This is a rare gem of late 60s European jazz, often presented as the debut album of saxophonist Jan Garbarek, but is much more than that. It includes work of the finest Nordic musicians, who came to define a certain jazz sensibility. Composer George Russell spent several years in Europe in the late 60s, recording two albums of his own work. For these he utilised the cream of Scandinavian jazz talent. The Esoteric Circle were formed from this group: Garbarek, Terje Rypdal, Arild Andersen and Jon Christensen who, over the next ten years helped to create the core sound of ECM Records. Jan Garbarek became the most celebrated and commercially successful players of his generation, with best-selling albums such as "Officium" and "In Praise Of Dreams".