e.s.t. (Esbjorn Svensson Trio): Leucocyte

This is the first album I’ve heard by the Esbjorn Svensson Trio, and I gather it’s pretty different from what they usually sound like.

Who would like this? Some jazz fans presumably, but it seems to me this would appeal at least as much to people who listen to ambient and noise and minimalist (as in Steve Reich) and electronic musics (not to imply these genres and audiences don’t overlap--duh).

t's the album's second half suite, Leucocyte, that indicates where the trio were headed next. Mixing in far more electronics; erasing melody, leaving just the warp and weft of instrumental texture, and even (on part two's Ad Interim) resorting to total silence: it shows us a band that were now fearless and confident enough to really experiment.

[q]Leucocyte is far from a perfect album, and that's why it's so heartbreakingly good. It's unsure in parts, and occasionally too wilfully rough. But it's a pointer to a future that's been cruelly denied us. We can only dream of what might have happened next. But thank goodness we have this to remember Svensson by. It's a testament to an artist whose life was always a work in progress. http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/release/5g4h/

Like much of what I've read in reviews of this album, these commenst ring true.

Since I'm too lazy for a real review, here are my notes on the album (from listening last night):

01 – Decade

On repeated listens to the album, in general, I am more and more taken with Svensson’s piano playing, which at first didn’t seem so exceptional to me.

02 - Premonition I – Earth

Floating. Could sit alongside [i]As Falls Wichita So Falls Wichita Falls, except that it gets kind of loud and aggressive (at least the drumming) by the end. “Scatting” (somewhat low in the mix) could annoy some. I like it. Jazz trio but with electronic effects in effect. At times the drumming seems to have more of a rock than jazz feel. Not sure what the wah wah wahing on this is exactly.

03 - Premonition II – Contorted

Short-wave radio, I guess. Some of the distorted sounds here can grate a bit, maybe because the overall track is quiet.

04 – Jazz

The humor of the title of this track hit me for the first time on one of my more recent listens (even though at least one reviewer I read had already commented on how it was “aptly named” or something of that sort). It’s the track with the clearest claim to being put in the jazz genre.

05 – Still

Disruptive noises. Maybe even "muppet" noises. Maybe the least engaging passage.

06 - Ajar

Svensson’s playing here is mostly so crisp.

07 - Leucocyte I - Ab Initio

Fragments of short-wave radio. Heavier, more rock-oriented. When they do distortion, sometimes it can sound a little dated, but it all works out. What kind of crazy key is this part in or isn't it in a key?

08 - Leucocyte II - Ad Interim

Silence.

09 - Leucocyte III - Ad Mortem

While at times it could unsympathetically be described as electronic chicken clucking. . . Fairly odd stuff. Grows quieter, more gripping, mid-way through the cut. Minimalist, but dirty minimalism with various other sounds floating in and out and around the basic motif that develops. Very poignant.

10 - Leucocyte IV - Ad Infinitum

. . . continues into the last cut, builds into something (really pretty Reichian) and eventually dissipates.

Decade:

Ab Initio (incomplete):

Ad Mortem (incomplete):

(Sorry some of the formatting got garbled above. I am using public library internet computers running a two year out-of-date version of Explorer and the edit box doesn't display very well.)

On further listen: the bassist here is the center of attention, at least for the first half of the album (everything before the title suite). And as I continue to listen to this I begin to like the first half as much as the second half, if not more, even though it was "Leucocyte" that initially pulled me in. For me this has been an extreme case of an album growing on me with repeated listens.

I was passing through the jazz section tonight and the front cover of this jumped right out at me, reminding me of this very thread I was perusing earlier today. Haven't had a chance to listen to it yet, but wanted you to know that you convinced me to give it a shot.

The cover is good (not particularly original or anything, but eye-catching). I'm not sure what the "leucocyte" concept is all about here, but I'm not concerned about it.

I hope you like it. At the very least it is varied, so there should be something you'll like. Also, I'd strongly advise giving it at least a few listens to grow on you, unless you absolutely hate it right away. (I'll be the first to admit I don't usually give things a chance unless there is something there that makes me want to give them a chance.)

Finally gave this a full attention listen this morning in the car, very very impressed. "Premonition I - Earth" in particular blew me away.

I hope this is holding up for you. I don't have much new music to listen to, so I'm still listening to this a lot, though I have to admit, sometimes it's been disappearing into the background.

I like how on the end of "Premonition I - Earthdrums" it sounds like a call and response between two wood-peckers or insects or something. Straight acoustic drums plus the same sound electronically modified, or maybe the response is completely electronic.

It is! But actually I ran across Tuesday Wonderland last week and I've been spending time with that. I don't like it as much, but it does have some high points. I'm noticing that I'm not as big of fan of the more laid-back moments.