After a few years' absence, the IMC brings back Sweden's EST - the Esbjörn Svensson Trio, with Svensson (piano), Dan Berglund (bass) and Magnus Oström (drums).

Composer/orchestrator Maria Schneider goes into the studio in January to record a new album, to be released on ArtistShare and sold online, as was her Grammy-winning classic, Concert In The Garden.

Also going into the studio is guitarist John Abercrombie's exceptional quartet with Mark Feldman (violin), Marc Johnson (bass) and Joey Baron (drums), to record an album, The Third Quartet, for ECM for release in time for the group's European tour, which begins in March. ECM will also release a new album, Time And Time Again, by Joe Lovano (saxophones), Bill Frisell (guitar) and Paul Motian (drums), in February.

The quality German label, Pirouet, will issue volume two in its New York recordings series, featuring Marc Copland (piano), Gary Peacock (bass) and Paul Motian. Pirouet will also release new albums this spring by pianist Bill Carrothers with Ben Street (bass) and Ari Hoenig (drums), by alto wünderkind Loren Stillman, with Gary Versace (piano), Drew Gress (bass) and Joey Baron (drums), and an album by John Ruocco (clarinet), with John Taylor (piano) and Riccardo del Fra (bass). And EMI has two interesting releases in Steve Kuhn's Live at Birdland and Kenny Werner's Lawn Chair Society.