Esbjorn Svensson © Andrea Canter

Known by the initials of their pianist/leader(Esbjorn Svensson Trio), the popular European jazz ensemble E.S.T. plays at the Jazz Standard in Manhattan for four nights, September 27-30, their last American stop before returning to Europe.

EST © Andrea Canter

While E.S.T is still relatively new to American audiences, their impressionistic creations, combining acoustic and electronic elements, have been garnering acclaim for nearly 15 years in their native Sweden and throughout Europe. E.S.T was awarded "Best International Act” (2003) by the BBC, the Hans Koller Prize as the Best European Artist of 2004, has won two German Jazz Awards (2002, 2003), a German Jazz Critics Award for “Album of the Year” (2002), the Swedish Export Music Prize (2004), the “Choc L'Annee” (2002) from the French Jazzman magazine, the “Best International Act” (2002) and “Revelation of the Festival” (2003) awards from MIDEM, and numerous Swedish Grammies, including "Jazz Album of the Year” (1996, 1998, 2003).

Born in Västeras, Sweden, 40-year-old Esjborn Svensson, son of a classical pianist, studied music in Stockholm. He heard his father’s jazz records as a child but thought the music was “strange and complicated,” and was initially drawn to 1950s rock and roll. With his friend Magnus Öström (who also recalls hearing jazz, particularly Glenn Miller, at home), he entered the local rock music scene as a teenager. The duo soon evolved as a piano-drum band, with the two young musicians providing some vocals as well. Gradually, Svensson notes that he started adding chords to a basic 12-bar blues structure, and with the addition of then-rock bassist Dan Berglund, E.S.T. was launched in 1993.

Dan Berglund © Andrea CAnter

Five recordings were released in Europe during the 90s, but most American audiences probably had no clue of E.S.T until Columbia issued a compilation of these early recordings as Somewhere Else Before in 2000. A Strange Place for Snow (Columbia) followed in 2002, including influences as diverse as Radiohead and Bartok. Of this recording, Svensson said, “We recorded most of the tracks…first as an acoustic jazz trio, then we revisited many of them to overdub grooves, electronic distortion and layered effects. But we also went into the studio earlier…and just played without any guidelines to see what we could come up with…Overall, the CD is like a long journey, with all the tunes connected."

Next came Seven Days of Falling (215 Records, 2003), a subtle shift of direction for the trio toward a more contemplative, ethereal sound. Released in the US in 2004, Seven Days was hailed as “that rare thing, an immediately accessible instrumental jazz album… a delicious banquet of timbres, melodies, harmonies and feels” (John Walters, The Guardian). Critics’ Poll Awards in 2004 and 2005 from Downbeat Magazine fueled anticipation for the follow-up, Viaticum (215 Records, 2005), which reinforced the darker, more reflective nature of the trio in the new century. In fall 2006, the band released its tenth recording, Tuesday Wonderland, a few months after becoming the first European ensemble on the cover of Downbeat.

Magnus Öström © Andrea Canter

There’s a growing handful of jazz ensembles from diverse and global backgrounds who are selling out venues not necessarily associated with jazz—in stadiums, arenas, concert halls and rock clubs, from Hiromi and Brad Mehldau to Jason Moran’s Bandwagon and the Bad Plus. Combining acoustic instrumentation with varying degrees of computer-generated accompaniment, EST pushes the envelope and finds considerable success with cross-generational audiences. It’s time for American jazz fans to get acquainted with Europe’s answer to the future of jazz. See E.S.T. live before they return home!

The Jazz Standard is located at 116 E. 27th Street in Manhattan; www.jazzstandard.com. Two sets each night, 7:30 and 9:30 pm, plus an 11 pm show on Friday and Saturday.