It’s not just the press release that modestly claims this is perhaps the best of Copland’s four unaccompanied albums, it’s probably your reviewer too. With both science and sensitivity, he has the gift of making what he does sound effortless. The three originals in this programme all rely on simple ostinatos, often based around a single note, but with the upper textures and the accompanying harmonies frequently wandering into quasi-atonality. The remainder of the material is treated similarly, and consists of a piece each by bassists Gary Peacock (‘Vignette’) and Scott LaFaro (‘Jade Visions’, famous from Bill Evans’s Sunday At The Village Vanguard), one by Ralph Towner and two by John Abercrombie, who was of course very much alive at the time of recording. Possibly, if you approached this recital in the wrong frame of mind, it could be as boring as any superficially similar atmospheric-type effort but, if you’re ready for its genuine subtlety, this will act as balm for the soul.