This disc from Austrian trombonist Christian Muthspiel and US bassist Steve Swallow would have fitted in seamlessly with ACT's current ‘Duo Art’ series. Simplicity is the guiding principle and musical goal for the pair, who collaborated recently on a Dowland-themed project entitled Seven Teares (which was released by ACT), although Muthspiel tries his hand at an impressively varied selection of instruments – including toy piano and recorder – in the course of that quest. ‘Pas de Deux Tranquille’ announces the main theme of simplicity and tranquility; ‘Monsieur Satie’ wears its influences on its sleeve. The quirky, self-mocking humour of the likes of ‘Viennese Marketplace’ and ‘Let My Children Waltz’ may prove excessively winsome for some but ‘Lullaby for Moli’ has low-key spittle-inflected charm while the almost funky ‘(F)all Blues’ is an admirable demonstration of the pair's easy musical sympathy and playing range. Muthspiel provides all the original melodies (nine out of 11 tracks) but they also cover Werner Pirchner's ‘Himmelblau’ and borrow Schubert's ‘Mein!’ (from ‘Die Schöne Müllerin’) as the basis for ‘Mein! Yours?’