The second ECM release from Joe Lovano and Marcin Wasilewski’s piano trio finds the American saxophonist maintaining a strong presence while slotting into the long-established Polish trio’s confident, collective approach. Shapeshifting moods, an inner pulse and interweaving lines define the trio’s aesthetic; Lovano’s gruff tone and fine-tuned timing remain intact.

The set begins with a reading of Polish violinist Zbigniew Seifert’s lyrical composition ‘Love in the Garden’. Here, Lovano stretches the warm-hearted theme for emotional effect and the trio deliver ECM’s trademark feathered beats and counterpoint bass.

The remaining five compositions are Lovano originals. ‘Golden Horn’, built on the firm lines and resonant tone of Slawomir Kurkiewicz’s riffing bass, evolves in a single key. Lovano’s tenor sax lines leave spaces for piano to fill, rimshots rattle, and the quartet climax and as one. ‘Homage’ comes next, a collective miasma of mixed emotions and fluctuating textures that ends with a mood-swinging feature for drummer Michal Miskiewicz. Lovano switches from tenor sax to tarogato on the unaccompanied ‘Giving Thanks’ while the Ornette Coleman-like ‘This Side – Catville’ sets up a pulsating group dialogue that lasts for more than ten minutes. The nicely ordered set ends with ‘Projection’, a brief solo outing for Lovano playing gongs.