The Act label goes into its vaults to release music from the late pianist Pianist Esbjorn. This 2 disc album comes from a concert back in May, 2005 with his team of Dan Berglund/b and Magnus Ostrom/dr. The appreciative London audience is given a wide range of moods and interplay by the trio, with songs ranging from 7 to 17 minutes. Ostrom’s brushes sashay on lyrical pieces such as “Tide of Trepidation” with the team getting soft and delicate as Svensson taps into some Debussy-esque impressionism on “Viaticum” and the reflective “In the Tail of Her Eye” and his ectomorphic digits produce a Chopin nocturne shadow on “When God Created the Coffeebreak.”
The drum-bass team show some excitement as they make sparks fly on the dramatic “Behind the Yahsmak” and get funky on the backbeat snap of “Mingle in the Mincing Machine.” Lots of space for intuitive conversations coalesce with thoughtful melodies here. Impressive threesome, and a reflection of an artist lost.