Viaticum

Esbjorn Svensson Trio, E.S.T. | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 2005)
• Original Release Date: 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: 215 Records
• ASIN: B000B8QFE6
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #116,258 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

"A genre-defying Swedish jazz pianist and composer." -- The Guardian "Not what jazz was, but a vision of what it can be." -- New York Times "Pianist and composer Esbjörn Svensson looms among the most influential and innovative figures in contemporary jazz, drawing on inspirations spanning from Baroque to techno to create a body of work that earned both commercial and critical approval." -- All Music Guide "This Scandinavian group adheres to the form just enough to be considered a jazz trio, but between original compositions and sound enhancements that can fool you into believing that more than three musicians are playing, e.s.t. is anything but boring." -- All About Jazz

Swedish Grammy winner. "A journey of the imagination to quietly change your life." -- Mojo --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great EST-album!, November 18, 2005

By 

A.J.H. Woodcount "FJB/O!-music" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Viaticum (Audio CD)

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.
All this is found on Viaticum too. What apeals to me on this album is the subtlety in the pianoplaying: every note is in the right place, and there's a great balance between free and melodic parts. The band as a whole sounds a bit more like a traditional jazz-band then on the other albums, but still in the unique EST-vocabulary. The classical or folkthemes you can hear on the other albums are a little less prominent on this album. The drumming is a little bit more laid-back, if possible.

Sometimes it's very sad 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!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great EST-album!, September 19, 2005

By 

A.J.H. Woodcount "FJB/O!-music" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Viaticum (Audio CD)

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.
All this is found on Viaticum too. What apeals to me on this album is the subtlety in the pianoplaying: every note is in the right place, and there's a great balance between free and melodic parts. The band as a whole sounds a bit more like a traditional jazz-band then on the other albums, but still in the unique EST-vocabulary. The classical or folkthemes you can hear on the other albums are a little less prominent on this album. The drumming is a little bit more laid-back, if possible.

Sometimes it's very sad 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!

FJB/O!-music 2006

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Edgy, yet accessible., December 2, 2006

By 

jazzmusikeditor (U.K.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Viaticum (Audio CD)

The Esbjörn Svensson Trio, or EST for short, are simply the hottest European jazz outfit in the world right now. Their brand of highly modernistic instrumental compositions have won plaudits from the likes of Pat Metheny and Jamie Cullum, while critical acclaim has been unrelenting over their 13-year history - auspiciously they became the very first European jazz outfit to grace the front cover of American jazz bible Downbeat.
While maintaining a credible and contemporary edge to their improvisation, the band manage to create instantly accessible and beautiful themes in their music and this is the key to their continued popularity both with audiences and critics alike.
'Viaticum' is set for a similar reception, it's an album that grabs you straight from the off but at the same time demands repeated listening to make sure you catch all the detail.