Stella Nova, is the first solo recording by pianist Esa Helasvuo, one of the trailblazers in Finnish improvised music, in over 20 years. The recording comprises ten delicate improvisations with emphasis very much on ballads. Three are based upon earlier compositions by Helasvuo himself and one on a classic Finnish tango, "Satumaa," by Unto Mononen whereas the other six were created in the moment at the M2 (YLE) Studio in Helsinki, Finland. Esa Helasvuo belongs to the same first generation of Finnish improvising musicians as saxophonists Juhani Aaltonen, Eero Koivistoinen and Seppo Paakkunainen, bassist Teppo Hauta-aho and drummer Edward Vesala, among others, with whom he often performed particularly earlier in his career in the late 1960s and the 1970s. Stella Nova also marks the 40th Anniversary of the publication of Helasvuo's first recording as a leader in 1973.