Magnus Ostrom

“Thread Of Life”

(ACT Music ACT 9025-2)

The tragic death of pianist Esbjorn Svensson in 2008, the result of a diving accident, brought about the untimely demise of E.S.T., one of the world’s most innovative and influential jazz ensembles. For what was nominally a jazz act the Swedish trio, also featuring bassist Dan Berglund and drummer Magnus Ostrom, had achieved an almost unprecedented degree of worldwide commercial success but had done so without any inherent compromise in the quality of their music.
As a group E.S.T’s music had developed organically and exponentially over a lengthy career, with each new album representing a subtle step forward from the previous one. The trio’s final release, “Leucocyte”, recorded shortly before Svensson’s death saw the trio pushing deep into improvisational territory, a radical variation when compared to many of their previous recordings. Right until the end E.S.T. continued to grow, always pushing the envelope with their unique blend of jazz, rock and classical influences.

Svensson was irreplaceable and it took a long time before either Berglund or Ostrom felt ready to dip their toes in the stream of the music business once more. Despite the close knit nature of E.S.T.  neither felt that it would be appropriate for them to work together immediately, and certainly not in any form of piano trio. Berglund broke the silence first with his 2010 album and band Tonbruket. The music of Tonbruket drew heavily upon Berglund’s rock background plus several other influences, including country. It was certainly very different to E.S.T. and critical responses were decidedly mixed. Here at The Jazzmann we rather liked it and Ian’s review of the Tonbruket album and Tim’s of the group’s London live show can be found elsewhere on this site.

Likewise Ostrom’s long awaited solo album has also divided critical opinion with some commentators comparing it unfavourably with progressive rock. Well I grew up with prog, as I suspect, did Ostrom and for my money this is a very impressive piece of work, more focussed than the (very good) Tonbruket album yet at the same time covering a wide stylistic and textural range.
Ostrom has assembled a core group from the fertile Stockholm music scene consisting of guitarist Andreas Hourdakis, keyboard player Gustaf Karlof and bassist Thobias Gabrielsson. There is considerable doubling up of instruments with Ostrom being credited with keyboards, electronics and vocals as well as his usual drums.

Ostrom’s core band is excellent throughout but inevitably the album’s centre piece is destined to be track six, “Ballad For E”, Ostrom’s tribute to the departed Svensson which was recorded in New York with Berglund on double bass and Pat Metheny on guitars. Metheny was a big admirer of E.S.T. and   occasionally collaborated with them at festivals but a proposed recording never happened. This though is the next best thing with Metheny applying his magic to Ostrom’s tune in a fitting and beautiful tribute to their departed friend. The tune wouldn’t be out of place on a Metheny album and the guitarist added much to the final version of the piece. Metheny’s playing on both acoustic and electric guitars is beautiful throughout and there’s a fluent acoustic bass solo from Berglund, redolent with meaning and a far cry from his “Hendrix of the bass” workouts with E.S.T.
Ostrom deliberately keeps a low profile, his mainly brushed drum backing succinct, restrained and tasteful.

But Ostrom was always a key component of the E.S.T sound with his shifting grooves and meters and incredible attention to detail. He’s less laid back elsewhere on an album that opens with the gamelan meets electronica of “Prelude” before metamorphosing into the groove orientated “Piano Break Song” which features Ostrom’s trademark shuffling hip-hop style patterns. The guitars and keyboards are reminiscent of both prog and jazz rock (a hint of Return To Forever, perhaps) and also incorporate Steve Reich style looping and sequencing. As the piece gathers momentum it acquires a certain majestic keyboard driven grandeur, all the while fuelled by Ostrom’s subtly propulsive grooves. I love it-but I can see where the doubters are coming from too. 

The lilting “Longing” is more similar to the work of Ostrom’s old group with fragments of melody being developed by guitar and keyboard, all subtly pushed along by Ostrom’s gentle grooves. Karlof undertakes a lengthy piano solo but manages to avoid sounding like Svensson. Ostrom is particularly adept at developing layers of sound, something E.S.T. also used to excel in and again this piece builds to a majestic climax.

“Afilia Mi” features Ostrom, the vocalist, something that’s not happened since the early E.S.T. album “When Everyone Has Gone” released on the Dragon label in 1993! Ostrom’s wordless vocal soars above a dense forest of interlocking melodies and grooves, a highly personalised take on one of the Pat Metheny Group’s favourite devices.

Ostrom was responsible for E.S.T’s often enigmatic tune titles. Some of the titles he has chosen here are highly personal and would appear to relate to the tragic events surrounding Svensson’s death. The two had known each other since infancy and it’s no surprise to learn that Ostrom was hit hard by the loss of his life long friend. “Weight Of Death” with its funereal church organ and hymnal guitar chording seems to be a reflection on Svensson’s death. Bracketed together with “Ballad For E” it seems to form a kind of elegy to his long term musical partner. 

“The Haunted Thoughts And The Endless Fall” is brief but frenetic- pounding piano and drums are topped by distorted guitar and other electronica. This may seem ghoulish, but to me it sounds like a musical depiction of the nature of Svensson’s demise, frantically struggling in deep water on the end of a faulty air line.

The sombre ballad “Between” seems to be cut from the same cloth as the earlier “Weight Of Death”. Bassist Thobias Gabrielsson makes an effective appearance on melancholy sounding trumpet. Elsewhere keyboards and guitar are stitched into the fabric of the tune with the utmost delicacy and a flowing piano solo features Karlof at his most lyrical.

“Hymn For The Past” is a two part prog rock epic. The brief “Part 1” is a gently reflective and shimmering curtain raiser that eventually segues into “Part II” as Ostrom and his colleagues leisurely set the controls for the heart of the sun in a slowly unfolding epic. There are hints of Metheny’s “As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls” in the way that the music builds slowly from very simple components to full on quasi orchestral magnificence. Again, it’s all about layering and the piece is not without its longueurs. Even I must admit that it’s rather overblown and can drag at times, it’ll almost certainly provoke a barrage of ammunition from Ostrom’s detractors.

“Thread Of Life” is very much a studio creation with it’s layers of overdubbing and electronica. I’ll be interested to hear from anybody who attends Ostrom’s show at London’s Pizza Express on 12th of March with regard to how this music sounds live.

In the meantime “Thread Of Life” is essentially a very interesting work with much to recommend it. It’s also a very brave record. Ostrom initially eased his way back into playing as a sideman and producer firstly with bassist Lars Danielsson and then with singer Jeanette Lindstrom but there is undoubtedly a lot of catharsis here as Ostrom finally tackles the death of his friend and colleague Svensson head on. The good stuff here more than outweighs the bad and all E.S.T. fans will wish to hear this album. “Ballad For E”, in particular, is absolutely essential listening.

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