Somewhere Else Before

Keith Jarrett and the various incarnations of his recording persona have been the single greatest influence on my own jazz piano work for nearly 40 years now. It's safe to say I've listened to him with the fervor of a true believer. So it was a real treat to hear somebody use the same melodic and harmonic ideas as did Jarrett, albeit ideas that in this case are now over 30 years old.EST's "Somewhere Else Before" brings to mind the late 1970's version of Jarrett, with Charlie Haden and Jan Garbarek has his principal foils. In the late 1970's Jarrett released on the ECM label a most interesting work, "The Survivor's Suite." Not jazz per se, but a melange of modal harmonies, percussion, third stream melodies, and sheer virtuosity from Jarrett and his sidemen. For all its virtuosity, "The Survivor's Suite" was also unsettling; I assume this was Jarrett's intent.EST brings all of that into the 21st century in this release. Esbjorn Svensson has his Jarrett licks down cold, right down to the modal scales Jarrett used. I almost thought I could hear Jarrett's "singing" (if one can call his grunts, cries and moans "singing") over the top of some of Svensson's solos. The vague sense of menace that permeated "The Survivor's Suite" is also here in spades. It was quite a time trip.That said, I found "Somewhere Else Before" derivative for precisely that reason. Not that it's a bad thing to imitate Jarrett, who is the reigning king of jazz piano. But this release sometimes goes too far in the imitative direction. And because it imitates, it's not quite the real thing. Jarrett was and is the master--"The Survivor's Suite" was a better album than is "Somewhere Else Before." Not that this is a bad thing; EST is a fine band. No quibbles there. But Esbjorn Svensson, for all his virtuosity and compositional skill, is not Keith Jarrett. Not yet, anyway.One other flaw: There's a good reason that Jarrett's recent work with the Standards Trio (Gary Peacock on bass; Jack DeJohnette on drums--occasionally Paul Motian substitutes for him, as on the "Deer Head Inn" album) focuses now on one particular category of music: the American popular song from the 1940's and 50's, which jazz artists call "the standards;" and only occasionally features a Jarrett original. You may think these old tunes are incredibly square, but they have stood the test of time, they are impeccably crafted, are filled with great chord changes and fabulous melodic hooks. There's a reason they're called "standards." Measured against this, any album filled with one's own compositions is bound to be uneven. That was true of Jarrett's older albums that featured his own compositions exclusively (especially his pure improvisational albums); it's true here. Not all tunes are created equal; the fire doesn't always burn brightly. I'm not suggesting that EST turn into another lounge trio playing "All of Me." I only observe that these artists' compositional skills aren't always equal to their aspirations. Again, not a bad thing . . . it just is. One gets the feeling EST was struggling at times to come up with enough material to fill a CD. For example, there's nothing on this CD that equals "Eighty Eight Days in my Veins" from  Viaticum , which has to be my favorite EST track of all time. That one IS a classic!This CD also has a hidden track; a kind of noise jazz number based on the chords from the "Spring Round Dance" from Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring." What sounds like a fuzz guitar riffs over the three chord progression in the piano. If this type of jazz is of interest, be aware that it's on track 11, which isn't listed on the CD cover, and for which you'll have to wait about one minute after track 10 ends. If you don't like this kind of music, you can eject the CD once track 10 ends, or restart it. I enjoyed the hidden track the first time I heard it, but it doesn't wear well on repeated listening.So . . . . four stars. EST is still one of the most interesting groups out there--but this CD doesn't plow any new ground. It returns to one of the greatest albums of the late 1970's for its inspiration. And although the various compositions are good, they're uneven. Recommended track: "From Gagarin's Point of View."I found out a few weeks ago that Esbjorn Svensson is no longer with us. That is truly sad--he had a huge talent, and his compositions and jazz playing were in a class pretty much of their own. What a tragedy. His work comes now with an even higher recommendation, now that he's gone. RIP, my friend. Perhaps someday I'll hear you gigging in that great jazz club in the sky.

After reading several reviews of this Trio and this CD (here and elsewhere) my expectations were quite high. After all, it was hailed as something so new that it would change the direction of Jazz, and some spoke of this pianist and trio in the same breath as John Taylor (of the Peter Erskine Trio). So of course I expected great things. I must, to my great disappointment, offer a dissenting opinion.The short of it is that this music is rather pedestrian - a mix of techno pop rock and yes, a little jazz. Sure, Svensson can write a catchy tune, but he doesn't do much with it except repeat it over and again, reducing his music to pretty jingles (which Swedish TV has used as such). The rhythyms are more akin to pop rock than to jazz and the drummer (Ostrom) would fit in better with a techno rock band (to make matters worse, for this first US release Columbia felt the need to add electronic sounds here and there to make it more techy - ugh). The one redeeming originality comes from Berglund who can carress his double-bass to create colorful sounds.Why disappointed? Why care? Because the potential for great music is there. These are excellent musicians drawn by the call of popularism. To make an analogy of sorts, Svensson and his trio are closer to Kenny G than to John Coltrane. Not that there's anything wrong with that, unless you're expecting a jazz trio and jazz improvisation.If you like John Taylor/Peter Erskine Trio, Keith Jarrett Trio, Bobo Stensson Trio or the recent Vassilis Tsabropoulos Trio, then don't expect the same level of musicality from this trio. And perhaps that is not the music they are aiming for anyway.

I was listening to Pandora and heard the song, Dodge the Dodo. I had never heard of E.S.T. before, but the song grabbed my attention. I have been listening to Brad Mehldau lately, so I'm sure that's what prompted Pandora to offer up E.S.T. This CD has several very good songs that showcase Mr. Svensson's originality and talent and the trio is tight. It's easy for a trio to be self-indulgent (almost shutting out the listener) or just flat -- this band is neither. A couple of songs were too sparse for me to really enjoy, but the rest are engaging, melodic, creative stuff.

You know how you click on a product and farther down the page Amazon says, "If you like this, here's some other stuff you might like?" Well, thanks for introducing me to the Esbjorn Svensson Trio. I listened to snippets of this CD and immediately purchased this and Strange Place For Snow. I love this music. It's pleasing to my ears and great for listening to while driving, working, and piddling around the house. I would have loved to have seen this group live. 4 stars!

Gentle, sweet, flowing and elegant. A well knit group and beautifully constructed song selections. I love the synth effects that sparkle here and there and up the dazzle ante. Favorites in this selection include:"From Gagarin's point of view"; "The Face of Love"; "Pavane"; "The Chapel". Although I have to say that the entire CD is excellent. Through and through.

This group was recommended to me by several folk whose musical opinion I value and whose tastes I consider similar to mine. I was not disappointed in listening to these guys...in fact I plan to order a few more of their releases soon. The music is unique and I find it interesting.

Fresh, intelligent, listenable. There are tracks on the CD that make me smile with joy, others that I just can't hear enough of, and a few that are still a bit of a challenge to me. I love this group. What a tragedy that ES is gone so soon.

I have just recently been listening to this group. I purchased the last CD they made together before the leader past away. Their music making is very original and wonderful to listen to. They create a sound world that is both calming and arresting at the same time...Music from another world, yet very listenable....

I had not realised this CD is a collection of some of their best. To which I already have in my EST collection but as a collection it is a good introduction to them and it's EST so you can never get enough of them.

Il trio Esbjörn Svensson suona un jazz che mantiene ancora qualche rimando ai "classici" (ad esempio la title track un po' in stile Bill Evans) pur non disdegnando influenze eclettiche di provenienza rock e forse anche drum'n'bass, che danno un tocco di piacevole freschezza all'insieme dei brani.I cultori più rigorosi della tradizione jazzistica potrebbero avere qualcosa da eccepire rispetto a queste contaminazioni ma il risultato è un ascolto molto piacevole.

E.S.T. ist immer wieder gut zu hören und ich mag diese CD, obwohl Sie wie schon in einer anderen Rezension erwähnt ist, ein Sampler von den Alben "from gagarins point of view" sowie "good morning susie soho" ist. Der Name "somewhere else before" ist hier programm.

Il disco a dir la verità non mi è piaciuto molto di loro ce ne sono altri che sono molto più belli ma nel complesso non ci lamentiamo.Spedizioni arrivo e altro tutto perfetto

E' forse il disco ideale per chi voglia avvicinarsi, per la prima volta, all'E.S.T.Il CD mette voglia di esplorare l'intera produzione discografica del gruppo.