E.S.T.

After establishing himself as an inspiring sideman in the Scandinavian Jazz scene, Swedish born pianist and composer Esbjörn Svensson formed his trio e.s.t. with Dan Berglund on bass and Magnus Ostrom on drums and in 1993 they recorded their debut album. In the early years they toured up and down Sweden and won many local awards.

The band received their first international recognition when "From Gagarin’s Point of View" was released internationally by German label ACT in 1998 and when they appeared for the first time at the well known Montreux Jazz Festival.

The 2002 release "Strange Place for Snow" catapulted the band in a new dimension. They received greatest critical acclaim Europewide and the for the first time toured worldwide. They were awarded "The German Jazz Award", "the German Critics Award" for "Best Jazz Album of the Year", the "Guiness Jazz in Europe Award", the "Choc l'annee" by the French Jazzman magazine, the "Victoire de la Musique" and the "BBC Jazz Award". The London Times declared them as "the trio of the decade".

The 2003 album "Seven Days of Falling" received the Swedish Grammy for "best Jazz Album of the Year" and the DVD "Live in Stockholm" from the same year was praised for its innovative way of filming a concert and the perfect surround sound. Meanwhile Esbjörn, Dan and Magnus continued to tour the world.

The 2005 release "Viaticum" became the best selling instrumental jazz album of that year in Europe and paved the way for the success of the band in the USA.

e.s.t. became the first European jazz band ever to be featured on the cover of the legendary Downbeat magazine in the USA. The albums "Tuesday Wonderland" (2006) and "Live in Hamburg" (2007) repeated this success. In the meantime the band played in sold-out concert halls from New York to Tokyo, from Sydney to Jakarta and all over Europe.

On June 14, 2008 Esbjörn Svensson died in a diving accident.
The previously finished album "Leucocyte" became their last album ever and was released worldwide on September 01, 2008 !