All Things Considered

Esbjörn Svensson
Posted by Simon Lewin

It was a strange experience hearing the sad news of Swedish jazz pianist Esbjörn Svensson's death last night in similar circumstances to those in which I came across his music in the first place. I was in Scotland at the time and had more or less drifted off to sleep listening to Stephen Duffy's excellent 'Jazz House' show on BBC Radio Scotland - he played the Esbjörn Svensson Trio (E.S.T.) track 'Seven Days of Falling' and within seconds I was wide awake. I'd never heard the Trio before and had to scrabble around trying to find a pen and paper.

In this Guardian obituary, John Fordham describes Svensson as a rare phenomenon in the jazz world: "A hero to the hardline critics, and a bankable international star.". You'll also find an extensive obituary at The Independent's website.

Find out more about the Trio's output at their website. And here's a live version of 'Seven Days of Falling' via YouTube...

Posted by Simon Lewin on June 16th, 2008