Thirty years after the formation of e.s.t., Öström and Berglund have assembled this all-star cast to celebrate the music of that groundbreaking trio. It is easy to think of Esbjörn Svensson’s compositions as the collective voice of the trio, rather than autonomous compositions in their own right. But as early as 2004, Viktoria Tolstoy recorded an album of Svensson songs (Shining on You), which demonstrated that his songs had a life of their own away from the trio.

These six instrumentals, recorded live at the Kölner Philharmonie in Germany last October, include compositions such as ‘From Gagarin’s Point of View’, ‘Tuesday Wonderland’, ‘Seven Days of Falling’ and ‘Eighthundred Streets by Feet’, sound as fresh and new in their present-day surroundings, complete with well-conceived arrangements that add to the inherent characteristics of the compositions, which also prompt exceptionally strong improvisations from the band members, Ulf Wakenius especially reminding us what an impressive guitarist he is.