Track Listing

1. At Home
2. Vicar Street
3. Draw Near
4. Blessed Feet
5. Sani
6. Interlude
7. Karmosin
8. Still There
9. Where We Want
10. Cocoon
11. Around You
12. Vesper
13. Wide Open

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10692 in Music
• Released on: 2007-06-05
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com
Such is the arresting beauty of Tord Gustavsen's sound, it's no surprise that his albums have captured a significant following, surpassing even those of other rarified artists on the ECM label. But the Norwegian pianist doesn't live on beauty alone. His sculpted playing, which draws strongly on his church background with its tidy gospel voicings while also incorporating Spanish and South African accents, has a kind of liquid weight that brings to mind Ethan Iverson of the icon-bashing Bad Plus, as markedly different as they are stylistically. Beyond that, it's the remarkable shift-shaping qualities of Gustavsen's trio that make Being There so compelling. Gustavsen has talked about being influenced artistically by "the psychology of relationships." The psychology of the relationship among him, bassist Harald Johnsen, and drummer Jarle Vespestad is made compelling not only by standard interactive effects, but also by the unique shape-shifting that occurs through continual shifts in how much voice each player has in relation to the others, how much lightness or darkness, how much intensity. A notable advance over the trio's first two albums, on which being deliberate sometimes translated into dull, Being There rarely loses its grip. There are stories being told here, with endings that change with each spin. --Lloyd Sachs

Stuart Nicholson, JazzTimes
"...reconfiguring the language of the traditional piano trio into a very personal musical dialect."

Album Description
One of the great success stories of jazz in the last five years, the Tord Gustavsen Trio follows up their first two hit albums with the eagerly-anticipated Being There. The new release finds the trio continually opening up the music in new and lyrical ways. Along with Gustavsen's infectious music (both ballads and up-tempo) drummer Jarle Vespestad and bassist Harald Johnsen make considerable contributions to the new album. Johnsen lends his compositional skills with the graceful tango "Karmosin," and Vespestad is often as much a front-line voice in the music as Gustavsen himself.

Proving that sensual, spiritual jazz can come from even icy Norway, the Tord Gustavsen Trio stormed onto the jazz scene in 2003 with their debut recording, Changing Places. 2005's The Ground took the band one step further and even topped the pop charts in Norway, an unprecedented achievement. The restraint of Gustavsen's approach and the allure of his simply drawn melodies has spoken to an audience that does not normally concern itself with improvisation.

Customer Reviews

Stunning "old school"
One of the best collections of what I'd call modern "old school." Reminds me of my days listening to the "new" Brubeck album I just got on my hi-fi. But, with a clean modern sound that is all their own.

Wonderful playing, excellent production, and vivid imagery
Tord is a very talented pianist. This album is perhaps one of the best demonstrations of his talent as a composer and performer. The tracks are mostly downtempo lounge jazz, but there is a very palatable nocturnal feel that I haven't found anywhere else. I think it's what every jazz pianist wishes they could invoke when they play softer music. The more upbeat pieces feature some interesting improvisations, with good use of melodic and harmonic minor modes as well as some atonal playing. The highlight for me is the beautiful theme in Karmossin.

The sound of this album is phenomenal. Clean, rich sound on the drums. Prominent, full bass (perhaps too prominent). The stereo image of the piano is subdued compared to some other albums I've heard, but they dynamics do it for me. Tord's subtle use of sustain and attack lend the music a very textural quality that makes the album worth owning on that regard alone. The notes are like smoke, or liquid. He never carelessly plays the music every keystroke is the perfect realization of what the sound should be. The wonderful effect of the control with which he phrases his playing, combined with the interesting chords and voicings is truly beautiful to listen to.

As an album, not every piece is stellar. It is quite long, and I am impressed that they managed to put so much together when some of the songs are so rich.

just a bit too pretty
This is a very pretty disc. Too pretty in places. I am not surprised that it is apparently a big seller, though I bought it essentially ignorant of any hype, on spec. I didn't want to give it three stars, but four is slightly generous.

My problem with it is the suspicion of up-market easy listening that occasionally appears in the form of the sorts of easy modulations that would not be out of place in a chart pop-song or a 50's 'lounge classic', and which make me suddenly blink. There are not a lot of these but there are definitely slightly too many.