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The Esbj: Viaticum
The piano, double bass, and drums on Viaticum seem not to be in a hurry. They develop songs in slow tempos, leaving open spaces, forgetting the hurries of bebop or hard bop. The three musicians achieve making silence an instrument in "Tide Of Trepidation," "Eighty-eight Days In My Veins" and "Viaticum." In the second song, the starting piano melody is converted into a bass rhythm, and midway it turns into a friendly jazz song. Constant elements can be observed during the whole recording, and especially on "In The Tail of Her Eye," that connect directly e.s.t. with Brad Mehldau and Bill Evans. And it wouldn't be strange to find "A Picture Of Doris Travelling With Boris" or "What Though The Way May Be Long" as the main titles of a film soundtrack with a sad and melancholic script.
Viaticum is a menu comprised of nine courses (a surprising dessert included) in which the ingredients are repeated. But the result is not hard to digest, because the elaboration and presentation endow each of them with a different and elegant flavor.
Track Listing
Tide of Trepidation; Eighty-eight Days in My Veins; The Well-wisher; The Unstable Table & The Infamous Fable; Viaticum; In the Tail of Her Eye; Leter From the Leviathan; A Picture of Doris Travelling with Boris; What Though the Way May be Long.
Personnel
Esbjorn Svensson
pianoEsbjörn Svensson: piano; Dan Berglund: bass; Magnus Öström: drums.
Album information
Title: Viaticum | Year Released: 2005 | Record Label: ACT Music
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The Esbj
CD/LP/Track Review
Esbjorn Svensson
Sergio Masferrer
215 Music/Munich Records
United States
Viaticum