The young Dutch pianist Wolfert Brederode wrote his Ruins and Remains suite in 2018 to commemorate the centenary of the end of the First World War. With compositions/arrangements written for piano, percussion and string quartet, Brederode looks to mirror the sense of loss, grief and resilience of the times.

Although he has previously recorded three times for ECM with his jazz quartet/trio and is a regular accompanist for Swiss folk-jazz vocalist Susanne Abbuehl, Ruins and Remains is further to the chamber minimalist rather than jazz end of the Munich label's remit. Yet there are occasional echoes of Bill Frisell's folky strings-laden Americana-influenced recordings and Brederode's patient less-is-more piano and his compatriot string group Matangi Quartet's exquisite folky lines, seem to organically grow from within the lightly rippling textures.

Devices such as string overtones and drones are delicately utilised alongside Brederode's long-term collaborator Joost Lijbaart's percussive effects along with the largely hushed dynamics which are enhanced by the favourable acoustics of the Sendesaal, a concert hall in Bremen where the album was recorded. Capturing all the finest sonic nuances of the set is something we’ve come to expect from an ECM recording. The melancholic, serene drift of large parts of Ruins and Remains might be anodyne to some jazz ears, but the haunting themes and well-crafted arrangements shouldn't go unnoticed.