Here a few thoughts about the compositions:

I wrote Hunting Shadows at a time when I was listening daily to Igor Stravinsky's opera The Rake's Progress. It reflects the atmosphere towards the end of the opera when Tom Rakewell, already insane, must recognize that he had actually hunted shadows all along.

Beirach is an homage to my dear teacher and friend Richie Beirach whose music and playing has been a source of inspiration for me since I was 15. I think the piece brings together all at once the vivid, powerful and lyrical aspects of Richie's nature.

With Drifting I mean the picture of a boat or even a nutshell drifting on the water, as well as those moments when you are drifting away with your thoughts ... daydreaming and absent-minded.

Dr. Dee Dee is the only older piece in this selection which has been recorded before (on my 1993 album About Time for Laika Records). Originally I wrote this rhythmic gamble for my old friend drummer Dirk Leibenguth, whom we used to call Dee Dee. The 5/4-ostinato-figure in the bass recalls musically the tune's title.

One of those romantic love-movies popular each summer was the inspiration to The Hill of Love. Coming home from the theatre, I just sat down at the piano and the piece wrote itself.

The short 6-bar phrase of Jumping Jack is one of our favourite springboards for dense collective improvisation.

From concert to concert Carlos' originally brief solo-bass-introduction to The Rains... grew into an expressive and long piece in its own right: Uma nuvem no céu.

The Rains from a Cloud do not Wet the Sky is a quotation from The Love Divine, a book by the Indian Yogamaster Swami Sivananda. Here the hopeful message of this saying is reflected in the joyful and optimistic atmosphere throughout the whole song.

Towers of Faith is one of those tunes that seem to have already existed even before you compose them. Its simple nature - a 32-bar waltz in C-minor and AABA - has made this piece one of the most liked in our concerts. I wrote it for two dear friends of mine from New York, Swami Ramananda and Jayadeva, truly two towers of faith.

My interest in fast tempos combined with overlapping ostinatos and displaced accents is reflected in Stretch the Match. In the middle section of the piece a 17/8-ostinato in the right hand of the piano against a 3/4-feel gives us the illusion of stretched time until the whole rhythmic tension resolves back into 4/4. Though certainly the most complex composition in the set, through its powerful energy it has always been a great vehicle to end a concert.

With regular touring once or twice a year since its birth 1997 in New York, the quintet has been growing into a strong musical unit. I´m very happy about the release of this recording as it really captures all the qualities of the quintet when we perform live: energy, telepathy, joy and creativity. With his affinity to playing with the bow our new member, bassist Carlos Bica, adds another color to the already colorful palette of the group.
Those two nights at the A-Trane at the end of our tour last September were very inspired and the audience gave us really good vibes. Having played this new program for a whole week before the recording, the pieces had already developed a life of their own, far away from my original intentions. We were at a stage where we were playing with the material rather freely. Spontaneity was in the air all the time.
It is interesting how all this music is first being presented now in a varied form without ever having been recorded in its original form. Somehow that appeals to me. The lack of an original - in contrast to a studio album - is like a passport to escape from self-imposed boundaries. There are no limitations now to how far we can "stretch the match!" I hope you'll enjoy this musical tour de force which is not just about perfection but really about the creative process and the joy of playing.

Tim Sund, July 2000