Martinez plays a duet with himself on alto sax over Mueller’s opening chordal structure, sometimes forming harmonies in traditional ways, sometimes deviating as if he is riffing off of his own thoughts. During the almost Chopin-like middle section, where he improvises over Mueller’s floating chordal landscape, sometimes echoing, sometimes leading. The performance demonstrates how interconnected the performers are with each other, truly becoming a yin to the other’s yang.

This arrangement starts with a variation on Harold Arlen's & Johnny Mercer’s jazz-blues standard “Blues in the Night”. Arlen's original melody is not played until the final verse, reversing the usual order of things. Mueller’s opening solo is clean and old-school, reminiscent of the sparse playing of Count Basie. But when Martinez takes over on his alto sax, the piece takes on a far more modern vibe. His solo spans two verses, perhaps because he was on such a roll. Then, when Mueller re-enters, tenor saxophonist Juan Torres Fernández slides under Martinez with harmonies that eventually burst into solo lines all his won. Even though these up-and-coming saxophonists come from the same city, Buenos Aires, this is the first ever recording in which the two play together. Drums are played by Israeli drummer Shahar Haziza.

Mueller’s arrangement of this timeless tune underscores the beauty of the piece, why it has remained one of the greatest songs of all-time. It also highlights the smooth airy tone Martinez brings to his alto sax. After Mueller’s wonderful solo, in which he judiciously resets the melody over carefully chosen substitute chords, he sets up the chorus, which is actually the chorus to "O Danny Boy", a song that uses the same chords as Shenandoah. (Shenandoah actually has no chorus, only verses.) The gentle beauty of a wide river majestically moving through a winding valley is perfectly portrayed.

This original composition by Mueller is a wonderful example of his fluid, stream-of-consciousness Impressionist Modernism style. He scores the alto sax to play its full range, moving from its lowest notes to its highest altissimo register. Martinez brings such grace and elegance to the piece, one never feels any strain, only exquisite peace and exploration.

The first of three solo piano pieces on Volume 2, Prelude to Emancipation is one part blues, one part journey. One is reminded of Michel Camilo or Keith Jarrett as Mueller explores this fanciful melody. The "emancipation" occurs toward the end, as the piece turns dreamy and internal, ending like an overture opening up to new expectations.

There is something tragic about cutting flowers and placing them into a vase, pulling their life force from the garden and placing them indoors. Of course, this also bring nature into one's home, so we can enjoy them more safely, solitarily. The extra space given the piano in this recording, gives it a meditative feel. But the rising chord progression into its several climactic moments always falls just short of joy or triumph, like the shortened lives of cut flowers. Yes, the allure of romance drives the piece, but loss and wanting resonate. Mueller and Martinez complement each other so well on this captured performance. A true highlight of the collection.

The tranquility achieved on the preceding tracts is broken as Martinez simulates emergency sirens and Mueller's piano breaks the calm even further. This composition is based on a song Mueller wrote for his musical about the Holocaust, "Runners In A Dream". There is a continuous sense of panic, fear, claustrophobia. Israeli drummer Shahar Haziza's cymbals reminds one of falling bombs in the distance, his toms echo like impacts, surrounding the players in uncertainty. The piece combines theatrical content with contemporary jazz in a unique way. And ends with a beautiful romantic melody, presented like a reprise that we held in our hearts all along. The effect is haunting: a memory lost? Hope for a better future? It is up to the listener to decide.

The chaos of Fallout Shelter is followed by a melancholy piece that somehow avoids nostalgia and regret. Until the memories flood in too strongly: about two-thirds of the way through the sax wails in an uncontrolled way, as if he is overcome in a spasm of grief. This is the longest piece of the album, but the space is needed to digest one's whole life, to reflect, to embrace, to prevail.

Another example of his Impressionist Modernism and storytelling style, this piece enables Mueller to sit at the piano alone and move from idea to idea, unencumbered with outside communication. He conjures constantly shifting scenes, magical emotions, a continual flow of thought and feeling. His thoughts reflect off the waters of his mind, just as Narcissus falling in love with his own image in the untouched surface of a spring fed pool.

Martinez plays both alto and tenor saxophone on this narrative piece. The lead instrument moves back and forth between saxes, while Mueller's piano provides its own pleasing melodic content. Another piece about water, love, loss, reflective regret. The urgency brings to life Ophelia's confusion, her dancing hope, and her eventual inability to escape overwhelming grief, triggered by death and rejection. Another well crafted original composition.

This piece feels like a fourth movement of a suite that might have contained Fallout Shelter, A Lifetime Ago, and Holding Breath with Ophelia. There are classical elements to the composition. The idiosyncratic chord progression floats from key to key, rising and falling into different tonal centers, yet always cohering. It seems to break the walls of the studio and float out into the night, like a well placed dénouement.

Dénouement could well have been the final track. But adding this marvelously original solo piano composition lifts the collection from what otherwise might be lingering sadness. Mueller plays with delicate certainty, yet the piece feels completely improvised. He quotes J. S. Bach as well as Yankee Doodle Dandy, evoking the church bells of liberty that heralded the New World created by the American Revolution - as the title Ghostly Bells suggests. There is a to-and-fro sway to the surging phrases, often interrupted by chattering Patriots and the hope of grandeur. There is whirlwind conflict, doubt and continual forward motion. But above all, a search for something better. Something lasting...