Album: Espen Eriksen Trio, What Took You So Long (Rune Grammofon)

Despite a closing solo piece, "Oslo", invoking the aftermath of the Breivik massacre, there's not a great deal of drama to this rather poppy acoustic-trio album; and that's what's so good about it.

Pianist Eriksen, bassist Lars Tormod Jenset and drummer Andreas Bye create a delicate, ambiently inclined melodic jazz that doesn't try to bash you over the head with a sense of its own importance (complete with a cover of Barry Manilow's "Could it Be Magic").