Rooted in hard bop, pianist Steve Kuhn has worked with a number of important jazz figures over the years, including briefly playing in the legendary John Coltrane Quartet before McCoy Tyner succeeded him. On Live at Birdland, Kuhn is joined by Ron Carter — has any living bassist appeared on more recordings? — and drummer Al Foster. The top-flight trio released a pair of live albums, Vanguard Date and Life’s Magic, in 1986 and it’s a delight to hear this 2006 reunion where the group digs into a set of standards and originals. They can swing hard, as evidenced on trumpeter Kenny Dorham’s composition, “Lotus Blossom.” (Kuhn probably played the tune when he was a member of Dorham’s band at the tail end of the 1950s.) On another track, the pianist welds Claude Debussy’s “La Plus Que Lente” to Billy Strayhorn’s “Passion Flower.” It’s a nice touch: the French impressionist and the American jazz composer both use lush textures to create atmospheres you can almost touch. In a way, “Stella by Starlight” is the album’s centerpiece. The band members seem to be communicating by telepathy on this heartbreaking version of the classic.