Esbjörn Svensson Trio e.s.t: From Gagarin´s Point Of View e.s.t. made its ultimate international breakthrough in 1999 with “From Gagarin’s Point Of View”, a work that marked the beginning of its collaboration with ACT. Today, 15 years later, it is still considered to be one of the best e.s.t. albums, and jazz fans and critics alike hail it as a milestone of European jazz from the last 20 years.
Pieces like “Dodge The Dodo” and “From Gagarin’s Point Of View” have become jazz standards, and they are played and interpreted by musicians around the globe. If there were a Hall Of Fame of jazz albums, “From Gagarin’s Point Of View” would be in it alongside masterpieces the likes of “Kind Of Blue”, “A Love Supreme” or Keith Jarrett’s “The Köln Concert”.
“A little miracle” wrote the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper of the album at the time, and Der Spiegel attested it: “Imaginative improvisations, melodic sophistication, stirring drive.” The London Guardian joined in the hymns of praise, saying: “The Esbjörn Svensson Trio sounds as if it would give any jazz piano trio on the planet a run for its money.”
Excerpt from the 1999 press release: Compositional complexity and well-considered style diversity combine with rhythmic sensitivity for the requisite portion of groove and melodic catchiness. The eleven compositions bring together esprit, individuality and entertainment, concept and vision with smart casualness, forming a contemporary collection of improvisational opportunities: “What we wanted to do was leave the music in its natural flow to as great an extent as possible.
And the curious title that Magnus thought up fitted very well. Gagarin was the first person to ever see the Earth from space. From up there, in solitude, he could see everything that was happening down here.
We liked the thought of that as the title of the album and the idea behind it.”
