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Tord Gustavsen Trio: Changing Places
by Jeffrey Allen Chelsky
I never tire of listening to the masterful Tord Gustavsen in his various incarnations, this time with his trio composed of bassist Harald Johnsen and drummer Jarle Vespestad, Changing Places has been out since 2003 and seems new every time I play it. I listen and it is as if the world slows down and fades into the background. Like so much of Nordic jazz (which you should try if you have not had the pleasure--in addition to Norway's Gustavsen, ...
read moreTord Gustavsen Trio: Opening
by Peter Jones
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 ...
read moreTord Gustavsen Trio: Opening
by David Bruggink
After 2018's stellar The Other Side, Tord Gustavsen again graces listeners with a trio format. On this outing, ecologically-minded double bassist Sigurd Hole is replaced by ECM newcomer Steinar Raknes. A prolific recording artist with everything from dusky alt-country and americana to post-bop and free jazz to his name, Raknes introduces new flavors to the trio's palette. Gustavsen, along with stalwart percussionist Jarle Vespestad, proves to be an ideal collaborator with Raknes' diverse musical background. Opening begins even less conspicuously than ...
read moreNorwegian Digital Jazz Festival 2020, Part 1
by Mark Sullivan
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 Norwegian Digital Jazz Festival Sentralen Oslo, Norway November 6-17, 2020 With the physical 2020 festival cancelled, the Big Ears Festival has turned its attention to broadcasting filmed and live streamed concerts, under the moniker “Sites & Sounds From Big Ears." Many of the shows have taken place in the Knoxville area, but for this ambitious series of filmed concerts they have turned to Norwegian ...
read moreTord Gustavsen Trio: The Other Side
by David Bruggink
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 ...
read moreTord Gustavsen Trio: The Other Side
by Neri Pollastri
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 ...
read moreTord Gustavsen: The Other Side
by Mike Jurkovic
Like a dusty, Southern gothic novel, Norwegian pianist Tord Gustavsen opens his return to the trio format with the moody, enigmatic “The Tunnel." All his compositions on The Other Side bare their secrets slowly and play out their methodically expressionistic hauntings with a gospel-influenced left hand seemingly rooted thousands of miles away in the muddy Louisiana delta. Though Being There (ECM, 2007) was widely hailed yet often criticized as being cool in nature, The Other Side is a ...
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