Ascent comes on the heels of 2018’s Investigations, which was Held’s tenth album. On it, he brings Brazilian guitarist Nelson Veras into the intimate surroundings of his trio, which has been together since 2006. Held says he was drawn to the playing of the guitarist, saying “Nobody plays like that, nobody”. It’s certainly a meeting of minds; Veras’ thoughtful, probing lines both complimenting and contrasting Held’s somewhat angular melodicism in a way that seems to inspire Veras’ thinking. Like many European jazz musicians, the classical repertoire is not regarded as a musical no-go area but a vast database, and perhaps the most successful tracks are Frederic Mompou’s ‘Musica Callada’, whose haunting melody has, according to the composer, “the mission of penetrating into the most secret depths of our soul” and ‘Excerpt from Piano Concerto #4’ by Rachmaninoff. Like Investigations that preceded it, Held once again indulges in some after-the-fact rationalisation in postproduction, which is achieved seamlessly in an album that seems to hold in perfect balance piano, guitar, bass and drums.