The Esbjorn Svensson Trio completed a short Irish tour on Monday night with one of the best jazz concerts heard in Dublin for some time. It was fresh, original and performed with a sense of engagement that made the concert by Charlie Haden's more celebrated Quartet West the previous night seem like going through the motions.
The trio - Svensson on piano, Dan Berglund on bass and Magnus Ostrom on drums - have been together for years, and it showed in the crisp responsiveness of their interaction. The first set epitomised some of the dominant characteristics of their music - and a limitation - with very simple material used as a jumping-off place to explore the ideas it suggested.
A favourite procedure is to take phrases and play with them in terms of rhythm and line, trusting to the group's interaction and superb sense of dynamics and textural contrast to provide interest and coherence. It is arguably most effective on ballads, where mood and lyricism are important; in the gorgeous, elegiac and sensual From Gagarin's Point Of View, the trio offered a performance of stunning beauty.
Perhaps significantly, the second set used more material not composed by the trio. Again, however, it was a ballad that stood out; their own The Chapel was almost as impressive as the highlight of the first set.
Nevertheless, this Swedish group are a marvellous trio, with an excellent drummer, a bassist of musically commanding presence and a pianist whose skill and joy in making music were palpable. Encompassing everything from dance and groove to their own take on straight-ahead and ballads, they provided a memorable night's music.
