It is almost inevitable that the shadow of Australian improvising trio The Necks will hover over Gardener. Not only is Chris Abrahams the trio’s keyboard player, but pianist Magda Mayas has also played with The Necks’ drummer Tony Buck for a decade in their duo Spill, and in other contexts. However, anyone drawn to this release hoping for the slowly-developing, repetition-laden music of the trio could be in for a surprise. More significant than the Necks connection is that Mayas lives in Berlin, while Abrahams spends an increasing amount of time there too. Consequently, the city’s improv scene must be seen as the bigger influence on the music here.

Gardenerwas recorded and mixed in Berlin in 2009, the first time that Abrahams and Mayas had played together as a duo. Across six pieces — the longest lasting over fifteen minutes, the shortest just over one — with nothing pre-planned, the two improvised on two grand pianos, a harpsichord and a harmonium that were in the rehearsal space where they recorded. As Mayas has said, “We basically spent the whole day there and tried out different combinations using those instruments.” Those different combinations of instruments coupled with the wide variety of techniques employed by Abrahams and Mayas produce a constantly shifting soundscape. Mayas’s style, familiar from her solo recordings, is much in evidence here, including her trademark playing inside the piano and percussive attacks on the frame. Those only familiar with Abrahams from his role in The Necks may not recognise him at times here, as he displays the same versatility and sense of adventure shown on his solo outings — notably those on the Australian Room40 label.

But the interaction between the two players is the golden thread running through the album. For a first meeting as a duo, their empathy was already remarkably high. Both were experienced duo players with others, and transferred that experience to this pairing, immediately making it sound long-established. “Lichens” provides a typical example of the two at their best together; with Mayas on harpsichord and Abrahams at the piano keyboard, they trade phrases in an ongoing musical conversation, meshing and blending into each other as their contributions become intertwined and indistinguishable. The longest track, “The changes wrought by the recurring use of tools”, is different but the level of mutual understanding is equally high, as they explore the range of instruments at their disposal to create a rhythmically complex but coherent piece. Good as it is, the standard of the album is so high that no one track merits being called its best.