Rosendals Garden Yelena Eckemoff

• 1 ABBA Museum 09:15
• 2 Rosendals Garden 09:04
• 3 Gamla Stan 09:35
• 4 Country Orchard Cafe' 08:53
• 5 Öresund Bridge 05:54
• 6 Skansen Park 07:37
• 7 Sunrise in Rimbo 07:05
• 8 Ruins of Älvsborg 07:32
• 9 Storanden Nature Reserve 08:22
• 10 Strandvägen Pier 08:04
• 11 Gripsholm Castle 07:04
• Total Runtime 01:28:25

Info zu Rosendals Garden

Acclaimed pianist and composer Yelena Eckemoff, known for her richly imaginative jazz storytelling, unveils her newest release: Rosendals Garden — a trio tribute to Sweden’s natural beauty, history, and quiet magic. Set for worldwide release on March 27, 2026, this 11-track album (Yelena’s 23rd since 2010) adds to her impressive collection of compositions that integrate sophisticated jazz improvisation with a deeply personal narrative.

Inspired by her travels to Sweden and recorded with some of the country’s most prominent musicians, Rosendals Garden captures more than just picturesque scenery. It immerses listeners in the composer’s inner experiences, emotional impressions, and wide-eyed awe before the natural world, symbolized by the verdant sanctuary by the same name.

Each composition on Rosendals Garden functions as a standalone short story, yet together these tunes form a sweeping suite of emotional and cultural exploration. The album opens with “ABBA Museum,” an energetic, melody-driven homage to the Swedish supergroup ABBA, an early musical interest that persuaded Yelena to experiment beyond the superb classical training that informs each of her pieces. She follows with the title track, “Rosendals Garden,” an alternating reflective/stimulating meditation that recalls the peace and vibrancy of this floral oasis in Djurgården, Stockholm’s city center. Likewise, with its free, jagged turns, “Gamla Stan” captures the haunting echoes that reverberate amongst the ancient cobblestones of Stockholm’s Old City.

Even this early in the album, Yelena demonstrates a firm connection with her band: Her storytelling makes full use of the eclectic, seductive percussion of Morgan Ågren, the album’s drummer, and of the string-based contributions of Svante Henryson, who plays either acoustic or electric bass on all of the tracks and cello on nine out of eleven. To grasp how intimately coordinated this trio is, note how Svante’s lyrical cello accents “Country Orchard Café,” a tender, pastoral interlude inspired by a spontaneous detour into a charming village café, or how Morgan’s resolute pulse-keeping undergirds the ominous harmonies of “Öresund Bridge,” recalling a fog-drenched drive across one of Europe’s most iconic feats of engineering. These contrasting tracks also show off the breadth and depth of Yelena’s consummate skills as a composer and player.

But the proof is in the listening. In the playfulness of the retro vibe and the depth of the shifting moods of “Skansen Park,” an amusement where Swedish history comes alive. In the peacefulness and understated elegance of “Sunrise in Rimbo.” In the ghostly aura of “Ruins of Älvsborg,” its oscillating effects and marching rhythm alluding to the distant memory of this former military stronghold. In the tension between light and shadow in “Storanden Nature Reserve,” suggesting sun rays slicing through the dim of the wild woods. And in the raucous, whimsical excitement of “Strandvägen Pier,” Stockholm’s architecturally stunning waterfront.

Finally, the album closes with “Gripsholm Castle,” a luscious track replete with geometric lines festooned with florid melodies—a nod to the stateliness of this finely preserved medieval landmark and a reminder that, once upon a time, it was the most glorious sight in the land. This kind of restorative vision, so much in evidence throughout Rosendals Garden, goes a long way to set Yelena apart as a composer.

Notably, most of the Rosendals tracks feature extensive free group improvisations—though the listener would be hard-pressed to ascertain the passages where the trio is playing extemporaneously rather than by the score, so seamless is their musical communication. Here's the tipoff: You can hear the moments when the players lean into each other, focusing intently on their conversation. It happens about a third of the way into “Ruins of Älvsborg,” when the pauses lengthen and the repartee breathes a bit before the theme reenters. Or on the latter part of “ABBA Museum,” when each of the players is sharing their own internal ruminations inspired by the catchy hooks. Or just off the center of the title track, when, simultaneously, each player pulls out their personalized riffs, infusing the otherwise introspective tune with some surprising splashes of color.

Throughout this kaleidoscope of an album, Yelena remains masterfully in charge—always the consummate composer, instrumentalist, and bandleader. She continues to assert what a jazz album can be—not just a collection of ear-pleasing tunes, but a deeply felt experience transformed into pure sound.

“With Rosendals Garden, Eckemoff ventures into particularly fertile terrain: a refined form of symphonic jazz that is as intricate as it is welcoming. The compositions are sophisticated in construction, the arrangements layered and harmonically adventurous, yet nothing feels hermetic.

“Accessibility, in her hands, is not compromise but strategy. In an era when jazz often competes for attention through volume or technical spectacle, Eckemoff opts instead for narrative patience and emotional architecture.

“Within the broader contemporary jazz landscape, Eckemoff occupies a distinctive space. While American jazz often leans into rhythmic assertiveness and European jazz sometimes drifts toward abstraction, she forges a synthesis: structurally rigorous yet narratively intimate, classically grounded yet improvisationally fluid. As a composer in a field still disproportionately defined by male bandleaders, her authority feels neither declarative nor defensive, it is simply assumed.” (Thierry de Clemensat, Paris Move)

Yelena Eckemoff, piano, keyboards, composition
Svante Henryson, cello, electric and double bass
Morgan Ågren, drums and percussion

Recorded on Aug. 28-29, 2024 at RMV Studio, Stockholm, Sweden
Engineered by Linn Final
Mixing and mastering by Stefano Amerio

Yelena Eckemoff
was born in Moscow, Russia, in the Soviet Union. Her parents noticed that she had musical talent when she started to play piano by ear at the age of four. Yelena’s mother, Olga, a professional pianist, became her first piano teacher. At the age of seven Yelena was accepted into an elite Gnessins School for musically gifted children where, in addition to common school subjects, she received extensive training in piano, music theory, music literature, solfeggio, harmony, analysis of musical forms, conducting, composing, and other musical subjects. She was fortunate to study piano with Anna Pavlovna Kantor, who also trained one of today’s most celebrated pianists, Evgeny Kissin. Later Yelena studied piano with Galina Nikolaevna Egiazarova at the Moscow State Conservatory. Upon graduation with Master’s Degree in piano performance and pedagogy, she worked as a piano teacher in one of Moscow music schools, gave solo concerts, attended courses at the Moscow Jazz Studio, played in an experimental jazz-rock band, and composed a lot of instrumental and vocal music.

In 1991, with her husband, Yelena emigrated to the United States. While assimilating and surviving in a new country and raising children, she had to put her musical career on hold. During these years Yelena experimented with synthesizer and MIDI sequencer in her little home studio, then founded an ensemble of local musicians. She self-released albums in various genres including classical, vocal, folk, Christian, and her original music.

She recorded her first jazz album, COLD SUN, in 2009, accompanied by drummer Peter Erskine and Danish bassist Mads Vinding, which proved to be the major turning point in her jazz career. Cold Sun was names one of 15 best jazz CD releases of 2010 by Warren Allen (AAJ) and drew comparisons to the stark music of ECM Records.

From that point on, Eckemoff churned out compelling and focused jazz albums at an astounding pace; she recorded and released four more piano trio records in less than four years engaging such notable jazz musicians as Mads Vinding, Morten Lund, Mats Eilertsen, Marilyn Mazur, Darek Olezskiewicz, Peter Erskine, and Arild Andersen. FORGET-ME-NOT (L & H, 2012) was in the best 10 on CMJ charts for over 10 weeks. “Themes of nature, sounds of isolation, stark settings, and blurred lines between compositional and improvisational elements are visible on all of Eckemoff’s trio dates, but no two records sound exactly the same.” (John Kelman)

For GLASS SONG (L&H, 2013), she reenlisted Erskine and brought bassist Arild Andersen into the fold for the first time. Surprisingly, neither veteran had ever recorded together, but you would never know it. “Eckemoff, Andersen and Erskine create music that’s focused, yet free floating, and open, yet never nebulous. Pure melody is of less importance than the greater narrative in each number, but the music still sings out with melodic grace. While Manfred Eicher and his storied label have nothing to do with this record, Glass Song has that “ECM sound,” if ever it existed. Mystery, blooming musical thoughts and vaguely haunting notions are at the heart of this captivating album.” (Dan Bilawsky)

Yelena Eckemoff ‘s Lions (L&H 2015), with bassist Arild Andersen and drummer Billy Hart is a long but comprehensive look at animals in the wild with human touches, a classical-jazz soundtrack that goes beyond the superficial, intermission grabs for attention and seeks out the feelings beneath the eerily accurate movements.

“EVERBLUE (L&H, 2015) has Arild Andersen, saxophonist Tore Brunborg and drummer Jon Christensen. This Norwegian all-star contingent fits beautifully into Eckemoff’s aesthetic: Andersen with his looming pronouncements like final summations; Christensen with his suggestive rhythmic ambiguity; Brunborg with his clear, clean sound and respect for space. Glass Song, Lions and Everblue contain some of the most powerful, poetic work of Andersen’s long career.” (Thomas Conrad)

“LEAVING EVERYTHING BEHIND (L&H, 2016) is united around themes of departure and loss. Yelena wrote a poem for each piece and made the cover art. She is accompanied by violinist Mark Feldman, whose background is in classical and country music. Several of compositions date from the 1980s; a time when she was just beginning her exploration into jazz. These pieces seem highly refined, replete with airy, vague harmonies that refer equally to Bill Evans and Claude Debussy.” (Mark Sullivan)

BLOOMING TALL PHLOX (L&H, 2017) is intended to evoke different scents that Yelena Eckemoff recalls from her childhood in Russia. These powerful smells trigger a myriad of magical memories, each of which somehow, is transformed into a moveable feast of sounds – melodies set free by Yelena Eckemoff on a gloriously tuned piano and harmonized by Verneri Pohjola, a Finnish horn player, together with Panu Savolainen on vibraphone, Antti Lötjönen on bass and the percussionist colorist Olavi Louhivuori.

Although jazz is associated with improvisation, Eckemoff often writes her tunes out. Her music has been described as classical chamber music in the context of improvisational jazz. She developed a highly acclaimed jazz style that incorporates her classical technique and influences very effectively. With each new record Eckemoff’s distinctive, recognizable approach to melody becomes even more prominent. Yelena Eckemoff uses life and nature’s bouquets as her muse to create the body of work that blends post-modern abstraction, classical thought, and jazz language into a seamless whole. True to her classical-jazz impressionism, Eckemoff sees humanity in nature.

A band leader, producer and co-founder of L & H Production record label, Yelena also gives piano lessons. She had served as a church musician and choir director for over 22 years, until she got too busy with her recording and performing schedule. Yelena believes in hard work, God’s guidance, humanism, and eternal love.

Dieses Album enthält kein Booklet