A while ago, I reviewed Michael Thieke's "Leuchten" on Creative Sources. Here the Berlin/Rome-based musician (playing clarinet, alto saxophone and zither) teams up with two Canadian performers now living in Berlin too, Dave Bennett (guitar) and Derek Shirley (bass). Thieke's solo cd was full of good ideas and developments, but definitely on the harsh and solipsistic side of things (not a bad things in itself, mind it); this trio, on the contrary, presents a kind of more humane and warm improvisation, which makes this one of the most enjoyable works in the field of free-form music that I've listened to lately. The trio's interaction is quite typically based on the juxtaposition of microscopic, pebble-like fragments and restrained gestures ("Kein stern", "Moto"), but also on a fuller, more droning mass of sound, thanks to the use of e-bows and sustained wind playing. This gives birth to remarkable pieces like "Wintermusik", "Shiny" or the tour-de-force of "Sleepy lady", easily the most captivating track of the cd, where a jangling guitar, a discreet bass and what sounds like (but is probably not) looped electronics, create a wonderful suspended soundscape. In its cohesiveness and variety of inputs, this is a cd to be listened to many times.