Andy Sheppard’s Salt Catchers makes room for a drumless trio

Carla Bley’s Lawns is the one piece on Salt Catchers that Andy Sheppard did not write. The album contains eight of his compositions alongside it. In ECM’s account, he recalls playing Lawns often with Bley and Steve Swallow, though that trio never recorded it.

Sheppard gave 15 Questions a concise answer when asked what he listens for: “When the whole band sounds like one instrument.” Not one line played in unison, but a reason to hear the result before separating it into individual contributions. A soloist and accompaniment are not the only way to divide our attention.

He also described how a tune’s tempo can move far from its first written marking after several performances. The page offers a starting point; playing tests it. Even the speed need not be settled before the musicians find out how the piece works together.

Released by ECM on 11 September 2026, Salt Catchers pairs Sheppard’s saxophones with Rita Marcotulli’s piano and Michel Benita’s double bass. There are no drums. He links that choice to the challenge he enjoyed in the Bley-Swallow trio.

The linked Lawns is this trio’s separately released single. Follow the bass for a while, then the piano: notice where phrases begin and end, and who plays during a saxophone pause. This is an invitation to make your own comparisons, not a prescription for what you must hear. The absent drummer need not occupy all your attention.