Laidback and lyrical saxophonist Andy Sheppard’s newest ECM project adds Norwegian guitarist Eivind Aarset to the Trio Libero lineup he shares with French bassist Michel Benita and Polar Bear drummer Seb Rochford, and uses the new member’s ethereal electronics to give his music even more breathing space. There are moments, such as in the translucently beautiful Gaelic ballad Aoidh, Na Dean Cadal Idir, when the group evokes the serene murmur of Portico Quartet more than it does a sharp-end jazz band. There is a tip-toeing delicacy to much of the album, with Sheppard’s phrasing often pared to hoots and whispers, drifting on Aarset’s drones, cushioned by Benita’s countermelodies, and propelled by quiet marches and off-kilter patterns from Rochford. The surgingly jazzy finale, For Ornette, is a more animated collective conversation – a little more of that might have brightened the set. Still, Surrounded by Sea is an intriguing shift for Sheppard as both a player and a bandleader.
