This international collaboration features an unusual mix of instruments but such is the empathy and interplay between the three protagonists that the album works brilliantly.

Sardinian trumpeter Paolo Fresu, French born accordion virtuoso Richard Galliano and Swedish pianist Jan Lundgren are all established stars in their own right but egos are left at the door for this fruitful exchange of musical ideas.

There are fifteen items here, all clocking in at under six minutes so the overall impression is of a series of vignettes. The wide ranging material encompasses originals by each of the three players plus pieces by Trenet, Ravel and Jobim. Lundgren’s arrangement of a Swedish folk song completes a wide ranging and truly international musical mix.

The mood is relaxed and languid throughout with Lundgren underpinning the melodic ideas of Fresu and Galliano besides providing plenty of his own. Lundgren’s crystalline piano, Fresu’s beautifully warm and rounded trumpet and flugel and Galliano’s unique style on the accordion (and sometimes bandoneon) complement each other perfectly. It makes for an interesting change to hear Galliano in a different context, tango is not a particularly obvious component here. 

The album’s notes speak of the trio’s wish to open jazz to towards other musical cultures and that is certainly the case here. There is no conventional “jazz soloing”, although all three musicians provide concise and pithy solo passages. Rather the concentration is on mood building, musical interaction and the interplay between the instruments. Classical discipline, folk melody and jazz improvisation all play their part in the creative process.

The result is a warm and often beautiful album flawlessly played and superbly recorded. Picking out individual tracks is largely superfluous as the album is largely about sustaining a particular mood ,albeit on a diverse selection of material, and on these terms it succeeds brilliantly. The lack of drums may deter some but Fresu, Galliano and Lundgren are more than capable of maintaining the listener’s interest

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