This stylishly-packaged box set is a valuable record of the early career of that pioneering improv trio IST, starting with their debut gig at Club Orange in London 25 years ago and following up with further shows in London, Billericay, Norwich and Cambridge. If you’re looking for foot-tappin’ takes on jazz standards, your patience will be severely tested; but those with an interest in texture, timbre and tone will be amply rewarded by full immersion in this box set. It's a thrilling ride, but one to be savoured over time, rather than hurried. Not a box to binge on! Star of the show(s) here is probably the late Simon H Fell, whose muscular playing anchors the music, allowing Wastell and Davies the freedom to create all manner of tones from their instruments: Wastell thick and resinous, Davies glassy and metallic. But all three musicians have a remarkable, almost telepathic rapport which deepens over the years documented here. It's all beautifully recorded too, as music of this kind needs to be.

The included 20-page booklet contains written contributions from Davies and Wastell, Fell's widow Jo, Simon Rose, Nick Smith, John Butcher, Phil Durrant, Graham Halliwell and Chris Goode together with previously unpublished photographs. The dedication to Fell, is a nice touch.