Few guitarists remain as instantly recognisable as Towner, especially on his signature 12-string. A little annoyingly that much underrated instrument only figures twice on what must be the legend's first solo outing in a decade: there's an all too brief joy burst, ‘Biding Time’, and a typically enigmatic epic in miniature, ‘Clarion Call’. But it's the more classically-voiced Towner that's to the fore here, notably on the opening ‘Pilgrim’. The title track summons the spirit of Bill Evans, Towner's model when he kicked off his career as a pianist, and this lush version somehow manages to orchestrate his guitar as trio. But the emotional heart of this fine release comes with the climactic ‘Blue As In Bley’, recorded shortly after another colleague over the decades, Paul Bley, had passed away. Part earthy blues, part elusive suspended chords, it somehow summons a sense of mortality while singing a song of sad hope. Gorgeous stuff.