TORD GUSTAVSEN TRIO
The Ground
ECM
Read the Jazzitude
review of Tord Gustavsen Trio/Changing Places
Read the Jazzitude review
of Tord Gustavsen Trio/Being There
Tord Gustavsen and his trio return with their
second ECM disc, The Ground, and for those (like
myself) who were totally beguiled by Changing Places
the new disc is like a promise fulfilled. Gustavsen and
company bring to mind the inevitable comparisons to Bill
Evans and Keith Jarrett, but the Norwegian pianist has a
style and demeanor that is all his own. His playing is very
lyrical, but still economical, conveying much with few notes.
Gustavsen’s piano work is full of blues, gospel, and
New Orleans jazz references, and these influences are peppered
amongst others, including Evans and classical European music.
Some might point to Gustavsen’s economy
of notes as evidence of his Nordic heritage, and perhaps
so, but there is so much warmth to his playing and his compositional
style that he might just as easily be from the Mediterranean.
Gustavsen has gained focus as a composer, and his latest
batch of compositions are more readily apprehended than
those on Changing Places. The delicate beauty of
that album is certainly still apparent on this latest release,
but there is a newfound strength and a sense of a group
staking out its territory with absolute certainty. Drummer
Jarle Vespestad, who has worked with electro-acoustic, ambient-cum-jazztronica
group Supersilent as well as free jazz collective turned
interpreters of Bulgarian folk music Farmer’s Market,
often recalls Paul Motian and adds deep layers of texture
to the group’s sound. Bassist Harald Johnsen is solid,
but also finds creative ways to approach his role, sometimes
bringing to mind Dave Holland.
Gustavsen can’t help being compared
to some other creative new jazz piano trios recording today,
but the group have clearly managed to stake out their own
territory. At times Gustavsen’s unit can be reminiscent
of Esborn Svensson’s EST, but his compositions are
rarely as straight ahead in structure as that group’s.
At times EST approaches the feel of a rock or pop music
band, but Gustavsen, while highly focused on melody, provides
a somewhat different approach. On the other hand, Gustavsen
is rarely as light and abstract as labelmates Marcin Wasileski,
Slawomir Kurkiewicz, and Michal Miskiewicz, the Polish trio
who emerged this year from the shadow of employer Tomasz
Stanko to record their own CD. In addition, Gustavsen wears
his admiration for Keith Jarrett closer to the heart. His
phrases are peppered with blues and gospel flourishes that
can’t help but remind one of the playing Jarrett did
with his “European Quartet,” a group that, it
so happens, included Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek.
All of this will disappear in the minds of
most listeners once they sit back with a pair of headphones
and listen to this CD. The music simply possesses the listener
and pulls him or her into its beautiful world where the
structure of a piece unfolds slowly and where failing to
listen closely puts one at a distinct disadvantage. That
doesn’t sound like popular music, but apparently in
2005 things are much different in Norway than they are in
the United States. Listening to the track “Colours
of Mercy” one can only marvel at the way the track
builds to a remarkable emotional high point before bringing
the listener gently down to earth. If you own an iPod, I’d
highly recommend importing this entire CD as well as the
Wasilewski trio CD onto the thing for those times you want
a brief respite from this planet we live on. You’ll
come away refreshed and convinced that maybe the world isn’t
so bad after all. What more could you ask for from a musical
performance?
