Home » Jazz Musicians » Esbjorn Svensson

Esbjorn Svensson

e.s.t. is a phenomenon: A jazz trio, which sees itself as a pop band that plays jazz, which broke with the tradition of leader and sidemen in favor of equality within its members, which not only plays jazz- venues but also venues usually reserved for rock bands, which uses light effects and fog-machines in their live shows, which gets a whole audience to sing-a-long with jazz-standards as eg. Thelonious Monk's "Bemsha Swing", is a trio that goes beyond the scope of the usual classic jazz trio. Their music can be found in the pop-charts and their videos are playing on MTV Scandinavia. With their unique soundscape, combining jazz with drum 'n' bass, electronic elements, funk rhythm, and pop and rock as well as European Classical music, e.s.t. won an audience spanning from the classic jazz-fans to the youngest HipHop fans. Critics and audiences world-wide agree: e.s.t. is definitely one of the most innovative jazz bands of today.

Openness, curiosity, and a little bit of chance are all a part of Esbjörn Svensson's artistic foundation: "I play piano because we didn't have any other instrument in the house. Actually, I would have rather played drums. For instance, as a kid, I put together a set out of old odds and ends, and tried to sound like "Sweet" on "Ballroom Blitz". But then Magnus-ström came with his drums, and I decided to stay with the piano. Magnus and I grew up together, and have played together from the beginning. When Magnus was given his first drum set, he brought it over to my house, and we started playing. We had no idea how to play, but it was a lot of fun. Since we didn't have a teacher, and no one was telling us how to play, we were able to gradually develop our music in a very unique, individualistic way."

From the mid-eighties on, Svensson and—ström established themselves as inspiring sidemen in the Swedish and Danish jazz scenes. They formed their first trio in 1990, but it wasn't until 1993 that they got the necessary lift to get a CD off the ground. It was then that they met Dan Berglund. Both were fascinated by the structural strength and creative diversity of his playing and were able to entice Berglund into joining the trio.

In 1993 the Esbjörn Svensson Trio recorded and released their debut album, When Everyone Has Gone (Dragon): in 1995, the live recording Mr. & Mrs. Handkerchief (Prophone), which has been released in the rest of the World six years later under the title e.s.t. Live '95.

By the mid nineties the trio had made a name for themselves in Sweden and got a recording-deal with the pop-oriented label Superstudio Gul / Diesel Music. The first album for this label, released the same year, was E.S.T. Plays Monk, which quickly sold over 10.000 copies in Sweden. And the talented newcomers started to collect prizes: in 1995 and 1996 Esbjorn Svensson was awarded Swedish Jazz musician of the Year and 1998 Songwriter of the Year, and the 1997 release "Winter in Venice"—consisting mainly of original material—was awarded the Swedish Grammy.

The 1999 release of From Gagarin's Point of View was the first e.s.t. album to be released outside of Scandinavia through the German label ACT und live appearances at festivals as Jazz Baltica and Montreux marked the beginning of the international break-through of the band.

A year later the CD Good Morning Susie Soho was released and earned the trio the title "Trio of the Year" by Jazzwise, UK. e.s.t. toured on the "Rising Stars" Jazz Circuit and played all major festivals throughout Europe. The same time Sony Columbia USA released the first CD Somewhere Else Before a compilation from the European albums From Gagarin's Point of View and Good Morning Susie Soho in the USA.

Strange Place For Snow, e.s.t.'s 2002 release was supported by a 9-month tour through all European countries, but also the USA and Japan. Music from that album also became the soundtrack for the French movie Dans ma Peau directed by the french actress and screen writer (8 Women) Marina de Van. The album earned numerous awards for the band such as the "Jahrespreis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik" (from the German Phonoacademy), the "German Jazz Award", "Choc de l'annee" (Jazzman, France), the "Victoire du Jazz"—the French Grammy—as best international act and also the "Revelation of the Festival" award, a special award from Midem.

In 2003 the band released Seven Days of Falling. The album immediately after release went into the pop album charts in Germany, France and Sweden (topping at No. 15). Besides in Europe the album was also released in the USA, Japan and South Korea. The band supported K.D. Lang on her tour throughout the USA performing in stadiums and large concert halls to over 50.000 people. More than 100.000 people watched them perform live in the 12 months after the release of Seven Days of Falling. As a result of all of this e.s.t. was awarded the Hans Koller prize as "European Artist of the Year" in December 2004—voted by 23 jazz industry professionals from 23 European countries.

Their latest release so far Viaticum(January 2005) has even surpassed the success of the previous albums. It went into the top 50 pop album charts in Germany and France and topped in Sweden on position 4. The band extensively toured the world to support the album release and appeared in major concert halls and festivals in Europe, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Canada and the USA. They were awarded a gold and a platinum German Jazz Award, the IAJE award and the Swedish Grammy and were the first European jazz band ever to grace the cover of the Downbeat jazz magazine in the USA (May 2006 issue). Not only in Europe e.s.t. have become a major concert attraction in their own right pulling large crowds all over the continents.

Their new album Tuesday Wonderland (release date: September 22nd 2006) connects directly to Viaticum. The interpretation of Viaticum was that the music is the provisions that you take with you on your journey through life. Tuesday Wonderland (is the spiritual journey itself that opens new worlds and guides you to the Wonderland of e.s.t.'s music. And the journey continues...

In 1995 and 1996 Esbjorn Svensson was selected the jazz musician of the year in Sweden. On June 14th 2008 Esbjorn Svensson, 44 years old, died during a diving accident yesterday outside of Vrmd near Stockholm. He was in a company of divers at a Swedish jetty/landing stage under supervision of a dive-leader when he was found severely injured at the bottom.
Show less

Soft and Hard

by Patrick Burnette
April 27, 2023

We spend a lot of time on this show exploring what you might call, if you were a lapsed academic with pomposity issues, the accessibility spectrum. Some jazz is pretty easy to get--and some just ain't pretty. In this show, we travel quite a way across the spectrum listening to coffee-house ready (but good) jazz and stuff that would just plain shut that java hut down.h3>Playlist Discussion of Gebhard Ullmann's album For New Zealand (NotTwo) 3:00 Discussion of ...

Album Review

Esbjörn Svensson: HOME.S.

Read "HOME.S." reviewed by Mike Jurkovic

by Mike Jurkovic
December 30, 2022

Akin to when people first sat in elegant staterooms listening to Chopin, Mendelssohn, Mahler, or Erik Satie seek the muse, HOME.S stands as the first solo performance by the late Swedish pianist Esbjörn Svensson and will quite possibly be considered the grandest moment of any other forthcoming posthumous releases. Recorded mere weeks before the scuba diving accident that took him from his wife, two sons, and us in June of 2008, HOME.S creates that rare air of intimacy ...

Album Review

Esbjorn Svensson: HOME.S.

Read "HOME.S." reviewed by Geno Thackara

by Geno Thackara
November 21, 2022

We've had a few from-the-vaults recordings worth celebrating since Esbjorn Svensson's sudden passing in mid-2008, but this long-belated discovery is a quiet surprise the music world could not have expected. There was the Esbjörn Svensson Trio (e.s.t.)'s final completed album Leucocyte (ACT Music) that same year, later followed by the equally exploratory 301 (ACT, 2012) which was compiled from the same sessions. A couple of posthumous live releases have further demonstrated how the trio's stylistic hodgepodge would appeal to rock- ...

Album Review

Esbjorn Svensson: HOME.S.

Read "HOME.S." reviewed by Karl Ackermann

by Karl Ackermann
November 1, 2022

In 2022, it has been more than a decade since the influential Swedish pianist/composer Esbjörn Svensson passed. The measure of his impact can be calculated in the ongoing comparisons of up-and-coming piano trios to his groundbreaking Esbjörn Svensson Trio Trio. Several weeks before Svensson's untimely death his wife Eva heard him recording solo piano pieces in their home. She backed up his files for posterity but would not return to those recordings for more than ten years. She teamed up ...

Multiple Reviews

A World of Piano Trios II

by Mark Sullivan
February 6, 2020

Several parts of the world heard from in this installment: Sweden, Norway, France, and the United States. Esbjorn Svensson Trio (E.S.T.) e.s.t. live in Gothenburg ACT Music 2019 Before Swedish jazz pianist Esbjörn Svensson's untimely death in 2008, e.s.t. was a sensation. They brought an eclecticism and rock-like energy to piano trio music that continues to reverberate today in the music of groups like GoGo Penguin. This 2001 concert recording comes from ...

Album Review

Esbjörn Svensson Trio: e.s.t. live in Gothenburg

Read "e.s.t. live in Gothenburg" reviewed by Phillip Woolever

by Phillip Woolever
January 5, 2020

More than a decade after a tragic diving accident ended Swedish pianist Esbjorn Svensson's life and thus dissolved his renowned trio, the group remains a potent force in the world of popular jazz recordings. This digital document from a 2001 concert in Gothenburg seems certain to perpetuate that legacy. While much of this album is comprised of fairly standard piano-based aesthetics, the remarkable skills displayed by Svensson, drummer Magnus Ostrom and bassist Dan Berglund, in technical prowess and ...

Multiple Reviews

3x3: Piano Trios: October 2019

by Geno Thackara
October 31, 2019

Esbjörn Svensson Trio Live in Gothenburg ACT Music 2019 At the time, it was a marvel. The Esbjorn Svensson Trio had already come a long way since their early-'90s beginnings in reshaping the already-skewed traditions of Monk-ian jazz. Their audiences back in 2001 would have been continually thrilled at discovering this fresh slant on the classic piano trio, bridging bop flair with hooks and grooves drawn from the modern rock and electronica scenes. Looking back ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Esbjorn Svensson

Source: Michael Ricci
April 16, 2023

All About Jazz is celebrating Esbjorn Svensson's birthday today!

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Esbjorn Svensson

Source: Michael Ricci
April 16, 2022

All About Jazz is celebrating Esbjorn Svensson's birthday today!

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Esbjorn Svensson

Source: Michael Ricci
April 16, 2021

All About Jazz is celebrating Esbjorn Svensson's birthday today!

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Esbjorn Svensson

Source: Michael Ricci
April 16, 2020

All About Jazz is celebrating Esbjorn Svensson's birthday today!

Recording

Out now! Esbjörn Svensson Trio e.s.t. live in Gothenburg (ACT Music). 3 LP-Vinyl-Set also available.

Source: All About Jazz
October 28, 2019

“...and finally evening comes. We usually meet in the dressing room. Magnus’ drumsticks are pattering against his legs. Åke is talking—saying something about different sound systems or complaining about the US and Bush. Dan and I are jumping up and down to get our energy going. Then we go on stage, meet the audience, the music. Timeless, without a program, without a set list. We want to be open to what fits just then. Sometimes nothing comes to mind and ...
read more

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Esbjorn Svensson

Source: Michael Ricci
April 16, 2019

All About Jazz is celebrating Esbjorn Svensson's birthday today!

Recording

Esbjörn Svensson Trio "Live In London" Worldwide Release on ACT Music

Source: Michael Bloom Media Relations
May 18, 2018

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. During the last ten years after the end of e.s.t. there have been constant reminders of the indelible mark which the band has left on the international jazz scene. Indeed it is hard to imagine a whole generation of currently highly successful young bands all over the world, often attracting an audience of same age, ...
read more