In his most ambicious project ever, Portuguese pianist Bernardo Sassetti mix in the same record the two sides of his musical career, as jazz improviser and composer for cinema. And thatÕs why he plays with a double trio, one the typical jazz combo of piano, double bass (Carlos Barretto) and drums (Alexandre Fraz‹o), the other a chamber formation with cello (Ajda Zupancic) and vibraphone (Jean-Franois LezŽ). Never before Sassetti sounded so ÒclassicalÓ in CD and, at the same time, so cinematic. We close our eyes and weÕre able to translate the music to images, in such a way that we donÕt miss any visual complement. Three of the pieces included, ÒDo SilncioÓ, ÒRevela‹oÓ and ÒNaquele TempoÓ, are new versions of the songs taken from the original soundtrack for ÒA Costa dos MurmœriosÓ, a film directed by Margarida Cardoso. Enlightening also is to know that ÒAscentÓ is an hommage to another director of the new generation of creators from Portugal, JosŽ çlvaro Morais. In this chamber jazz like opus very much connected to the legacy of Bill Evans the compositions are strongly narrative, as if stories are being told. And itÕs not a question of verbosity or structuring Ð Bernardo Sassetti is fascinated with the cinematographic procedure of mounting sequences. Everything flows in a liquid way, but not in a clean, simple linear sequence. ItÕs like if someone is constantly telling ÒandÓ, adding always more to what heÕs saying. Like with cinema, this music is in a permanent ÒandÓ motion. Bernardo Sassetti is one of the top jazz pianists in Portugal and ÒAscentÓ solidifies his prestige for good.