Esbjorn Svensson – a sad farewell

Devastating news that Esbjorn Svensson has died in a scuba-diving accident at the age of 44. It’s always an assumption we make as audience members that the musicians up on the stage are nice guys, but it seemed a safe one to make in Esbjorn’s case. His warmth, his friendliness, his charm as he perhaps played up a little his lack of fluency in English – all were apparent from his introductions and thanks to his audience.
Certainly he and EST seemed to love playing in public – playing for their fans in person, and that was one small element in their success.
Of course the major one was Esbjorn’s compositions and his playing – always lyrical, always genuinely felt, often extremely physical.
Esbjorn was one of modern jazz’s most effective communicators – thank heavens he and the band toured so often and built up a considerable number of recordings.
We have some fine listening to assist our fond memories.