Stockholm- Swedish jazz fans Monday continued to pay tribute to acclaimed pianist Esbjorn Svensson who died over the weekend in a scuba diving accident.

Svensson, 44, formed the Esbjorn Svensson Trio - known as EST - with Dan Berglund on base and drummer Magnus Ostrom in 1993.

The trio were lauded for blending other genres including rock and electronic music and improvisation, and won numerous awards.

"We are a rock band that plays jazz," Svensson once said.

Their first album - When Everyone Has Gone - was released 1993 and they later scored success with albums like Good Morning Susie Soho, Strange Place For Snow and Tuesday Wonderland.

The group's latest release was Live In Hamburg from 2007.

Several tributes highlighted that EST in 2006 were the first European group that made the cover of the influential US jazz magazine Down Beat.

Bosse Persson, head of the Stockholm jazz festival, said Svensson had given "new life to jazz, attracted new listeners and inspired other musicians."

Bengt Save-Soderbergh, president of the Swedish Jazz Association, told the daily Svenska Dagbladet that Svensson was "curious and ambitious."

Svensson is survived by his wife and two children. (dpa)