Andra Kristofer Svensson

As Esbjörn Svensson's trio has developed into a first-rate contemporary jazz entity, the combined acoustic-electric sound he employs is more alluring and arresting with each recording. The subtle nuances of amplified keyboard shades that embellish his piano playing is a unique quality of E.S.T.'s music that sets them apart from the vast majority of combos who place a larger value on louder complements. Another aspect of this group is that they are truly a working ensemble with stable personnel, as bassist Dan Berglund and drummer Magnus Öström have joined Svensson in this trio for years. The meditative and surrealistic quality of this music is hard to deny or dismiss, as it is so refined and defined within a spiritual parameter - unique unto itself, and beyond most modern categories. While the titles are elusively cryptic, they can shed some light on the musical content…

Like so many American players, Sweden's Esbjorn Svensson has backed his share of pop artists but is essentially a jazz improviser at heart. Svensson's enthusiasm for improvisation came through loud and clear on his Dragon dates of the 1990s, one of which was the decent When Everybody Has Gone. Backed by fellow Swedes Dan Berglund (bass) and Magnus Ostrom (drums), Svensson favors the piano trio format and draws on post-bop influences like Chick Corea, Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett on the standard "Stella By Starlight" and originals ranging from the pensive "4 a.m." to the melancholy "Waltz for the Lonely Ones" and the Middle Eastern-influenced "Mohammed Goes to New York." Much of Svensson's work tends to be introspective and impressionistic, but things get surprisingly funky and almost Horace Silver-ish on "Tough Tough."

"Winter in Venice" is the band’s fourth CD. The 13 original compositions show them as sensitive masters of communication with the penchant for transforming simple, pretty melodies into complex networks of motifs. Sometimes balladic, sometimes joyously swinging, "Winter in Venice" lays out a lively tonal tapestry which, despite its suggestive title, seems to have little to do with the morbid feeling that exists in Venice during that dark time of year. It received the Swedish Grammy in 1998 as best jazz album of the year, and on top of it all, it helped Svensson to the title of Songwriter of the Year. And like "From Gagarinís Point of View", it is a collection of chamber-jazz rhapsodies that leaves the listener a lot of room for internal and external impressions, associations, and discoveries.

The release of this album marks a poignant moment: the tenth anniversary of the tragic and premature death of Esbjorn Svensson on 14 June 2008. It was recorded at a completely sold-out Barbican Centre in 2005, during a hugely successful and highly popular UK tour. It is e.s.t. at the peak of their creativity touring after the release of their to-date best selling album “Viaticum”.

Good Morning Susie Soho peaked on the Swedish pop album chart at 15, above the likes of Whitney Houston, Britney Spears and Pearl Jam, yet was named album of the year for 2000 by the critics in the British magazine Jazzwise. At the same time, Svensson was on the covers of two German jazz magazines, was the cover feature, along with Jacky Terrasson, in the French magazine Jazzman and was hailed by the German news weekly Der Spiegel as the future of jazz piano (together with Brad Mehldau). Clearly then it's not unreasonable to suggest that this album is making waves across Europe. That the cutting edge can live on without necessarily inhabiting volatile experimentation is hardly new, and Svensson's trio, while darkly lyrical, is also fiercely contemporary…

In a word: wow. Since their 1993 debut album, the Esbjörn Svensson Trio, or E.S.T., as it is usually called, have taken the jazz world by storm, winning numerous awards, playing sold-out world tours, topping the charts, and generally enjoying a popularity that's exceeded that of almost any other jazz group in years. The trio was also the first European jazz group to grace the cover of Down Beat magazine, which led to long discussions about the heritage of jazz and the validity of European jazz; and, naturally, it caused some listeners to perceive an artificial hype and discredit the band for simply not being as brilliant as everyone says they are. Well, do yourself a favor and do not listen to the detractors - listen to E.S.T.'s music instead, and this two-hour concert recorded on November 22, 2006 in Hamburg, Germany, is an excellent place to start…

2003's Seven Days of Falling is every bit the equal of E.S.T.'s earlier records. Misguided American media comparisons to the highly overrated the Bad Plus have done pianist Esbjörn Svensson, bassist Dan Berglund, and drummer Magnus Ostrom a grave disservice, as their music is far more wide-ranging and much less gimmicky. Despite occasional forays into rock influences like "O.D.R.I.P." and a few brief passages that skirt the edges of outside free improv, there's an elegance and shapeliness to the trio's work that has more in common with the cerebral cool of Bill Evans (particularly on the quietly gorgeous opener "Ballad for the Unborn") or the effortless melodic grace of the Vince Guaraldi Trio ("Evening in Atlantis," "Believe, Beleft, Below"). Seven Days of Falling is a ravishingly beautiful, musically captivating album.

Nils Landgren & Esbjoern Svensson - Swedish Folk Modern (2004) {ACT 9428-2}
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© 2004 ACT Music | ACT 9428-2
Jazz / Contemporary Jazz / Folk Jazz / Trombone / Piano

Swedish Folk Modern first appeared in 1998 and was the first duo collaboration between Nils Landgren and Esbjörn Svensson. At the time the well-known German jazz journalist and pianist Michael Naura wrote: "Don’t ignore the CD Swedish Folk Modern, with first class Swedish improvisers Nils Landgren (trombone) and Esbjörn Svensson (piano). At last something beautiful after all the rubbish which is appearing on the market. This CD release became a worldwide success and was followed by the CD Layers Of Light (ACT 9281-2) in 2001.