The reissue's titling in the past tense (one of the trio's four albums collected here was originally called As It Is) underlines the late John Taylor's influence over this music. Not only are there 16 of his compositions, including favourites like ‘Clapperclowe’, ‘Ambleside’ and ‘Windfall’, but his interpretation of material brought by the other two and by contributors such as Vince Mendoza is both masterful and moving. Of course, the work of Danielsson and especially Erskine (as discussed at length in the accompanying booklet) is crucial to the outcome, and the blend of relatively conventional and more freedom-based approaches stands up well. The shadow of Bill Evans is also here, not just through two Taylor tunes named after him or Erskine's own ‘The Lady In The Lake’ borrowing from Bill's ‘Turn Out The Stars’, but because the lyrical and exploratory work of the trio together sounds like an outgrowth of the Evans approach at its best. As such, it transcends nostalgia for individual musicians or for the period, and stands as a challenge (or an indictment?) to more recent piano trios.