"How magical that in an improvisation recorded in a former hospital funeral chapel, we hear the sounds of life.

We hear the sounds of breath. Not only the gentle sibilance of the air spilling from the edges of the mouthpiece, as it escapes life as a note; not only the airiness of those low drums: but also the sound of the music being allowed to breathe within the space’s very special acoustic. We hear the sounds of the heartbeat in Cornelia Nilsson’s low drums, now urgent, now reassuring. And we hear the unmistakeable sound of the voice in Julia Strzalek’s alto tone.

Drums as heartbeat, saxophone as voice, yes; but throughout, we also hear rhythmic saxophone, and melodic drums. Listen too to Strzalek’s parsimony, as she spins melodies by worrying at permutations of a small number of pitches, just as might a great drummer. And if this is one example of highly compositional improvisation, listen also to Nilsson’s acute sense of orchestration and textural clarity, both of which contribute to the masterful sense of structure which emerges from the performance.

There are moments of great fragility and delicacy in this music, but there is an equally stunning sense of poise and underlying strength: the almost sledgehammer-impact of the duo never capitulating to the histrionics which can occasionally characterise the saxophone-drums context. The quiet fire of the performance does at one point burst out into something more expressionistic, but instead of this being a culmination, no sooner has the moment arrived than it magically transitions into a transcendent final five minute coda of ecstatic restraint.

The sounds of peace, patience, poise, and indeed - the sounds of life." – Alexander Hawkins