Strange to recall that Copland made his professional debut as a saxophonist, but since concentrating on the piano since the mid-1970s he's been quite prolific, until recently on the now-dormant Pirouet label. Here he's his usual lyrical self but, instead of playing solo or in a trio format, the addition of Alessi brings extra potency to an expertly balanced line-up. The way they explore the one non-original, Monk's ‘Evidence’, quite free harmonically and rhythmically but within a regular metre, is typical of the rest of the programme. Copland's own tunes include a couple of melancholy and mildly polytonal waltzes (‘Gone Now’ and ’Dark Passage’), while the three jointly credited items are freely improvised but all within rhythmic frameworks set by Baron. You could describe Copland as post-Bill Evans, and indeed Alessi as post-Kenny Wheeler, but such categorisation is merely a handy pigeonhole that hardly does justice to an interesting and sometimes moving set.