Esbjorn Svensson Trio - Viaticum 2005

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!
(review, amazon.com)

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Esbjörn Svensson Trio - Viaticum 2005
(München Act)

1. Tide of trepidation
2. Eighty-eight days in my veins
3. The well-wisher
4. The unstable table & the infamous fable
5. Viaticum
6. In the tail of her eye
7. Letter from the Leviathan
8. A picture of Doris travelling with Boris
9. What though the way may be long


Esbjörn Svensson, piano
Dan Berglund, bas
Magnus Oström, trummor