esbjorn svensson r.i.p.

2 days ago i had a good listen to a new album
tuesday wonderland by e.s.t - the esbjorn svensson trio
i had the fortune of seeing them live a couple of times several years ago
they were the major headline act at the wangaratta jazz festival 2005
but somehow despite that i had not connected with their recordings
until recently i was given a bunch of cds to have a listen to
this one was amongst them and the first one i went for
it's a real beauty of an album with some great sounds
one that i had decided will go on high rotation
i.e. will be loaded into the iriver/mp3 player
then yesterday the supplier of the cd's contacted me
seems ebjorn svensson had met with an accident
he had been scuba-diving near an island off stockholm
and was found on the sea-bed near a jetty with severe injuries
no more detail than that but he is now no longer
what remains though is a body of work
some 12 albums recorded since 1993
searching around on the www reveals a lot of info
he and his music were certainly held in high esteem
jazz group of the year in europe several times apparantly
which would indicate he is no slouch on the piano
i also stumbled on an impressive youtube video
featuring the masterful pat metheny on guitar
which says a lot in itself as pm rarely jams
so there has to be a high level of regard there
he was born on the same date as me but 6 years later
44 years of age and survived by a wife and 2 boys
some relevant links follow
wiki entry for esbjorn svensson trio
obituary in the times
and here is a youtube video of dodge the dodo
a tune mentioned in the obituary as being the groundbreaker
demonstrating their willingness to stretch out
adding other noises to the conventional
something seen and heard more and more
and something i for one appreciate