Sheppard Andy: Andy Sheppard Quartet -15

Andy Sheppard: tenor and soprano saxophonesMichel Benita: double bassSebastian Rochford: drumsEivid Aarset: guitar, electronicsSurrounded by Sea, Andy Sheppard's third ECM album, is a strongly atmospheric recording, and one whose associative title seems especially apt. As the saxophonist observes, the sea in question is mostly calm, but storms and squalls can arise in a moment. British Islanders are fine-tuned to such sudden fluctuations: "Coming from England, I've grown up with the physical awareness of being surrounded by sea."The album adds Norwegian guitarist Eivind Aarset to the line-up of Sheppard's widely acclaimed Trio Libero (refer to the 2011 recording of the same name, ECM 2252), making a new quartet with a different emphasis. "I see the quartet as the next step on from Trio Libero. Libero started out as an improvising trio. A lot of the material was drawn from our improvisation and turned into tunes. With this new album I wanted to retain the same musicality but move things in a new direction with the addition of harmony and subtle grooves." With Sheppard's compositions and direction to the fore, and Aarset's ambient drones and washes of sound integrated as quasi-orchestral elements, priorities have shifted. The addition of a fourth player has, paradoxically, opened up more space in the music. Eivind's textural soundscapes, his subtly layered guitar and electronics, seem to give Sheppard more room to move as well as a harmonic foundation to play off.