The trio format has always been something of an ideal for Jan Lundgren. That particular buzz when communication between the musicians in a trio is direct, immediate and ever-present...when the trio keeps a constant sense of forward motion and development...when the players collectively remain open to the inspiration of every millisecond. These are the virtues which Lundgren sees as the recipe for the kind of openness, freedom, subtlety and excellence of a trio at its best.

Lundgren has had a trio in the classic piano/bass/drums format ever since 1995. In addition, since 2007, he has also broken the mould with the Mare Nostrum project, a congenial alliance with Sardinian trumpeter Paolo Fresu and French accordionist Richard Galliano. Critics hailed it at the time as the \first European supergroup\". And Mare Nostrum has brought him even closer to his ideal. But