Jazz Articles about Tord Gustavsen Trio

Tord Gustavsen Trio: Seeing

by Konstantin N. Rega
October 4, 2024

It is difficult to create a big or stirring sound with a small group of musicians. However, Norwegian pianist Tord Gustavsen and his trio offer an expansive, sophisticated and diverse sound on their album Seeing. With its meditative qualities, the album follows in the footsteps of the trio's previous releases, such as The Other Side (ECM, 2018) and Changing Places (ECM, 2003). However, it also broadens the group's sonic character in subtle but impactful ways. A wonderful blend of original ...

Tord Gustavsen Trio: Seeing

by Mike Jurkovic
September 11, 2024

A moving stillness undergirds and empowers Seeing, pianist Tord Gustavsen's tenth triumph for ECM. From the scraping arc through the first mood shift of “Jesus, Make Me Still" it is possible to lock in on the blue gospel vibe and shut the door to the cluttered details and emails of the day. And never mind song titles like the above or “The Old Church," “Beneath Your Wisdom" or “Nearer My God, To Thee." For three guys from the ...

Tord Gustavsen Trio: Opening

by Peter Jones
May 11, 2022

Tord Gustavsen's first three piano trio albums sold in unimaginable quantities, made him an unlikely star in his native Norway, and established him internationally. He became the living embodiment of the ECM sound—quiet, contemplative, solemn, spacious. In fact, so spacious, that at gigs one would sometimes wait a seeming eternity for the arrival of the next tinkling arpeggio, the next scrape of a fingernail across the snare drum, or growling bass slide. Minimalist it most certainly is, but putting this ...

Tord Gustavsen Trio: The Other Side

by David Bruggink
July 1, 2020

In spiritual parlance, “the other side" often refers to a realm beyond death. Tord Gustavsen is no stranger to integrating music to religious practice, performing frequent “Musikkmeditasjon" concerts in Norwegian churches. It would be reductive, however, to describe his music in New Age terms. Gustavsen is a master composer and improviser, and The Other Side is introspective music performed with sublime subtlety, always keeping one eye trained on the avant-garde. This marks Gustavsen's first trio recording since Being ...

Tord Gustavsen Trio: The Other Side

by Neri Pollastri
June 6, 2019

Undici anni dopo Being There il pianista norvegese Tord Gustavsen torna a registrare in trio, formazione che aveva preferito non affrontare più dopo la scomparsa di Harald Johnson, il contrabbassista che lo aveva sempre accompagnato assieme al batterista Jarle Vespestad. Adesso, con l'ingresso di Sigurd Hole, Gustavsen si riavvicina alla forma che l'aveva lanciato e lo fa da un lato riprendendo il filo di un discorso lirico e legato alla musica popolare della sua terra, così come in passato, dall'altro ...

Tord Gustavsen Trio: The Ground

by Eric J. Iannelli
May 15, 2005

ECM considers pianist Tord Gustavsen to be the least “Nordic" of the several Norwegian artists on its roster. This is because his compositions, while typically pensive and austere, have also endeavored to incorporate the deepest roots of jazz in Afro-American blues and gospel. Musical and philosophical sophistication commingles with raw emotion and lyrical melodies, creating a sound that is at once cerebral, spiritual, and visceral.

The style that he and his longtime (relatively speaking, as Gustavsen is only 35) trio ...

Tord Gustavsen Trio: The Ground

by AAJ Staff
April 12, 2005

Norwegian pianist Tord Gustavsen became something of a rock star in his own country after Changing Places (ECM, 2003) came out two years ago. The fact that a jazz record--particularly such a mellow, understated one--could rise above a mess of mass-market pop came as a surprise to just about everyone involved, but I guess it's a sign that the Norwegians have pretty good taste in music after all. The rest of the world caught on a little more slowly, but ...