Helge Lien is a very talented pianist, with the potential to be even better. Tore Brunborg is a very talented saxophonist searching for a context – for example, with his Scent of Soil album and concert tour with Kirsti Huke from 2011 he found it, and created something of a minor masterpiece, but that was 12 years ago now.

The unanswered question, therefore, is will his collaboration with the Helge Lien Trio likely bring out the best for all parties concerned? On the evidence of Funeral Dance the answer is yes, but first, on the basis of the album’s title, maybe fit in a three-month course on marketing skills? The album does suggest Brunborg encourages the kind of focus often lacking in some of Lien’s projects that seem to lead nowhere. It could be that just as Andy Sheppard with Espen Eriksen’s trio brought something different in both, Brunborg could well do the same with Lien – certainly this music suggests considerable potential for future profitable development. Lien’s new drummer Knut Aalefjær has a presence that works well for both pianist and saxophonist who cover a range of moods in a combination that can only get better from a very promising start.