Esbjörn Svensson Trio - E.S.T. Live '95 (2001)

E.S.T. LIVE ’95, originally released as MR. & MRS. HANDKERCHIEF, is the second official release for the Swedish jazz trio centered on the piano of its namesake, Esbjorn Svensson. While redolent of early Bill Evans at times, the combo delivers a purely modern sound that balances on a ledge between avant-garde playfulness and smooth poppishness. If the 88 keys are inevitably front and center, Dan Berglund’s bass snakes in craftily, most notably on the sly “Breadbasket,” while Magnus Ostrom’s backbeat is steady as a pendulum.