Stirring stuff from Josephine Davies and Alcyona Mick on 'The Simmer Dim' drawn from Weatherwards out in October.
Saxist Davies was inspirational this year on Espial's The Act of Noticing and before that in the Harper trio on last year's excellent Passing By. 'The Simmer Dim' is even better.
Enemy eminence James Maddren on drums isn't on the track and nor is double bassist Dave Whitford who otherwise complete the personnel on the album.
Instead our selected track is a duet that finds Davies on soprano saxophone joined by Alcyona whose expressively languid piano sound we first got to know going to hear lots of times playing duets with Paul Clarvis at the Vortex who himself has been a member of Satori. (The Enfieldian was alongside Whitford on 2017's Satori.)
Midnight sun
Recorded last summer at south London's Morley College 'The Simmer Dim' is quite a moving elegiac piece and in keeping with the Espial sound even bearing in mind its different character which in the latter's case is a contrastive, vibes, keys and sax Martin Pyne led slice of mindfulness.
Shetland inspired, where Davies was born, issuing label Whirlwind notes on Bandcamp that ‘The Simmer Dim’ is ''inspired by the midnight sun of Shetland summer.''
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