Andra Kristofer Svensson

Esbjörn Svensson Trio - EST Plays Monk (1996) {ACT 9010-2 rel 2000}
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© 1996, 2000 ACT Music / Superstudio Gul | ACT 9010-2
Jazz / Post Bop / Progressive Jazz / Piano

Thelonius Monk was one of the truly great piano geniuses on the international jazz scene.Esbjörn Svensson is one of the truly great piano talents on the Scandinavian jazz scene.In some way you knew that they had to meet sooner or later. At last spiritually. And musically. "Plays Monk" is the telling title of the CD from 1996 by Esbjörn Svensson Trio (EST), now released on ACT. Ten of the most beloved songs by Monk, from nocturnal, lovingly caressing "`Round Midnight" to the gay and sprightly "Rhythm-A-Ning", gets here a becomingly shining new colour.

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."

Like so many American players, Sweden's Esbjörn 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.

Esbjorn Svensson Trio - Good Morning Susie Soho (2000) {SuperStudio Gul}
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© 2000 SuperStudio Gul | 73204 7000 773
Jazz / Post Bop / Progressive Jazz / Piano Trio

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.

Esbjorn Svensson Trio - Retrospective - The Very Best Of E.S.T. (2009) {ACT Music 9021-2}
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© 2009 ACT Music | 9021-2
Jazz / Modern Jazz / Post Bop / Progressive Jazz / Piano Trio

Despite the fact that 2008’ Leucocyte, would be the Esbjörn Svensson Trio's final album due to the tragic scuba diving accident that killed Svensson, this was a band that had traversed such wide musical territory they deserved a retrospective treatment simply to sum up what had transpired between the release of 1993’s When Everyone Has Gone and that premature finale. While this 70-minute single disc doesn’t contain any unreleased material, or pre-1999 material (in favor of presenting the trio’s fully developed aesthetic), it is beautifully compiled.

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…

Together now for over a dozen years, e.s.t. has clearly developed a number of personal stylistic markers. Blending improvisation with a distinct pop sensibility that includes subtle use of electronics—with the exception of Dan Berglund's aggressive fuzztone arco bass—the trio has honed a sound incorporating elements of drum 'n' bass, electronica, funk, pop, classical and rock, without losing sight of its own voice. Often spoken of in the same breath as The Bad Plus, e.s.t. is the more elegant alternative, with considerably more finesse and richer colors than TBP's bombastic and monochromatic approach.

An excellent package that highlights where they've been and where they're going, the North American release of Seven Days of Falling is an event that has been all too long in coming.