E.S.T. are a phenomenon: A jazz trio, which sees itself as a rock band that plays jazz, breaking with the tradition in jazz of having a leader and his sidemen in favour of equality within its members, which not only plays jazz-venues but also on stages at festivals and in venues usually reserved for rock bands. Lighting effects and dry-ice are also an integral part of their now-legendary live shows, this is a band that goes way beyond the normal boundaries of the average piano trio.
Their music can be found in the pop-charts and while their videos are playing on MTV Scandinavia. With their distinctive soundscapes that combine jazz with drum 'n' bass, electronica, funk grooves, and catchy melodic figures as well as elements of European classical music, their audience reaches across a multitude of genres and breaks many barriers between musical styles. Critics and audiences worldwide agree: e.s.t. are without question one of the most innovative jazz bands of today.
Openness, curiosity, and a little bit of chance are all a part of pianist Esbjörn Svensson's artistic foundation:"I play piano because we didn't have any other instrument in the house. Actually, I would have rather played drums. For instance, as a kid, I put together a set out of old odds and ends, and tried to sound like "Sweet" on "Ballroom Blitz". But then Magnus Öström came with his drums, and I decided to stay with the piano. Magnus and I grew up together, and have played together from the beginning. When Magnus was given his first drum set, he brought it over to my house, and we started playing. We had no idea how to play, but it was a lot of fun. Since we didn't have a teacher, and no one was telling us how to play, we were able to gradually develop our music in a very unique, individualistic way."
For e.s.t., spontaneous jam sessions were the way to renewal. They would often rent a local recording studio for a couple of days during their tours and then start to jam. They did this without any pre-composed material. The musicians reacted freely to each other and let themselves be totally carried by the flow of ideas and musical to and fro. The players needed this freedom in order to explore new musical regions, or as Esbjörn Svensson always formulated it, "...to follow the music". In the past, many of the trio's compositions were developed through precisely this art of improvisation.
And there was scarcely another formation on the planet that was as predestined for this way of going about business as e.s.t were. The three performed with an almost telepathic assuredness, breathing as one; "This group has become one sound, one genius mutant human being with six hands, three brains and one musical sensibility." (Jamie Cullum). The trio constantly posed the fundamental question, "What can a piano trio be that it has not been before?" (Pat Metheny).
Leucocyte is the result of one of these two day jams. It took place at the famed "Studios 301" in Sydney during the band's Australian tour. In early 2008 e.s.t.'s sound engineer Ake Linton joined the band at the Bohus Sound Studios in Gothenburg, Sweden to begin mixing. On April 28 there was a photo shoot in Berlin for the new campaign. On May 16 the artwork and album were delivered to Emarcy.
Then on June 14 the incomprehensible happened: Esbjörn Svensson, probably the most influential stylist of the last decade, lost his life in a diving accident off the island of Värmdö near Stockholm.
As a result, Leucocyte has become Esbjörn Svensson's and e.s.t.'s musical legacy. It is the most venturesome album that pianist Esbjörn Svensson, bassist Dan Berglund, and drummer Magnus Öström have recorded as e.s.t. The essence of this journey of discovery is its ecstatic energy. It is a trip through the bloodstream sans compositional safety-net and stylistic restraints in which the borders of musical communication are sounded out.
Esbjörn Svensson's orbital musical journey began barely ten years ago with From Gagarin's Point Of View, before coming to Earth with Strange Place For Snow and Seven Days Of Falling. He provided food for the soul with Viaticum, lost himself in his Tuesday Wonderland, and the journey now comes to an end with Leucocyte.
