This is Sclavis' ninth album for ECM and quite unlike any previous recordings. In an interview with France's Jazz Magazine he references his new trio, explaining that it is a group that “nourishes itself upon structural reduction and is always reaching out for greater concentration and rigour in expression.” It is an apt description for this series of musical studies on this album; the ECM publicity notes that accompany this release devote a whole five lines to the music's suggestive possibilities that range from “ambient” to “minimalistic pulse patterns.” But in truth, this is music better heard than written about. Sclavis' clarinet tone must be the most sumptuous in jazz and lends gravitas to the melodic motifs that form the basis of his musical experimentation. As each piece is teased out and placed under the close collective scrutiny of his group, you sense that this album is the start of a long journey whose path is yet to be defined and whose destination is uncertain.