Lourenço Vasconcellos’ congas, almost ritualistic, set a scene; Graeme Gardiner’s sinuous saxophone percolates through … waves of sound wash over the percussion … invocational Trane … and this is all just the first five minutes of opener “The Road.” The album title is apt, as these two improvise their way through eight originals that blend influences from modern jazz through minimalism and more. While some pieces have an ethereal feel, others come straight from jazz’s core, including the Albert Ayler tribute, “Albert’s Blues.” “Nimiria” emerges slowly out of silence, spare saxophone and cymbals, building into intensity. The closer, “Shadows at Sea,” conveys images of deep-sea creatures and deserted lighthouses, slowly building over its 14-plus minutes. Both Vasconcellos and Gardiner share a jazz background but transcend common stereotypes of “jazz” in this constantly intriguing album.
