Tord Gustavsen
Changing Places

 Sometimes it happens that an album completely captivates you. It kidnaps you, absorbing your thoughts entirely, almost immobilizing you physically, and you find yourself "watching the music" as it envelops and carries you away. This happened recently with this album.

When I first saw the CD cover, I thought I was about to encounter one of those highly cerebral ECM records of informal jazz, experimental, new frontiers, etc., etc. I was wrong.
Behind that frosty name lies a pianist with an incredibly delicate touch, melodic but never saccharine, incredibly warm, elegant, and light. He greatly resembles Mehldau in this way of playing with the melody, handling it without fear of being simple. What strikes you is precisely this catchy quality, shamelessly uninhibited yet so suave and elegant, this avoidance of all display and excessive notes in favor of a taste for rarefaction. Tord plays by subtraction, except when he occasionally reveals what he's made of in some passages, as brief and fleeting as they are light and delicate.
Music of great atmosphere, therefore, and superbly played. The pieces are all original compositions by Gustavsen himself. The rest of the trio manages wonderfully, handling the difficult task of adequately and non-redundantly calibrating the dynamics and rhythmic support.

I couldn't resist purchasing the pianist's other works: the latest from 2005, "The Ground," and another precious gem: "Aire And Angels," with the participation of the splendid voice of a certain Siri Gjære, completely unknown to me, but perfectly in tune with the Norwegian's pianist style.
A name to watch for those in search of singable and meditative music that is also of great class.