The Maguire/Skordas duo came out of a chance meeting at a gig when pianist Alex Maguire was playing in Athens, April 2016. Later the same year Alex returned to Greece to explore possibilities of the duo with saxophonist Nikolas Skordas; this CD, recorded live in Athens, is testament to its success.

Alex describes it: "Songs of the land and the sea, journeys from afar and journeys within are the themes of 'Ships and Shepherds', the debut recording of the Alex Maguire-Nikolas Skordas duo. From Odysseus, the archetypal "man of twists and turns", to the immovable monasteries and hermitages of Greek orthodoxy, a new voice emerges where ancient melodies and instruments join contemporary improvisatory models to forge a modern spiritual music which touches both the heart and mind."