Remembrance ECM***

It takes class musicians to bring off the artful simplicity of this sumptuously melodic album, and Bjornstad, Christensen and Brunborg, on piano, drums and tenor, respectively, are just that. The pieces (all by Bjornstad) revolve around past experiences and the subtly graded evocation of emotions thus stirred –

gentle, even lace-curtain nostalgia at times, tinged with melancholy, occasionally celebratory. Presumably not to direct the listener’s responses too specifically, they’re numbered, not named. Yet Brunborg, superbly inserting himself into the piano-drums dialogue on eight pieces, plays so beautifully that it’s his responses that perhaps define the mood in these for the listener. The remaining three duo performances, by piano and drums – explorations of mood more than music – are more open in their capacity to suggest. That said, it’s all undeniably lovely. See ecmrecords.com