Audiopile Review: Stop the press! We did not see this one coming. You may have noticed that we’re very enthusiastic about ECM’s Luminescence reissue series. And yet, it somehow escaped our notice that said series was set to include a first-time-on-vinyl edition of Annette Peacock’s astonishing ‘An Acrobat’s Heart’. Peacock is a legendary American jazz composer who, in her collaborations with Paul Bley, played a major role in bringing synthesizers into the genre. In the 70s, she stepped behind the mic and made a couple of much-sampled fusion albums. In the 80s, she moved to the UK and – inspired by the post-punk scene – started self-releasing some truly unique and otherworldly music. If you like Arthur Russell and Kate Bush, you’ll love albums like ‘Sky-skating’. But don’t expect those albums to sound like anything else on earth. She went very quiet in the 90s before returning in 2000 with a massive statement, namely ‘An Acrobat’s Heart’. ECM’s Manfred Eicher suggested that Peacock should write a suite of songs for string quartet, and boy did she ever rise to the occasion. ‘An Acrobat’s Heart’ is oceanic in every sense: epic, amorphous, and awe-inspiringly beautiful. Peacock has never been in finer voice, and this is, in many ways, her most significant work as a composer.

A ravishingly beautiful album by one of the most mysterious, elusive and beguiling figures on the fringes of jazz. “An acrobat’s heart” features the unique vocals and piano playing of singer-songwriter Annette Peacock, performing her own compositions with the acclaimed Cikada String Quartet. If you like An acrobat’s heart, then you’d probably like: Marilyn Crispell, Nothing Ever Was, Anyway Paul Bley, Paul Bley with Gary Peacock Arild Andersen, Hyperborean Bent Sørensen, Birds And Bells Norma Winstone, Somewhere Called Home