STOCKHOLM (AFP) -- Swedish jazz star Esbjorn Svensson was killed at the weekend in a scuba diving accident off Stockholm, his manager said Monday. He was 44.
According to Swedish media reports, Svensson had been diving with a group and an instructor in the Stockholm archipelago when he suddenly disappeared.
The married father of two had been found badly injured on the sea bed and had been transported by helicopter to a Stockholm hospital, where he died shortly before midnight (2200 GMT) on Saturday.
Swedish police are investigating the accident.
Svensson, a genre-defying musician who reached audiences far beyond the traditional jazz crowd, was “the most important figure in jazz in this decade," said Burkhard Hopper, manager of the Esbjorn Svensson Trio (E.S.T.).
“By all standards he was one of the biggest European acts. He was a jazz musician with pop status," Hopper told AFP, comparing his influence to that of Miles Davis.
E.S.T., formed in 1993 by pianist and composer Svensson, drummer Magnus Oestroem and base player Dan Berglund, have released a dozen records that have enjoyed critical acclaim and commercial success in Europe and the United States.
According to Swedish media reports, Svensson had been diving with a group and an instructor in the Stockholm archipelago when he suddenly disappeared.
The married father of two had been found badly injured on the sea bed and had been transported by helicopter to a Stockholm hospital, where he died shortly before midnight (2200 GMT) on Saturday.
Swedish police are investigating the accident.
Svensson, a genre-defying musician who reached audiences far beyond the traditional jazz crowd, was “the most important figure in jazz in this decade," said Burkhard Hopper, manager of the Esbjorn Svensson Trio (E.S.T.).
“By all standards he was one of the biggest European acts. He was a jazz musician with pop status," Hopper told AFP, comparing his influence to that of Miles Davis.
E.S.T., formed in 1993 by pianist and composer Svensson, drummer Magnus Oestroem and base player Dan Berglund, have released a dozen records that have enjoyed critical acclaim and commercial success in Europe and the United States.
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