| Jazz |
Embracing the Present: Mattias Svensson’s Quiet Authority in Modern European Jazz
In an era when jazz often oscillates between nostalgic revival and restless experimentation, Embrace arrives as a quietly confident statement, an album that neither looks backward nor feels compelled to shout its modernity. It speaks instead with assurance, depth, and patience. When the name Mattias Svensson appears on the cover, seasoned listeners already know they are in trustworthy hands.
Svensson is no stranger to discerning jazz audiences. His bass work can be heard on two notable recordings released by the prestigious German label ACT: Viktoria Tolstoy’s Stealing Moments and Jan Lundgren’s The Ystad Concert – A Tribute to Jan Johansson.
Both albums showcased his elegant restraint, tonal warmth, and deep understanding of space, qualities that have since become his signature.
On Embrace, Svensson steps decisively into the foreground. The album is built primarily around his own compositions, revealing not only a master instrumentalist but a composer with a distinct narrative voice. These pieces feel less like isolated tunes than chapters in a broader story, cinematic, suggestive, and carefully paced. There is a strong sense of imagery at work here, as if each track were designed to unfold visually as much as musically.
Though firmly rooted in the jazz tradition, Svensson’s writing belongs unmistakably to the 21st century. His music reflects a European lineage shaped by classical training, yet it also carries the imprint of a generation raised alongside rock, pop, and folk music. These influences surface subtly, never as quotation, but as texture and instinct, woven into complex structures and intelligent arrangements that reward close listening.
As a permanent member of the Jan Lundgren Trio, Svensson is widely regarded as one of the most important European bassists of his generation. That experience shows. His compositions balance accessibility with sophistication, offering clear melodic entry points while quietly unfolding harmonic and rhythmic depth beneath the surface. This is music that welcomes the listener in, then asks them to stay.
The origins of Embrace trace back to a chance but meaningful encounter. Svensson first met American pianist Bill Mays in a Japanese studio, where they recorded Svensson’s debut trio album, released in 2009. Subsequent collaborations and tours only deepened their musical rapport. Determined to explore that connection further, Svensson organized this new session in Copenhagen, bringing together Mays and drummer Morten Lund, his longtime partner in the Jan Lundgren Trio.
Lund, himself a central figure in contemporary European jazz, is another familiar presence on the ACT label. His résumé includes collaborations with artists such as Iiro Rantala and Ulf Wakenius, as well as trio projects with Lars Danielsson and Marius Neset. He can also be heard on Good Morning Susie Soho by the Esbjörn Svensson Trio (E.S.T.).
His drumming on Embrace is both supple and precise, never intrusive, always attentive to the music’s evolving dynamics.
What emerges from this collaboration is an extraordinary trio, shaped by decades of shared experience and deep musical trust. These are musicians who have spent years on the world’s stages alongside the leading figures of modern jazz, and that maturity resonates throughout the album. The improvisations are luminous yet disciplined; the solos unfold with clarity, originality, and purpose rather than virtuosity for its own sake.
At first glance, Embrace may appear classically structured, almost conservative in form. Yet beneath that surface lies a subtle jazz-fusion sensibility, not in overt stylistic gestures but in intent: the blending of genres, generations, and musical languages into a coherent, personal voice. This tension between restraint and exploration gives the album its quiet power.
Svensson’s stature as one of Europe’s finest double bassists is beyond dispute, and Embrace only reinforces that reputation. More importantly, it confirms his standing as a first-rate composer and arranger, an artist capable of shaping not just performances, but entire musical worlds.
This is not an album that reveals itself in a single listen. It asks for time, attention, and return visits. In doing so, it offers rare rewards. For those willing to engage with it fully, Embrace will not merely be another entry in a jazz collection, t will become one of its enduring treasures.
Thierry De Clemensat
Member at Jazz Journalists Association
USA correspondent for Paris-Move and ABS magazine
Editor in chief – Bayou Blue Radio, Bayou Blue News
PARIS-MOVE, December 27th 2025
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Musicians :
Mattias Svensson – bass
Bill Mays – piano
Morten Lund – drums
Track Listing :
1 My Toots Toots (For Toots) 7:01
2 Bluetiful 6:25
3 Erik Satir 5:02
4 Shagit 7:55
5 Fredriksson 2 1:25
6 Steps (Ahead) 8:08
7 Theme From Emmerdale 6:14
8 Tomorrow’s Trickster 6:07
9 Cheddar 5:12
10 Längtar Till Fredag (Theme From N.P. Möller) 1:42
11 T’ai the Chi(t) Together 7:45
12 A Shorter Way 6:47
13 Fredriksson 3 1:35
All music by Mattias Svensson (STIM), except: (2) Svensson & Jan Lundgren (STIM); (7) Tony Hatch (Chevron Music Ltd); (9) Bill Mays (No Blues Music, ASCAP); (10) Rolf Sersam, Jacques Werup, Åke Wihlney (STIM)
Produced by Mattias Svensson
Executive Producer: Christina Giovanos
Recorded & mixed by Thomas Vang at The Village Recording, Copenhagen, Denmark
Recorded on August 1-3, 2022
Mastered by David Elberling at The Village Recording Studie B, Copenhagen, Denmark
Band photo by Thomas Vang
Cover design & layout by John Bishop