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I have the unfortunate happenstance of having relatively few friends that are seriously into the search for new music, and even fewer friends that are looking for new jazz. I’ve become so content with the Avishai Cohen Trio and Phronesis that I honestly forget there’s more great modern jazz out there. So every now and then, I have to remind myself to stick my ear out for jazz. Just yesterday I came across another phenomenal modern jazz trio.

The Esbjörn Svensson Trio has the same core arrangement of a piano, upright bass, and drum kit as most modern jazz trios, but they’ve given it a little twist using synthesisers/effects from time to time. For the first time, I’ve come across a band that’s added a hint of rock to modern jazz rather than the other way around. Given that I literally just found the Esbjörn Svensson Trio, it’s a little difficult to give a full profile of their discography as they have more than a dozen releases. Sadly, it will stay that way since Esbjörn Svensson died last summer in a scuba accident.

I bought E.S.T. Tuesday Wonderland (2006) by pure coincidence. I was simply looking for new jazz and it just happened to be the band’s first release I sampled. The first track, Fading Maid Preludium, struck me as some sort of Radiohead influenced jazz and Brewery of Beggars reminded of Avishai Cohen Trio with some experimental rock thrown in. Other times I’m reminded of the Vince Guaraldi Trio. Let me remind you that this is all on just one album. I can’t yet speak for the other albums, but E.S.T. Tuesday Wonderland is very diverse in mood, tonality, and vibe. I loved this album from the moment I first heard it, and I’ll certainly be acquiring their entire discography in the near future.