E.s.t were arguably the most influential jazz band of the past ten years; sort of the Radiohead of jazz if you like, so when leader Esbjörn Svensson tragically died in an accident in 2008 I suppose the pressure was on to continue playing with e.s.t. drummer Magnus Öström.

But Dan sorted out sessions with some pre-e.s.t friends and formulated Tonbruket with a line up of multi-instrumentalist Johan Lindström (guitars, lap- and pedal steel, piano), Martin Hederos (piano, pump organ, violin, keyboards, accordion), Andreas Werliin (drums, percussion) and, of course, Berglund (double bass).

Now if you’re into Don Cherry’s Here & Now, this is sort of the equivalent from a Scandinavian point of view 30 odd years on. There’s no funk in it, the guitars are more angular (rock/Goth compared to the ‘flowing’ Carlos Santana style of ‘Universal Mother’) - much like what Nils Petter Molvær is to updating Miles’ legacy save there’s no gang of big name mates as in Cherry’s day.

Unsurprisingly, there is a starkness over the 10 tracks which you’d expect in the circumstances but whilst it is emotional, like the introduction to the opener ‘Sister Sad’ there’s a glorious harmony of jazz rock and the beautiful pedal steel lines Johan Lindström. This is a definite highlight on the album and whilst not exactly prog, it reminds me a little of Camel’s ‘Snow Goose’ as it meets a runaway train (another one for train spotters).

If you’re looking for a bridge between Radiohead and Arthur Russell in a jazz way, ‘Sailor Waltz’ is it. A pure ‘waltz’ of jazz meets folk meets classical meets improve meets cinematic (ideal for the In Bruges prequel/sequel; along with the sombre closer ‘Waltz For Matilda’). A couple of absolutely fantastic tracks that features that pedal steel again and whilst I wouldn’t want to pigeon-hole this one as a one (or two or three) track album, ‘Sailor Waltz’ it’s my favourite by a long way.

That said, again of the experimental side of Russell, there’s a leftfield violin centric hoe down called ‘Gi Hop’, sort of ‘This Is How We Walk On The Moon’ in the Appalachians - most odd but incredibly intoxicating in a sort of annoying Pat Metheny way.

And the next track also has a touch of Metheny and John Williams about it where the title says it all, ‘The Wind And The Leaves’ and this marks another downturn in tempo to the most e.s.t like ‘Wolverine Hoods’ where it’s all about the meandering piano melody that’s held down by the wolverine cry of the electric guitar.

‘Monstrous Colossus’ is more like heavy prog (some have said ELP, which would be spot on with a Hammond organ) whilst ‘Song For E’ sounds as if it’s a tribute for Esbjörn as a mournful jazz trio piece and ‘Cold Blooded Music’ continues the theme with a bowed bass intro before cracking with some banjo and efx (like some of the more experimental parts of the last e.s.t. album Leucocyte).

Berglund has said that e.s.t and hard rock has (and will) always be a part of him but as the writing credits seem fairly evenly split between all four members of the band (with a range of playing musically styles from folk to free-jazz), there’s no dominant theme or genre affiliation as such, just the emergent of a Tonbruket sound.

And with a full UK tour to support the album’s release, I for one can’t wait to see them play live and keep your eye on Jez Nelson’s Radio 3 show as he’s bound to do a feature on them.

P.S. ‘Tonbruket’ is actually Swedish for big workshops that “produce” sounds.

Forthcoming UK Tour Dates 2010
13th March - Edinburgh, Queen’s Hall
15th March - London, QEH Southbank Centre
20th March - Dublin, The Button Factory
25th March - Manchester, Band On The Wall
26th March - Nottingham, Lakeside
27th March - Gateshead, Sage
28th March - Southamption, Turner Sims
29th March - Milton Keynes, The Stables
30th March - Birmingham, CBSO Centre
31st March - Barnstaple, The Queen’s Theatre
1st April - Bristol, St. Georges Hall

Reviewed: Dan Berglund - Tonbruket (ACT Music) Cat. No. ACT 9023-2 Release date: 15th March 2010 Line Up:
Tracklisting:
01 - Sister Sad (6:28)
02 - Stethoscope (2:21)
03 - Sailor Waltz (9:45)
04 - Gi Hop (4:18)
05 - The Wind And The Leaves (3:03)
06 - Wolverine Hoods (6:09)
07 - Monstrous Colossus (5:26)
08 - Song For E (6:32)
09 - Cold Blooded Music (7:37)
10 - Waltz For Matilda (3:43)

Links:
www.tonbruket.com
www.myspace.com/tonbruket
actmusic.com
est-music.com
http://www.myspace.com/esbjornsvenssontrio
Jazz on 3: Presented by Jez Nelson - Joe Lovano’s Us Five at Ronnie Scott’s 1.11.10
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Bruges