Customer Reviews

Seven Days of Falling (Bonus Dvd)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Like any music, jazz depends on the influx of its young artists to keep it alive - to reinterpret, reinvent, and remake. That is exactly what the Esbjorn Svensson Trio (E.S.T.) is doing. They are creating an exciting new sound that blends dipserate styles of music together in exciting new ways. And Seven Days of Falling is one exciting album!

Some songs souind like the jazz we all know and love (Believe, Beleft, Below); others sound like modern fusion (Elevation of Love); others take a more agressive, hard rock approach (Mingle in the Mince Machine). Picture Pat Metheny with an edge or Medeski, Martin, and Wood without the descents into disonant mayhem. That is what these songs are about.

As another reviewer noted, Seven Days of Falling has a more edgy sound than E.S.T.'s previous discs. It does, that. All one must do is hear songs like the aforementioned Mingle in the Mince Machine, and tracks like O.D.R.I.P. to hear it. These heavier cuts, which often find the trio's accoustic bass, piano, and drums laced with distortion, are show-stealers for sure. Be that as it may, this disc proves that E.S.T. is equally adept at the ballady stuff, particularly due to Svensson's lyrical and sparse piano style.

I also feel compelled to mention the outstanding strength of the compositions on Seven Days of Falling. All too often, jazz suffers from a lack of catchy melodic lines and hooks (which are sadly relegated to smooth jazz artists like Kenny G). This is not the case with E.S.T. These songs not only feature good musicianship, but good songwriting to boot. All are eminently listenable for their melodic and harmonic craft.

Some have called E.S.T.'s music too "elevator" to catch the ear of the serious jazz fan. And I suppose that if you are really into hard bop and the like, E.S.T. will not be your bag. They do take a more tame approach, to be sure. But I am sure that this is why they've experienced so much success in Europe and favorable press in the states. I know that Seven Days of Falling has been making regular appearances in my CD player. Buy it and see what you think.

. . . then you might want to try these guys.

Jazz piano trio one of your favorite formats?

Ditto.

What separates these guys from the crowd is their expert use of an interesting combination of elements. Like the Bad Plus, they venture into rockish territory ("O.D.R.I.P."), and drummer Maguns Ostrom has a variety of rock-like moves (although he doesn't much sound like David King). Like the Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, their bassist deploys some unusual technology and chops, getting his acoustic bass to sound like a fuzz-tone guitar ("Seven Days of Falling"). I don't know if he uses an octave pedal, but it sounds like it. Like Frank Kimbrough, Esbjorn Svensson makes simple materials dance, sing, and cavort ("Elevation of Love") in unique ways. Indeed, on the title cut, these guys resonate with the vibe of "Respiration" (From Buzz, Ben Allison's latest featuring Frank Kimbrough on piano) in an absolutely uncanny way.

There's a very attractive wistfulness suffusing this disc ("Ballad for the Unborn," "Evening in Atlantis," "Believe, Beleft, Below"). Yes, they play it just this side of sentimental, but their ability to snuggle up to but avoid the maudlin makes their performance that much more engaging.

I was originally going to give this disc four-and-a-half stars, but several additional listens jacks it up to a full five stars.

Enchanting.

It is very strange for me that the main reviewer compares E.S.T. with The Bad Plus, because there's much more clarity, transparency, silence and logic in the music of these Swedish guys. If you could, in fact, compare them with somebody on the US scene, I would talk about Brad Mehldau, not about The Bad Plus. One needs to look in perspective: consider their earlier albums Plays Monk, Winter in Venice, even Strange Place For Snow. These are all classical trio type of recordings. It is not their electronical experiments that make them sound such beautifully. It is the underlying logic and melodiy and "smoothness of musical thought", if you will. Their distinctive style has nothing to do with hard-rock experiments, unsyncronized rythms or blurry type of harmony (that's how I always recognize The Bad Plus). These guys are great.
US has pretty strong expectations concerning how the jazz should sound like. Northern European culture does not fit these expectation. That's why E.S.T. is not popular. There is rich ethnical background in their music. No wonder it sounds strange to the Northern American ear. As far as I know, even Esbjorn himself does not call his music "jazz". "It's EST music" - he says in the interview.
If you really like to listen to good Northern music, start with E.S.T., listen to Oystein Sevag, try Victoria Tolstoy, listen to Nils Landgren's duo with Esbjorn Svensson. It's either you like it, or you don't. It's not about choosing between The Bad Plus and E.S.T. You can't compare them. You may enjoy both as I do. But I love E.S.T. to pieces because their music is very close to my ethnical roots and I can relate to what they're saying in their music.
Dimitry
Kiev, Ukraine.

I'll admit I initially felt a twinge of disappoint listening to "Seven Days of Falling." No doubt, my expectations for this offering by E.S.T., which is short for the Esbjörn Svensson Trio, were sky high, and I had been waiting for the better part of a year to find an affordable copy. This trio, saddled with the albatross of being the supposed reinventors of jazz according to some pundits, has been pushing the boundaries for some time now. This time, however, they stay pretty much within the musical realms created on their previous two releases, with a foray here and there into new territory---not that there is any shortage of ideas.

The first two tracks offer a pretty good glimpse of what's to come, a balance between soft ballads and imaginative flights of fancy. Sometimes one song is both: starting off as a lush, smooth tune then morphing into something altogether different, even dissonant---then others, such as Mingle in the Mincing-Machine offer little respite and may chase away some listeners prematurely before one gets to savor the percussion-driven gem Did They Ever Tell Costeau? or the lilting Elevation of Love. Call it mood, atmosphere, or vibe, E.S.T. wields and disperses a range of "it."

If you listen to an E.S.T. recording, then check the lineup, you are in for a bit of a start. It's hard to imagine how some of the sounds they create are spawned from a grand piano, double bass, and drums. There is quite a bit of structure here and less improvisation, something I find appealing.

Once again, the E.S.T. throws in a hidden bonus track that, well, is not what you might expect---a soft, lush number with Josh Haden (Charlie's son) supplying vocals in English: think piano bar (played with unflinching perfection though).

The bonus concert DVD that comes with this edition of the CD (but apparently not with the more expensive import CD) helps elucidate matters, showing Esbjörn Svensson reaching inside his piano to dampen or pluck its inner workings; Dan Berglund attacking the double bass with hands and bows; and Magnus Öström coaxing unnatural sounds from his drum kit.

Compared to the earlier records, the sound here is somewhat more edgy and more down dirty. Less of air and "elegance", than on the earlier ones, yet more substance and raw energy, still sophisticated and beautiful though. I have the feeling this one will win over the others in the long run. The group is of course, still one of the most intresting groups in the world. So the record is a must have for all you EST-fans and also a must have for all those who hasn't discovered them yet. EST is experimental jazz-rock-pop for anyone with the slightest intrest in music. Seven days of falling, Mingling in the mincing-machine, Elevator of love, O.D.R.I.P are tracks you can play over and over again...

After tremendously enjoying the beauty of the E.S.T.'s two previous US releases, I was frustrated that their latest, Seven Days, was only available as an import for many months. Unwilling to pay the exhorbitant import price, now I feel blessed that the CD is out domestically. (Thanks 215 Records!) The splendid music is well worth the wait, and there's a free bonus concert DVD to boot! The subtle, graceful lines of this piano trio's jazz tunes are a wonder to hear. The flowing melodicism of songs like the title cut and "Evening In Atlantis" is breathtakingly beautiful. There's almost an element of minimalism in the way the songs unfold, but then the trio are also capable of letting loose in a jazz improvisation like "O.D.R.I.P."

The DVD is a real nice bonus, containing about 45 minutes of concert footage (from a longer concert video), plus a 13-minute interview, photo gallery, discography and more. I can't complain -- it came at no extra charge!

Over the past year, I have come to really enjoy the Esbjorn Svensson Trio and have acquired a number of their recordings. Perhaps they aren't the "next thing" in jazz but perhaps they should be. They have talent, they are virtuoso, and as the DVD will show they have stage presence and a quiet charisma as well.
Seven Days of Falling offers a lot to like. Clocking in at just over an hour long the listener is carried along through a variety of musical moods that makes for a satisfying listen. Only the lame vocals on the unlisted "hidden" eleventh cut detract. My favorites are the smooth-flowing title cut, the lengthy jazz excursion of Mingle In the Mincing Machine with its prominent bass lines, Did They Ever Tell Cousteau which is dominated by some innovative drum work, and O.D.R.I.P, which I think is the best cut on the album.
What makes this such a deal is the inclusion of nearly fifty minutes of E.S.T. live on the bonus DVD along with an excellent video for the song From Gagarin's Point of View. If you aren't yet a confirmed E.S.T. fan, you should be after viewing how tight is their play.
I haven't bought an E.S.T. recording I haven't liked yet. Seven Days of Falling keeps that record intact. If you like innovative piano jazz and aren't afraid to listen to what you probably wouldn't hear on the radio then check this out.

The Esbjorn Svensson Trio is (one of) the best piano-trio's in the world. They prove the statement that it's impossible for jazz to renew itself, without changing it into something completely different to be totally wrong. The trio has been together for a long time, and that you can hear: they really listen to each other.
They have to, because they tend to put so much space or silence in their music, that it would be very hard to play when they didn't.
A lot of jazzcombinations change their strength a lot, and not always in their advantage. At jazzfestivals you here a lot of theme-solo-solo-solo-boringdrumsolo-theme-jazz, and that's allright when the individuals are interesting enough, but a lot of times it's simply not good enough. Somtimes the reason of that is that the bands are so good that they can change their personal a lot, but it doesn't always do the music good. And this is one of the differences between E.S.T. and some other jazzbands you could hear live.

And then there's their tendency to use 'classical' or folkthemes in their music. E.S.T. does that right too: they're not trying anything but to make great music. They're not playing Bach on a banjo (wich is nice, but doesn't really get to you), but they just look (or listen!) for good themes as a base for their music. That's what they do best and that's what makes all of their albums since From Gagarin's Point Of View worth bying.

What makes the music even better is that they seem to bring a lot of elements of their own Scandinavian musical culture into jazz. Maybe that's the explanation of the feeling you get when you see them play live: they really feel what they're playing. And that makes it possible for the audience to feel it to.

E.S.T. is a piano-bass-drums trio, but they sound bigger than a normal trio. Together with the great sound of acoustic instruments they sometimes put in some electronic elements, but they never overdo it. Most of the time they use it as a contast, to keep the balance between 'the beauty and the beast'. A slightly distorted piano can sound like a recording from 1920 and that effect should even be a plus for the traditional jazz-audience.

Esbjorn Svensson is a great pianoplayer. He can set a mood; he plays real good solo's; he almost lives his music. He's able to play very quietly and very loud and sometimes he does both thing within one tune but than a few times. He's very divers in his playing.

The drummer always gets to you. Sometimes he starts of unobstrusively but somewhere he likes to take the song over to give the tune a groove that can't be denied. By Thor, it's not all silence and quietness! Once again it's about the contrast.

On the album Strange Place For Snow you can hear a tune that has the bassplayer doing a very fast riddle together with the piano. The man on the bass used a line 6 pod (for guitar) on the two live shows I saw in Den Haag and Amsterdam to get some special effects. Very normal, considering what's being done in popular music. Also a great musician!

If you don't know anything about E.S.T. it doesn't matter what album since From Gagarin's Point Of View you buy. The ingredients are the same: beautifull themes, contrast, silence, some electronics, acoustic jazz, building up to climax etc.

Sometimes it's very irritating to see that good musicians don't get recognised enough for the things they are doing. And most of the time not because of the people being to stupid to recognise greatness or beauty, but because of comercial and not cultural considerations. When a lot of American jazzmusicians have that problem, what about Scandinavian? E.S.T. must be heared. Buy the album (or another one of E.S.T.) and spred the gospel of Scandinavian jazz!

I wasn't sure what to expect after reading these rave reviews . I took a chance and bought Seven Days as a first blind foray into EST. Frankly, I was expecting more. What I am hearing is a competent jazz trio playing compositions that are decent but not particularly developed harmonically or structurally. They are however, good vehicles for the group improvisation these guys obviously excel at. I would not,( as some people have,) compare this group sound with PMG. They are coming from a very different place conceptually. While I found this album intriguing I did not find it compelling.

I would not call this CD ground breaking by any stretch of the imagination. That being said, the pianist is excellent. He has the chops and ideas and best of all, knows how to hold back until the right moments where he lets loose with precise yet passionate torrents of melodic lines that swirl almost like the Jarrett's impressive modal flurries in his european quartet days. The drummer has an original contemporary approach that has a lot of rock influences. At times it sounded almost like what I would have imagined if Keith had Ginger Baker (when he could still play,) for a drummer. Then there's the bass player... I find his penchant for heavy metal lead bass to be annoying at times. This is an area that Miraslov Vitous explored in the early days of Weather Report, so it's not really "new". I understand this approach is supposedto inject a modern "edge" but nonetheless I feel it is often at odds with the material and at times sounds as if he really is a frustrated lead guitar player. I found him to be the weakest link in the musical chain.

I appreciated the tasteful use of the elements of electronica. This is a direction that not many serious jazz groups have explored and it is certainly a worthy pallette of colors to play with. I think this group's willingness to mix these elements into the purely acoustic trio format is a bold step in this direction.

I am not out to disparage this fine unit. On the contrary, there are certainly great moments of inspired group playing here. These guys display a tremendous sympatico in their interaction and have obvously been playing together a long time. I am looking forward to hearing more from this fine group of players. I would appreciate any recommendations from fans as to where to go next.

NOTE: This was written before I listened to more of EST and became a rabid fan. I now own every one of their recordings (except Leucocyte,) and I absolutely LOVE this band. I was shocked a dismayed by Esborn Swenson's death but i continue to listen to their music and play them frequently on my radio show. Upgraded this rating to 4 stars-still not my favorite E.S.T. CD but I have grown to appreciate it.

I've listened to this album over and over again and my appreciation for this album continues to grow. Listen for yourself!