photos by Harry Eckemoff
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 27th, the album’s cover art, track listing, preorders, singles, and video clips are now posted.
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.
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 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, 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.
Having released several singles at the end of 2025, today, YELENA ECKEMOFF presents the album opening track “ABBA Museum,” stating with its unveiling, “So, I recorded a Swedish album about Sweden. Why Sweden? It’s a good question. I’m not sure myself. Perhaps, I traveled to Sweden more times than other European countries. Or maybe because Sweden somehow reminded me of my homeland, where I was never able to come back to ever since over three decades ago, we left it with hopes to settle in the United States of America. I felt nostalgic about my homeland, and when we ended up in Sweden the first time, it felt almost like home: the smells, the nature, the food, the architecture…
“On our overseas trips, we like to check out notable recording studios, and it’s so happened that during our first time in Stockholm we visited RMV (which is short for Riksmixningsverket) – a new recording studio located on Skeppsholmen island that was founded by Benny Anderson (ABBA) as his home recording facility. We arranged the visit with Linn Fijal – a young sound engineer who, delegated by Benny himself, played a major role in designing and overseeing the studio’s constriction inside the old brick barn. Full of light and spacious, with an excellent console and grand piano, the studio made such a good impression on me that many years later, when I made plans to record with Swedish musicians, I already had RMV in mind.”
Watch YELENA ECKEMOFF’s “ABBA Museum” on YouTube HERE, and stream the song on Bandcamp HERE and other digital services HERE.
Also stream early singles “Strandvagen Pier” and “Ruins Of Alvsborg,” watch a video of the cover art being painted, watch a video of the album trio discussing the record, and more on YouTube 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.
Rosendals Garden Track Listing:
1. ABBA Museum
2. Rosendals Garden
3. Gamla Stan
4. Country Orchard Café
5. Öresund Bridge
6. Skansen Park
7. Sunrise In Rimbo
8. Ruins Of Älvsborg
9. Storanden Nature Reserve
10. Strandvägen Pier
11. Gripsholm Castle
Additional preview singles from the album will be released over the weeks ahead.
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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