Veteran reed and brass man McPhee continues to expand his discography with impressive dedication to the task and this is mostly a worthwhile new entry. His alternation of tenor saxophone and trumpet is an asset insofar as it brings dramatic changes of timbre to the ensemble sound, which appears to more than stimulate his accompanists. While the trio is very capable of full throttle fervour, this set is a lengthy meditation marked by moments of considerable discretion, if not detachment, with drummer Solberg and bassist Niggenkemper in particular often withdrawing to sensually blurry low volume, the gentlest of throbs under McPhee’s impassioned playing, which can move in a moment from Ayler-esque hark to ashen understatement. Yet if the music upholds the lineage of a spare, ascetic piano-less trio there are impressive sleights of hand, none more so than Solberg’s skillfully dampened tom tom that approximates tripping tablas and Niggenkemper’s very trebly sound on the bass which implies the rattle of a tanpura. Non-western flavours and western instruments match up well, though the final mix could have been a touch more beefy in places.