The Esbjörn Svensson Trio has managed a rare feat. By dropping rock, funk, electronica, European avant-garde and classical music into a jazz framework, the group creates music that plays well to jazz fans, rockers, ravers and hip-hoppers. It’s the most successful European jazz band in history and the only non-American jazz act ever to grace the cover of Downbeat, the arbiter of all that is hip in the genre.
If the music weren’t good, this all would be so much hype, but E.S.T.’s improvisational flights deliver the goods. Pianist Esbjörn Svensson’s sparkling keyboard work and drummer Magnus Öström’s inventive timekeeping are impressive, but it’s the jaw-dropping work of bass player Dan Berglund that really captures attention. On Tuesday Wonderland, the cryptically named “Fading Maid Preludium” opens with Svensson’s fragile melody, then Berglund explodes with a jarring, electronically processed avalanche of noise that brings to mind Black Sabbath at its most ominous. On “Dolores in a Shoestand,” Öström’s brushes lay down a subtle bossa nova beat for Svensson’s baroque improvisations, while Berglund alternates between a simple bass line and big washes of orchestral textures. The tune devolves into a funky R&B jam marked by syncopated hand-claps and exuberant shouts of appreciation as the players take the tune home. Simpler, contemplative pieces like “Beggar’s Blanket” and “Where We Used to Live” show off the trio’s firm control of the basics, with their harmonious blend of mood, melody and intelligence.
This article appears in Jun 7-13, 2007.