No other European jazz pianist has had such a formative influence in his field in recent years as the Swede Esbjörn Svensson, who died far too soon in 2008. In changing constellations, moods and interpretations, Iiro Rantala, Viktoria Tolstoy, Ulf Wakenius, Lars Danielsson and Morten Lund take on some of the best-known Svensson respectively e.s.t. works. And if the album title “Tears For Esbjörn” becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy upon hearing Svensson’s most emotional piece “Love Is Real” nobody needs to be ashamed; neither for tears of sadness at the irreplaceable loss of Esbjörn Svensson, nor for tears of joy at the music he left us with.
The Swedish pianist Esbjörn Svensson, who died in a tragic accident in 2008, changed the course of jazz in Europe in this century. He breathed new life into the most classic of all jazz formations, the piano trio, because he had a compelling vision of how he could make it function like a rock band. That concept ran right through what he did: from the group's outward appearance to way they cohered and kept their sights firmly fixed on their shared musical concept. The trio e.s.t. always drew the listener in quite brilliantly with their catchy melodic hooks, their particular way of circling and repeating, insistent and completely mesmeric.The result was that Svensson became the pop star of jazz. Countless bands have followed his example and adopted the basic design of e.s.t. Svensson's concept of crossing genres has also been a major inf...
line upIiro Rantala / piano
Viktoria Tolstoy / vocals
Ulf Wakenius / guitar
Lars Danielsson / bass
Morten Lund / drums
Curated, produced & desinged by Siggi Loch
Recorded live in concert at the Berlin Philharmonie, (KMS), October 1, 2015
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Klaus Scheuermann
Presented by Stiftung Berliner Philharmoniker
