TORD GUSTAVSEN TRIO - The Other Side
ECM 675 1618 (CD) / 675 8251 (LP)
Tord Gustavsen: piano, electronics; Sigurd Hole: double bass; Jarle Vespestad: drums
Recorded in January 2018by Manfried Eicher at Rainbow Studio, Oslo
Throughout this set, Gustavsen’s intensely lyrical piano playing draws the listener into the heart of each piece; not the melodic centre of the tune but the emotional core of the experience that the music conveys. Not a note is wasted, either from the piano or from Hole’s richly elegant bass playing. As with previous recordings, Gustavsen and Vespestad telepathically trade rhythmic licks and switches in tempo. What is impressive is the way that Hole is equal to their musical conversation, contributing in just the right way at just the right time. In the press release, Gustavsen notes that the ‘less we play, the stronger it gets’ and there is certainly a feeling that the spaces between the notes and pauses in the conversation are integral to the music. While this might make it appear that the tunes on this CD are cerebral exercises, there is plenty of tautness and swing in them – it is just that these qualities are not forced on listener but gradually creep up on you.
As with the earlier trio recordings (back in the early 2000s), Gustavsen’s arrangements cover a variety of musical sources. In this case, he has taken three chorales from Bach, a tune from Danish composer Danish Ludvig Lindeman and a traditional hymn and worked these into tunes that blend a jazz feel for swing with a folk ear for melody. Equally apparent in the trio’s playing is the way that Gustavsen has been working an approach to composition that is increasingly dependent on modal patterns, which gives the music a sense of breadth and helps emphasise the passion in even the quietest of moments. No wonder that he has previously used the phrase ‘Nordic blues’ to capture his approach and sensibility of the music. Like the blues, there is something in the pieces that has a stoic mournfulness but which ultimately gives a sense of joy. Absolutely marvellous. The trio will be playing at the London Jazz Festival and I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t feature in the lists of critics’ favourite performances there.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
ECM 675 1618 (CD) / 675 8251 (LP)
Tord Gustavsen: piano, electronics; Sigurd Hole: double bass; Jarle Vespestad: drums
Recorded in January 2018by Manfried Eicher at Rainbow Studio, Oslo
Throughout this set, Gustavsen’s intensely lyrical piano playing draws the listener into the heart of each piece; not the melodic centre of the tune but the emotional core of the experience that the music conveys. Not a note is wasted, either from the piano or from Hole’s richly elegant bass playing. As with previous recordings, Gustavsen and Vespestad telepathically trade rhythmic licks and switches in tempo. What is impressive is the way that Hole is equal to their musical conversation, contributing in just the right way at just the right time. In the press release, Gustavsen notes that the ‘less we play, the stronger it gets’ and there is certainly a feeling that the spaces between the notes and pauses in the conversation are integral to the music. While this might make it appear that the tunes on this CD are cerebral exercises, there is plenty of tautness and swing in them – it is just that these qualities are not forced on listener but gradually creep up on you.
As with the earlier trio recordings (back in the early 2000s), Gustavsen’s arrangements cover a variety of musical sources. In this case, he has taken three chorales from Bach, a tune from Danish composer Danish Ludvig Lindeman and a traditional hymn and worked these into tunes that blend a jazz feel for swing with a folk ear for melody. Equally apparent in the trio’s playing is the way that Gustavsen has been working an approach to composition that is increasingly dependent on modal patterns, which gives the music a sense of breadth and helps emphasise the passion in even the quietest of moments. No wonder that he has previously used the phrase ‘Nordic blues’ to capture his approach and sensibility of the music. Like the blues, there is something in the pieces that has a stoic mournfulness but which ultimately gives a sense of joy. Absolutely marvellous. The trio will be playing at the London Jazz Festival and I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t feature in the lists of critics’ favourite performances there.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
