Alexey Kruglov is a multi-talented, multi-instrumentalist with a penchant for drama, who seems able to express himself afresh with each new album. His career to date has been marked by a series of collaborations with some of the greats of the Russian avant garde and with gifted newcomers such as guitarist Jaak Soäär. This is his first release with his own trio and the musicians’ shared experience and commitment is palpable. Featuring Kruglov on piano as well as saxes, Identification offers one long suite that builds through group and solo performances to an echoing finality rather than a climax of sound and fury. The match between form and freedom is masterful with space for each player to express themselves within its broad, theatrical framework. The music is by nature episodic and by turns elegiac and confrontational but is marked often by highly melodic passages. Its sense of a journey filled with enchantment and surprise is very real. Kruglov is a storyteller in the great Russian tradition and his records for Leo represent a fascinating series of chapters in his development as an artist.