Norwegian drummer Thomas Strønen has forged strong connections with the British jazz scene over the last 20 years: his Food duo with English saxophonist Iain Ballamy is an imaginative leap into the spaces where electronics and acoustics overlap.
Time is a Blind Guide (the opening lines of an Anne Michaels novel) is a more purely acoustic affair, this time with rising London pianist Kit Downes, alongside a string trio and two further percussionists, who function much as Strønen's drum machine does in Food.
Melodically, it’s wholesome, almost folky in atmosphere, but there is also a dense rhythmic complexity that provides a balancing darkness.
A fine album which may also be remembered in future as the ECM debut of Downes, undoubtedly a star of the future.
