Jazzman, Choc of the year
Jazz Magazine, Disque d'émoi of the year
Jazzman, Choc du mois
Jazzmagazine, Disque d’émoi

How often do just three musicians produce music as vast and panoramic in its scale and vision? The answer, in case you’re wondering, is rarely. Seven tracks … define the art of the trio on this disc. Not leader and led but an ensemble of all the talents, this record takes you across myriad landscapes and through countless adventures. Music this evocative doesn’t need images to provoke thoughts and feelings. Listening to it is already like watching a film.
Duncan Heining, Jazzwise

My Jazz album of the year. Norwegian bass maestro teams up with saxophonist Tommy Smith and Italian drummer Paolo Vinaccia in a trio that is brimming over with compelling ideas and creative invention. … Andersen’s extended playing technique and use of electronics places his approach to the double bass on a different level to most other players, while Smith’s keening saxophone work and Vinaccia’s supple, responsive drumming make their own essential impact.
Kenny Mathieson, The Scotsman

All the tunes on this set are by bass virtuoso Arild Andersen, except for the Duke Ellington standard Prelude to a Kiss. Something of the purple-toned but shyly jubilant melodic style of Jan Garbarek’s music colours the session – partly because of Andersen’s lyrical writing in parts of the Independency suite, and partly because of the delicate tone control of the fastidious Smith, who plays tenor sax throughout.
John Fordham, The Guardian

Weiträumig spannt die Musik ihre Bogen, Andersens mächtig pulsierender Bass wird umspielt von Vinaccias Polyrhythmik, und Tommy Smith zeigt die ganze Palette seines Könnens. Auskomponierte Passagen, bald lyrisch, bald hymnisch, stehen neben energetischen Improvisationen, die doch nie den thematischen Fokus verlieren. Dezent eingesetzte Live-Elektronik erweitert die klanglichen Möglichkeiten des akustischen Basses. Und einmal mehr ist hier zu erleben, dass für die Kunst des Trios das Vernetzen von Ideen, die subtile Interaktion noch wichtiger ist als die individuelle Prachtentfaltung.
Manfred Papst, Neue Zürcher Zeitung am Sonntag