Andy Sheppard Salt Catchers: ECM Trio Review

Andy Sheppard's Salt Catchers is a lyrical jazz trio album on ECM that showcases his signature melodic elegance alongside pianist Rita Marcotulli and bassist Michel Benita. Recorded in Lugano in 2025, the album is polished and beautiful — though at times it keeps you at arm's length.

A Jazz Career Shaped by Giants

Your appreciation of Salt Catchers deepens when you understand what shaped Sheppard's voice. His early work alongside George Russell and Gil Evans, combined with a deep admiration for John Coltrane, built his expressive foundation. A long-running collaboration with Carla Bley — stretching back to the 1980s — refined his lyrical, understated approach to jazz composition and performance.

What the Trio Brings to the Album

Rita Marcotulli's piano playing is precise and lyrical, offering both contrast and complement to Sheppard's bluesy, modulated tenor saxophone. Michel Benita on bass is attentive and responsive, filling the spaces that open up in the slower ballads with subtle, expressive detail. Nearly all the material is original, with one exception — Lawns, composed by Carla Bley.

Highlights and Where It Holds Back

The title track stands out with its Latin folk coloring, adding welcome texture to the album's mostly mid-tempo flow. The closing ballad Irene, dedicated to Sheppard's mother and played on soprano sax, shifts through tempos and moods in a way that feels genuinely alive. That said, much of Salt Catchers sits in a spacious but somewhat static middle ground — skilled and refined, yet emotionally distant for jazz listeners seeking a deeper connection.

Key Takeaways

Salt Catchers is a carefully crafted jazz album that rewards patient listening, but its elegance occasionally works against emotional engagement. If you value refined trio jazz with strong ECM production values, it's worth your time — just don't expect it to pull you in from the first note.

Author: Dan Backman

Source: Orkesterjournalen

Published: October 2, 2026