Track Listing

1. The Message
2. Serenade For The Renegade
3. Strange Place For Snow
4. Behind The Yashmak
5. Bound For The Beauty Of The South
6. Years Of Yearning
7. When God Created The Coffeebreak
8. Spunky Sprawl
9. Carcrash

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #95257 in Music
• Released on: 2002-06-04
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com
Toeing a surprisingly fine line between acoustic-jazz accessibility and electronic-music ingenuity, E.S.T. (Esbjörn Svensson Trio) is a forward-thinking Swedish trio that adds subtle, dark ambient texture (and then some) to the traditional piano-trio format. As with the group's first Columbia release, Somewhere Else Before, there is a nice mix of well-constructed tunes with catchy, often-lilting melodies. The band is at its best when playing slow, contemplative ballads ("Serenade for the Renegade" is a highlight) that have the same kind of romantic leanings as pianist Bill Evans, yet the three occasionally pick up momentum on tunes like "Behind the Yashmak," without ever abandoning the song's lyricism. The trio also does other things to keep it fresh: they bring in some simple folk music balladry, add some classical music complexity, and even touch on the creeping influence of electro rock à la Radiohead. Strange Place for Snow should add a lot of new American voices to the deafening roar that surrounds this band in Europe. --Tad Hendrickson

Customer Reviews

Jazz star Esbjorn Svensson dies tragically
The jazz world is mourning the death of Swedish pianist Esbjorn Svensson, who died in a scuba-diving accident on Saturday. He was 44.

Reuters reports that Svensson's manager Burkhard Hopper said he died on Saturday in the Stockholm archipelago.

Paying tribute, Hopper said: "Musically, he was the light that lit the world because in what he did he was pushing boundaries. Himself, he said he was following the music inside himself. His music inspired people in all corners of the world."

Svensson's group, the Esbjorn Svensson Trio (e.s.t.), had received global acclaim and won the European Jazz Award and the BBC Jazz Award.

The essence of E.S.T.
This release has all the qualities that make E.S.T. so great: Catchy melodies mixed with interesting sonic soundscapes. They create and build dynamic compositions that range from ambient textures to hard-driving rhythmic beats. This will be in my CD player for some time to come... Surpassed only by "Seven Days of Falling".

The Arctic, in 50 years
Some might disagree - myself included -- regarding whether Strange Place for Snow is EST's best album overall, but I feel obliged to recommend it because it was the first of their records to come to my attention and contains two of my favourite tunes by this sharp trio. Check out the mega bass and roasting ivories as Esjborn and Dan let rip on the red hot Strange Place for Snow itself and the Message. A total meltdown.