E.S.T. at Manchester Bridgewater Hall

JS up in the gods

Gill and I are agreed that when E.S.T. are on form (and we have only ever heard them on form), they are the best in the World. Words like pure, precise, intense, real, and vibrant flow off our tongues as we reel out into the world beyond the concert hall doors.

Tonight was no exception and the reeling was even more marked because we both spent the first hour of the night's 2 performances gripped by some dreadful fear than can only have been vertigo brought on by the precipitous heights of the Hall's Gallery and the unusual amount of heat that seemed to have gathered under the Bridgewater's cavernous roof. This was a real shame because the support:

Eivind Aarset Trio were a fine band and musically challenging with the wealth of electronic effects being driven by the three young men and their guitar, bass and percussion. Our malaise was such that we both found ourselves thinking - "This is great but please stop so we can get out of here!" - as the sounds rose and fell in great swirls of rhythm and colour. They deserved better attention than we were able to give, and during the interval we revived our spirits with fresh air, ice cream, red wine (or water) and found ourselves a seat further back from the rail. And so to the much anticipated:

E.S.T.

I make no bones about my regard for this band - they are the cream of live music - full stop. There is so much oozing from those three men and their instruments when they play on stage that its awe inspiring. Several times, Esbjorn, announcing the songs in his quiet, slow English style paused as if waiting for a reaction and was then prompted to ask "Are you still alive?" - well we were - but the whole audience was stunned into reverent silence that was only broken at the end of pieces for heartfelt applause, not least when the Dan put down his bass after the last piece - surely not - already?

The set was superb, leading out with "Rubes song"??? Written for Esbjorn's son, we heard several tunes from the new album Viaticum, and other older pieces, many of them mixed into medleys of 3 or 4 pieces. These included "Tide of Trepidation","Eighty-eight days in my veins","Viaticum", "Mingle in the Mixing Machine" and my favourite of the night: "The Unstable Table & The Infamous Fable" in which Esbjorn keeps up a classic style arpeggio(?) throughout whilst Dan lets rip with the bow on his bass and Magnus keeps the incessant beat going.

I wonder if the the recent shift from being the Esbjorn Svensson Trio to E.S.T. is not at least partly driven by the their being a band - a unit - in which all 3 players play an equal and high role, with each of them demonstrating virtuoso levels of performance: Magnus played the most amazing thing - an interesting drum solo - mixing percussion with echo and no doubt other electronic effects brought out a new dynamic that I'm at a loss to find words for it, and provides a spectrum of texture in his playing that underpins the Trio's music, whilst Dan finds so many colours in his bass and provides so very much excitement in the music. Esbjorn of course has the name and plays his piano with such an intense and passionate manner, not just the keys, but the strings too, and his posture makes me fear for his back in later years!

A word too about the stage - 5 simple vertical strips of white material hung behind the band and they received projections of patterns and at one stage a three dimensional image of Esbjorn's head rotating slowly, whilst the band were lit by a simple but effective set of lights, including an earthy orange light that seemed so rich, supplemented by 3 rotating pattern lights from above which which added further movement to the overall effect. The lighting highlight was an intense pool of purple that was centered by red-orange and that further centered by a yellow, giving the band a warm, sumptuous, fiery glow.

The handout brochure is effusive in its praise - invoking the name of Hendrix and rightfully noting that E.S.T. link 21st century dance rhythms with the acoustic of the jazz piano trio, Gill coined it well on the way home - "Heavy Jazz". Heavy yes, but when needed E.S.T. can be light and delicate as proved on the beautiful, lace thin rendition of "Believe, Beleft, Below" they used as an encore - encore? Already?

No need for gatecrashing tonight, the Trio turned out to sign CDs and be photographed in the foyer - another snap for Sycophant's Corner is bagged - and we reel out into the Manchester night - thanks Gill for a top birthday present, and thank you E.S.T.