quartet format: Café Noir (Intermusic, 1991) and Flowers and Trees (M-A Music, 1992). Clausen composed 19 of the 21 tracks on those two albums.

Clausen's duet partner on Turn Out the Stars is Severi Pyysalo, a brilliant Finnish vibist with 91 performance credits to his name, according to Discogs. He died on April 13, 2026, while I was preparing this post. He was 58 years old, and the cause of death was described as a "long illness." I have not heard any of his 11 other albums, although several are available on streaming services.

Turn Out the Stars is one of the more captivating vibes-piano duets I know of. It appears to be a Bill Evans dedication, although not designated as such. Clausen's style acknowledges Evans' influence, and "Turn Out the Stars," chosen as the album's title, is also a Bill Evans composition. Clausen's earlier album The Shadow of Bill Evans (Baystate, 1983) is a more obvious tribute. 

The program includes two original compositions by each player, and an assortment of standards and jazz classics. "Everything I Love" and "All the Things You Are" are the most conventional standards. "Someday My Prince Will Come" is imbued with mystery and tension, using melodic variations that seem to question whether the prince will actually show up or not. "Willow Weep for Me" is a 10-minute conversation between Clausen and Pyysalo that strays far away from the familiar melody. There are few dramatic moments, but the convo is nonetheless intriguing. "Turn Out the Stars" can't help but be the loveliest tune on the album.

Throughout, Clausen and Pyysalo put their own stamp on the vibes-piano duet format. Only on the final cut, Clausen's "Toy Joy," do they sound like Corea and Burton, so much so that I suspect they wanted to make it a tribute to their elders. It's a wonderful, upbeat ending to an album with many highlights.

The CD booklet is a fold-out design, in this case a 14" x 14" spread. On one side is a wonderful portrait of the artists in what might have been a large LP cover photo. I include a photo taken with my phone. There are no scans available, so just this one time I've compromised my high standards for images.

For my review of Clausen's Piano Music, go to:

Post: Edit Piano Music

Chick Corea & Gary Burton - Native Sense: The New Duets (Stretch, 1997)

Chick Corea, piano
Gary Burton, vibes

Recorded June 1997
Mad Hatter Studios, Los Angeles
Engineer: Bernie Kirsh

I am an avid fan of Gary Burton and Chick Corea, both as duet partners and individually. They recorded as a duet at least a dozen times over 40 years (1972-2012). Both had full careers playing in formats ranging from solo to large orchestras, and both were hailed for their pioneering accomplishments in jazz. Burton retired from playing in 2017; Corea died in 2021. 

Corea and Burton's first collaboration as a duet was Crystal Silence (ECM, 1972). That album helped to introduce the ECM label to North American audiences just as post-bop sputtered and fusion failed to satisfy jazz purists. Along with notable European artists, ECM's roster expanded to include Americans Mal Waldron, John Abercrombie, Dave Leibman, Richie Beirach, Marion Brown, Pat Metheny and others, all before the end of the 1970s. 

Corea and Burton's duets also pioneered and legitimized the piano-vibes duet format. Until Crystal Silence, no recordings of a vibes-piano duet can be found. Now, four such duets are included in this blog alone:

• Joe Locke and Kenny Barron, But Beautiful, 1991
• McCoy Tyner and Bobby Hutcherson, Manhattan Moods, 1993
• Thomas Clausen and Severi Pyysalo, Turn Out the Stars, 1997
• Chick Corea and Gary Burton, Native Sense: The New Duets (Stretch, 1997)

In addition, Burton recorded in a duet format with former student Makoto Ozone, and once with pianist Paul Bley. DVDs of duet performances with Corea and Ozone also exist and are worth watching to observe the coordination between piano and vibes in concert settings. 

There are two versions of Native Sense, both released in 1997 on the Stretch label. A Japanese release has an additional track that is not included in the American version: a 5-minute rendition of "I Loves You Porgy." Eight tracks are composed by Corea. Monk's "Four in One," and two brief bagatelles by Béla Bartók round out the program. Burton doubles on marimba on "Love Castle" and "No Mystery."

The New Duets might be considered a disingenuous subtitle, given that much of the repertoire consists of earlier Corea compositions. However, only one tune had previously received the duet treatment: "Love Castle" is on both Native Sense and In Concert, Zürich, October 28, 1979 (ECM, 1980). All others were either recorded with larger groups or not recorded at all. 

The program on Native Sense has numerous highlights. One of the most revealing is "Duende" because it displays one of the duo's favorite methods. Over the course of a number, they alternate between lead and supporting roles multiple times. As soon as one finishes a solo, he drops into support mode for the other's solo. A variant on this method is to use Corea's left-hand figures as background that his right hand and vibes play over in unison, harmony, or counterpoint. "Rhumbata" is the best example, but most of the tracks on Native Sense exhibit more than one of these methods.

All of the duo's methods are only achievable through meticulously scored arrangements and rehearsals. This level of discipline often creates the eerie sensation of listening to a single artist with 4 hands, 4 feet (both vibes and piano have foot pedals), 20 fingers, and 4 mallets. 

Lynne Arriale - A Long Road Home (TCB, 1997)

 

Lynne Arriale, piano
John Pattitucci, bass
Steve Davis, drums

Recorded April 1997

Steve Davis Studio

Engineer: Steve Davis

Lynne Arriale began her recording career in 1994 with a series of three CDs on the DMP label. The label was established in 1983 by engineer Tom Jung and was promoted as an audiophile digital experience. I sampled a few titles from DMP, judged the sound to be clean but somewhat clinical, and ended up keeping four albums for my collection. Two of the keepers are by Arriale: When You Listen (DMP, 1994) and With Words Unspoken (DMP, 1996). Both were recorded by Arriale's trio with Drew Gress on bass and Steve Davis on drums. 

Arriale's move to the TCB label led to four albums with Davis on drums. To my ears, the TCB albums sound more natural (less clinical) than the DMPs. More importantly, the performances and arrangements had evolved in a positive direction. Arriale's gentle keyboard style had toughened a bit, and her repertoire had expanded to include more of her own compositions alongside covers of Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie and others. A Long Road Home and her other TCB recordings capture these developments.

A Long Road Home begins with an unusual interpretation of Monk's "Bye-Ya." The composer's choppy rhythm is smoothed out to reveal unusual facets of the melody. "Will o' the Wisp" follows: a gorgeous, floating-time excursion over chord progressions that are similar to those on John Coltrane's "Expressions." The same chordal approach is taken on two of Arriale's originals: "The Dove" and "A Long Road Home."

"A Night in Tunisia" shows off the pianist's chops on a fast-paced solo following an unusual halting version of the melody. Arriale approaches the other jazz standards, including Dizzy Gillespie's "Con Alma," with similar rhythmic variations that add interest. Her version of "I Wished on the Moon" balances the program with a straight-ahead reading of the standard.

Steve Davis is not only Arriale's drummer of choice, but also a recording engineer with his own studio in Yonkers, NY. Sound engineers who are not themselves musicians, let alone drummers, may struggle when recording a percussive drum kit and making it sound natural as well as balanced with piano and bass. Davis's sound on A Long Road Home meets my personal criteria for a well-recorded piano trio. 

Arriale has continued a successful career as recording artist, performer, and educator. Her recordings on Motéma Music and Challenge Records are all worth exploring.

Charles McPherson - Manhattan Nocturne (Arabesque, 1997)

Charles McPherson, alto sax
Mulgrew Miller, piano
Ray Drummond, bass
Victor Lewis, drums

Bobby Sanabria, percussion

Recorded April 24 & 25, 1997

EastSide Sound, NYC

Engineer: Lou Holtzman

Jazz artists who matured in the mid 1960s quickly encountered one of the low points in the history of jazz recording. As jazz records struggled to compete in a marketplace filled with best-selling rock stars, jazz artists often chose to adjust their bebop tendencies and move into fusion. Some, such as Freddie Hubbard and George Benson, played what would evolve into "smooth jazz" while others, notably Miles Davis, steered toward electric jazz‑rock fusion.

Among those who stayed the course, Charles McPherson stands out. His 7 albums on Prestige between 1965 and 1970 reveal no attempt to compromise his style to sell more records. Of course, he probably did sell fewer records, but artistically his Prestige albums match or surpass many bebop albums of the 1960s. McPherson continued to record in the 1970s on labels such as Xanadu and Mainstream. The 1980s saw his releases drop off, but the 90s witnessed his resurgence.

Manhattan Nocturne is one of three outstanding McPherson albums released on the Arabesque label in the 1990s. The others are First Flight Out (1994) and Come Play with Me (1995). Manhattan Nocturne benefits from a superb band at the peak of its powers. The leader's liquid alto ranges from sultry to soaring. Pianist Mulgrew Miller is fully engaged, using his solo space to reinvent each tune. 

Manhattan Nocturne's program consists of four standards and four originals. "Evidence" and "Blue n' Boogie" recall McPherson's bebop roots. The other two standards are ballads. "You're My Thrill" is a sultry number featuring Bobby Sanabria's Latin percussion. Miller's solo tells a whole story on its own: a master class in improvisation. "How Deep Is the Ocean" finds McPherson luxuriating in a solo that stays close to the original melody. Miller's solo begins in the same way before it moves deep into improvised territory.

Four of McPherson's originals portray the nocturnal Manhattan ambience that the album's title promises: the title track, "Morning Dance," "Primal Urge," and "Fire Dance." Sanabria's percussion is integral to the album's theme, whether it's salsa dance steps or smoldering nocturnal urges. 

Anouar Brahem - Thimar (ECM, 1997)

Anouar Brahem, oud
John Surman, bass clarinet, soprano sax
Dave Holland, bass

Recorded March 13-15, 1997
Rainbow Studios, Oslo
Engineer: Jan Erik Kongshaug

Anour Brahem is a Tunisian oudist, known to jazz audiences mainly through a series of ECM albums commencing in 1991. His North African roots expanded over the years through study in Paris and later tours in North America. Thimar was recorded when he was 39 years old; it was his fifth CD for ECM.

I cannot compare Thimar to Brahem's other works because it's the only one of his albums I've heard. I was drawn to it by positive reviews plus my admiration for Dave Holland and John Surman, both ECM regulars. For Thimar, Surman leaves his baritone sax in its case and alternates between soprano sax and bass clarinet. 

The oud is an important ancestor of the European lute, which in turn preceded the modern guitar. It produces a warm, midrange‑rich tone and is traditionally played with a long, flexible pick called a risha. The oud's sound may be described as enchanting. In Brahem's hands, it affords subtle dynamics and evocative phrasing.

Both Brahem and Surman can be emotionally mournful, as on the brief "Waqi." Although the sonic textures are mostly dark, they are fascinating. On soprano, Surman sounds like a snake charmer; on bass clarinet, his woody sound augments Brahem's soft strings. I don't find many such textures in jazz recordings, and that helps to make Thimar exceptional. 

 

Brahem composed 10 of the 11 pieces, with Holland contributing one original, "Mazad," which also appears later on his Good Hope album (Edition, 2019). Brahem tends to write tunes with dark minor scales that contain few obvious chord changes. Most of the drama comes from rhythms and counterpoints rather from singable melodies over chord progressions. For me, "Mazad" enlivens the session with its novel changes and bouncy beat. Of the other tunes, only "Al Hizam Al Dhahbi" has noticeable chord shifts.  

"Qurb" features a delightful section that begins with a free bass solo. When Brahem joins in, he plays a countermelody instead of playing harmony or unison with Holland's line. I always find countermelodies to be fascinating. It is difficult for two musicians to play different melodic sequences at the same time, but it draws my attention whenever I hear it. "Qurb" also features a brief vocal by Brahem that adds to its mystical vibe.

Brahem honors his bandmates by laying out on the final cut; "Hulmu Rabia" is a mournfully poignant 2-minute bass clarinet figure played over arco bass.

Tomasz Stańko - Litania - Music of Krzysztof Komeda (ECM, 1997)

Tomasz Stańko, trumpet
Bernt Rosengren, tenor sax
Joakim Milder, tenor & soprano saxes
Bobo Stenson, piano

Palle Danielsson, bass
Jon Christensen, drums

Terje Rypdal, guitar

Recorded February 1997

Rainbow Studios, Oslo

Engineer: Jan Erik Kongshaug

I came to know Tomasz Stańko's work from his many ECM recordings, all of which received high accolades from The Penguin Guide to Jazz. Through Stańko, I also came to know about Krzysztof Komeda and his jazz soundtracks for film maker Roman Polanski. These Polish artists flourished in the 1960s during a post-Stalinist cultural renaissance that reached Western audiences through Polanski's American films. I remember seeing Rosemary's Baby when it came out in 1968 and several times since. 

Stańko's music also attracted the attention of the young Berliner Manfred Eicher, who founded ECM in 1970. Eventually, Stańko would appear as leader on 11 ECM albums and contribute to 4 others. Litania - Music of Krzysztof Komeda (1997) and From the Green Hill (1998) are my two favorites from the 1990s, and both receive blog entries.

A tribute to Komeda is apropos. He was celebrated for integrating Western jazz, especially avant-garde, with Slavic influences. Astigmatic (1967), his masterpiece, consists of 3 long tracks that still sound fresh today. Stańko played trumpet on Astigmatic and gigged regularly with Komeda until he died in 1969 at age 37. Komeda scored music for 60 films and was the center of not only Polish jazz but also European jazz overall.

According to Stańko, Litania differs from his typically bleak mode of playing*. The pairing of Swedish saxophonists, veteran Bernt Rosengren and the younger Joakim Milder, gives the session a warm glow while preserving the serious purpose of the session. Pianist Bobo Stenson also contributes to the warmer vibe. His lyrical solos add charm, and he manages to be heard in even the noisier passages. All of the band have close connections with the Polish jazz movement, and all are European superstars familiar to ECM fans.

Komeda's practice of partitioning long compositions with recurring motifs applies both to the structure of the album and to the longer pieces within it. The CD begins with an 11-minute version of "Svantetic," which is divided into sections separated by the ensemble's replaying the slowly rising opening theme. Track 2, "Sleep Safe and Warm (Version 1)," from Rosemary's Baby, is a short interlude before the epic "Night-time, Daytime Requiem," which clocks in at 21:47 minutes. Two other versions of "Sleep Safe and Warm" appear as interludes later in the program and as the closing number. 

"Requiem" is Komeda's dedication to John Coltrane. He recorded it in 1967, four months following Coltrane's death. Stańko played trumpet in the 1967 session. Although lengthy, the composition is punctuated by 6 short fanfares separating movements with different moods. The first movement, featuring Stenson and Stańko, is ominous and mournful. Later, Rosengren's tenor solo convincingly recalls Coltrane's style. A later movement features Stańko's plaintive trumpet and Palle Danielsson's bass, which serve as foundation for the rising intensity of the horns. The fifth motif is followed by Joakim Milder's piercing alto, Jon Christensen's busy drum work, and Stańko's soaring flights. The last motif draws the requiem to a peaceful end.

Despite its monumental stature, "Requiem" is upstaged by "Litania," a gorgeous theme with a powerfully emotive arrangement performed to perfection. It's one of the most profound listening experiences I've ever had.

Terje Rypdal's first appearance on the album is on the second version of "Sleep Safe and Warm," where he provides soft background shade for Stańko's solo trumpet. Rypdal is more forceful on his other two appearances: "The Witch" and the third and final version of "Sleep Safe and Warm," which ends the album on a confidently assured note. 

*Note: Stańko considers his album Leosia to be a personal favorite as well as his bleakest (The Penguin Guide to Jazz, 2011, p. 599).