“No other group in the world have such a commanding interaction between the grooves of 21st-century dance and the acoustic jazz-piano tradition.” - The London Times
“Some of their music grooves like acoustic drum ‘n’ bass, some of it floats like the most beautiful and substantial chill out. Yet more of it rumbles like a Radiohead freak out…perhaps the most evolved acoustic group in the whole of contemporary music.” - MOJO
With a cult reputation now firmly secured, e.s.t. have established themselves as one of the most exciting jazz trios in the world, making Seven Days Of Falling one of the most eagerly anticipated jazz albums of 2004. At a time when the jazz piano trio has become an authentic movement within the music’s evolution (witnessed by the likes of The Bad Plus, Brad Mehldau, Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey and Jason Moran), e.s.t., featuring Esbjorn Svensson on piano, Dan Berglund on bass and Magnus Ostrom on drums, decisively raise the stakes.
It is rare for a group to live up to its hype, but in e.s.t.’s case the hype is true. In both Europe and The United States, they have achieved the virtually impossible feat of creating innovative, thoughtful and intensely rigorous music, while at the same time attracting an audience outside the jazz mainstream. Hardly surprising then, that in their native Sweden they have had a top 20 album, appeared on MTV, and have built their reputation by playing in venues not usually associated with jazz.
The remarkable follow up to 2002’s Strange Place For Snow, Seven Days of Falling is the most captivating e.s.t. record yet, and a natural progression of the style for which they’ve come to be associated. Haunting and ethereal, the group uses spaces and time unlike any jazz act to have come before them. Composing as a unit, each individual part is integral to the overall context of the composition—the result being a sound that is greater than the sum of its parts. Bursting any purist notions of the classic jazz trio, e.s.t. embrace the use of electronics within their music. Triggers, samples and loops are often called upon to create jagged rhythms and shifting dynamics, while bass notes are bowed, distorted and sustained, elevating the music in atmospheric bliss. Amid the experimentation, however, are pure flights of jazz fancy as pianist Svensson improvisations are accomplished and enthralling, calling on influences as disparate as Keith Jarrett and Bill Evans.
Seven Days of Falling guides us through several musical landscapes -- from gentle, searching ballads such as “Ballad for the Unborn” and “Why She Couldn’t Come” to the pastoral shades of the title track. “Elevation of Love” and “O.D.R.I.P.” set the overall pace of the album with gorgeous, soaring melodies. The accelerating drum ’n’ bass beats of “Mingle In The Mincing-Machine” and “Did They Ever Tell Cousteau?” utilize tension and release to epic proportions. Also note the hidden track on which Charlie Haden’s son, Josh, appears for a vocal reworking of “Believe, Beleft, Below” that appears earlier on the album.
Seven Days of Falling took a remarkable eight days to record and five to mix, more akin to pop production than jazz. This in itself is a reflection of how e.s.t. approach their work and what makes them stand out from the rest of the jazz community.
As The Guardian wrote last year “E.S.T. has given the sound of the jazz piano trio quite a different edge – an explosion of new life and a different future”.
Seven Days Of Falling is the future of jazz – listen now!
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