This record feeds off the tension created by a strict formal corset and a playful, almost naive way of using these limitations to its advantage. For certain, "The Art of Minimalism" is a strikingly appropriate title to a record, which always seems to opt for the most direct way of saying something and the smallest possible instrumentation. This must have been the guideline to composing, as not a single track leaves the concept of a minimum of means: The piano and its reduced playing are the red thread leading the listener through these short to very short pieces, its deep registers full of comfort and bittersweet melancholy. Saxophones and synthesizers provide for longing and yearning melodies, steering the mind into a hermetically sealed cosmos full of memories. Sounds from the unknown fill the emptiness in the background, opening wide into space - yet, they are well dosed and never drift off into oblivion. Despite its mournful character, "The Art of Minimalism" does not remain without hope. Somehow, there is always a light on around the bend. It is this hope that makes this such a rewarding record. After all, tears can taste so sweet, when wiped away by the tender touch of tomorrow.