photos by Harry Eckemoff
Acclaimed pianist and composer YELENA ECKEMOFF unveils Rosendals Garden, a tribute to Sweden’s natural beauty, history, and quiet magic, recorded at RMV Studio, owned by ABBA’s Benny Anderson.
Known for her richly imaginative jazz storytelling, YELENA ECKEMOFF’s twenty-third record since 2010, the eleven-song Rosendals Garden adds to her impressive collection of compositions that integrate sophisticated jazz improvisation with a deep, personal narrative. Inspired by her travels to Sweden, the album was recorded with some of the country’s most prominent musicians – Svante Henryson providing cello and double and electrical basses and Morgan Ågren (Karmakanic, ex-Devin Townend-live, ex-Magma-live) performing all drums and percussion – with YELENA ECKEMOFF writing all compositions and arrangements and performing all piano and keys.
Throughout this kaleidoscope of an album, YELENA ECKEMOFF 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. 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.
Rosendals Garden was recorded on August 28th and 29th, 2024 at RMV Studio in Stockholm, Sweden – owned by Benny Anderson of ABBA – tracked by engineer Linn Fijal, and was mastered by Stefano Amerio. Like all her records, the cover art for the album was painted by YELENA ECKEMOFF herself.
The latest preview of this epic album, “Gamla Stan,” arrives through a video of the album trio capturing the song live in the studio.
“Frankly, we’re not much into tourist activities. But Gamla Stan (Old City), like a magnet, is truly a special place where the spirit of the ancient times is still alive underneath the multitude of gift shops and noisy crowds,” ECKEMOFF delves. “The experience of actually living in the heart of Gamla Stan was a bit surreal. But even through the hustle and bustle I could still hear the history slumbering below the cobblestones and inside the thick walls. Old and current times here live happily side by side. Old time is tired and resting in shadows, while new time is busily rushing by.”
Watch YELENA ECKEMOFF’s “Gamla Stan” on YouTube HERE, and stream the song on Bandcamp HERE and other digital services HERE.
Rosendals Garden will be released digitally and on digipak CD through ECKEMOFF’s own L&H Production on March 27th. Find preorders HERE and presaves HERE. Several prior singles, videos of the cover art being painted and of the trio discussing the record, and more are playing on YouTube HERE.
Additional preview singles from the album will be released over the weeks ahead.
YELENA ECKEMOFF was born in Moscow, Russia, in the former Soviet Union. She showed early talent at the piano and began studying at an early age with her mother, Olga, a professional pianist and teacher. At seven, she attended Gnessin State Musical College, a school for musically gifted children, and furthered her education in classical piano at Moscow State Conservatory. After graduating, she began concertizing, studying jazz, composing music for several instruments, playing in a jazz-rock band, and teaching piano. After moving to the U.S. in her late-20s, she began her recording career, working across several genres such as classical, vocal, folk, Christian, and jazz. Since then, ECKEMOFF has released nearly two-dozen albums, received critical acclaim in the jazz and prog press, and forged her own unique sound as a chamber-setting composer and improvisational pianist.
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 ECKEMOFF 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, ECKEMOFF 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 the tracks and cello on nine out of eleven. To grasp how intimately coordinated this trio is, note how Henryson’s lyrical cello accents “Apple Orchard Café,” a tender, pastoral interlude inspired by a spontaneous detour into a charming village café, or how Ågren’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 ECKEMOFF apart as a composer.
Notably, most of the album’s 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.
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