In 1993, three musicians from Sweden – Esbjörn Svensson, Dan Berglund and Magnus Öström – formed the band e.s.t.. Svensson and Öström had known each other ever since their first steps into music as children. Neither of them could have anticipated that e.s.t. would become the most influential band in European jazz of the Noughties. And when the band formed, all they wanted to do was to play the music which united their passions: rock, pop, classical, folk and improvisation. In the following 15 years, e.s.t. would play thousands of concerts worldwide, release ten studio albums and several live recordings and win awards and gold discs. Sadly, Esbjörn Svensson passed away in 2008. To mark the 30th anniversary of e.s.t., Magnus Öström and Dan Berglund combined forces with close musical friends Joel Lyssarides, Magnus Lindgren, Verneri Pohjola and Ulf Wakenius to give two major concerts – one at the Kölner Philharmonie and other at the Filadelfia church in Stockholm. They played a selection of quintessential pieces from the timeless e.s.t. repertoire, but in a way that has never been heard before. The six musicians, each one a solo artist of international renown, treated the original melodic and rhythmic contours of these tunes with tenderness and affection. Magnus Öström reflects on how it feels to play this music today: “The emotions we experience have many layers, the depth of a lifetime. Firstly, it feels like coming home. There is sadness, gratitude, and happiness. And it seems unreal or even surreal and ever so natural at the same time. And you can’t stop marvelling at how great this music is. Esbjörn’s compositions and the arrangements that we did together as a trio back then, feel timeless.” And he concludes: “In the end, what remains above all is the conviction that this music should be played and not lying around in a drawer.”