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

andy palacio r.i.p.

some very sad news
another january death
not someone i knew personally
but certainly someone i admire
andy palacio was a musician from berlize (south america)
i was first exposed to his music quite by accident
when attending the rainforest world music festival in borneo
the cd shop there had some music from his label called stonetree records
the artwork and packaging was very appealing
(something digital downloading can never replicate)
further investigation revealed reference to a unique style of music
given the name of garifuna also the name of the people who practice this style
most appealing was that the music is centered around acoustic guitars
given a mix of african and caribbean styles
which relates directly to the ancestry of the garifuna people
a couple of cd's were bought at the festival
which i enjoyed so much i wrote to the label
and expressed my enthusiasm for the music
not long after a bunch of cd's arrived in the mail
the owner of the label, ivan duran, sent them to me with a thank-you note
quite humbled i was at his generosity
so in a very minor way i feel slightly connected to his loss
seems they have acheived some significant recognition
there's a huge world music festival every year held in spain
last year andy palacio and ivan duran were honoured with the womex award
for the group or individual representing the best in world music
maybe on the back of that a world tour was organised and underway
when andy palacio suffered a stroke in alabama
and was brought back to his beloved berlize
to die in his country of birth
on january the 19th
he was 47 years old
so sad
some relevant links follow
wiki entry for andy palacio
obituary in the times
web site of stonetree records
and here is a superb youtube video of the man and his music