Friday, December 17, 2004  

Tord Gustavsen Trio
"Being There"
"Colours of Mercy"
The Ground
(ECM, 2005)
Photo of Tord Gustavsen by Richard Mallory Allnutt.
Taken on December 8, 2004, in Washington, D.C.

Norwegian pianist Tord Gustavsen has made two of my favorite CDs in recent memory---and one isn't even out yet. The Ground was scheduled for U.S. release in 2004, but it got bumped back to April 2005, because Gustavsen will be doing a short American tour at the end of that month. (Actually, if there are any Aussie readers---besides you, James, you fake dingo---you can get The Ground right now because it came out there in October. And it came out in November in New Zealand; read a NZ interview with Tord here.) Only the April 21 date in NYC, at Merkin Hall, is confirmed, but Gustavsen & Co. will likely be ending the tour in San Francisco, as part of SFJazz's spring season. And if you're feeling up to it, you can help book the rest of Tord's tour: "Promoters interested in negotiating any remaining dates may address ECM's New York office, attention Sarah Humphries, sarah.humphries@umusic.com."

On December 9 I went to the Kennedy Center to see vocalist named Silje Nergaard---mainly because Gustavsen and his band were backing her. In fact, it turns out that's how Tord formed his trio; the guys met only after being hired by Silje a few years ago. Anyway, Nergaard is what you might say, in the vernacular, aww'ight, but she's more of a pop singer with jazzbo sensibilities. Not bad at all, but I just wasn't feelin' it. See, Tord never ever plays above a whisper on his trio CDs, which are among thee most gorgeous chamber-jazz recordings I've ever heard. In concert it's especially amazing to hear the trio totally captivate a crowd without resorting to theatrics, speed, or volume. I saw the band do it on November 19, 2003, here in D.C. at a club called Twins---even though the place has what might be generously called the crappiest piano on earth. (Actually, the only piano worse than the one at Twins' U Street location is the piano at Twins' Colorado Avenue digs; I'm pretty sure that keyboard has plastic ivories that just strike air, not tempered strings.)

So anyway, at Silje's show, Tord and the trio (joined by guitarist Hallgrim Bratberg) engaged in theatrics, speed, and volume, playing funk, swing, and pop with enthusiasm, joy, and abandon. Yeah, sure, it's fun and all, but I'm just not down with enthusiasm or joy or abandon, thanks. You should see me at sporting events: While others go wild in their body paint and beer hats, I just sit on my hands and grimace---though that's mostly because I can't reach the plate of Executive Nachos that is sitting in front of me. I love sports, but I refuse to get off my mitts, even for the Tostitos. We all make decisions, man.

So, after Silje's show I was talking to some peeps from the Norwegian embassy, and a Norwegian TV crew came up and asked me to comment about the concert. I did a deft duck & weave, saying that Silje has a nice sound that's popular right now (in the Norah Jones, Jamie Cullum, Peter Cincotti camp). The interviewer then busted out, "But I hear you were just here to see the Tord Gustavsen Trio?" Being put on the spot for Norwegian TV isn't something that happens every day, but unflappable me played the Fonz and just said, Yes, Tord is one of my favorite musicians from Norway, which has a wonderful and thriving jazz and jazztronica scene. We all then went over to the Norwegian embassy for reindeer meatballs and such. (I kid. I think. The truth is, some meat thing I ate at the embassy tasted great---which is why I ate about 23 of them---but it didn't agree with me. It also could have been the 47 beers.)

A few days later, on December 13, wifey-poo and I went to see Henning Kraggerud (violin) and Helge Kjekshus (piano) doing Brahms' "Sonatas for Violin and Piano" at the National Gallery of Art on Sunday, and one of the Norwegian embassy fellas said he saw me on TV the day after Silje's show. I'm gonna be big in Bergen.

This what I like about the tracks I've posted:
On the surface Tord's music might fit yer average description of the Nordic sound---all dreamy fjords, windswept snowdrifts, and winters that last for years---but dude also has tango influences. No, seriously. Caribbean-styles too, though not on these cuts. (During the Silje show, when Tord was getting all groovy, I swore it was Monty Alexander up there.) Listen to the almost-waltz rhythm and the Latin-tinged breaks on "Being There," and his switch to the minor on "Colours of Mercy." But Tord plays so damn slow, which is the complete opposite of what we think of think of when someone says tango (though movie buffs might think & Cash) or Caribbean music, that it seems odd to bring up the references. Yet there's even a song on The Ground called "Token of Tango."

Gustavsen has two Web sites:
The trio's site, which tracks the band's activities.
His personal site, which lists Tord's many musical events and collaborations outside the trio. You can also read his dissertation "The Dialectical Erotism of Improvisation." (Meanwhile, I blog.)

The trio's site features longish sound samples from his first album, Changing Places (ECM, 2003). Don't stop, just go buy the CD now. Play it nonstop till The Ground hits.
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Yeah, today was supposed to be Norwegian Music Bandwidth Blowout Day, but I'm just too busy saving jazz and getting ready for holiday parties to post anything more than Tord's tracks. But thank Odin that Mark over at Music for Robots has some Norway love for you; he posted two tracks from Rune Grammofon's second label comp: fiddler and violinist Nils Okland's "Avminnast" and trumpeter Arve Henriksen's "Opening Image." You can buy Rune releases at domestic prices from Forced Exposure. There you can find Okland's stunning Straum CD, which came out in 2000; it's a spine-tingling, modern take on Norwegian folk music, which is beautiful and mournful and uplifting all at once. And Henriksen, when not blowing free with Supersilent, makes gorgeous ambient-jazz CDs such as Sakuteiki (solo trumpet) and Chiaroscuro.
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Music Information Center of Norway is a great way to keep up on all the fab music coming from the country, from classical to pop to electronica to jazz. It's part of the International Association of Music Information Centres, which features 43 members in 38 countries.
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The National Bank is a side project of Jaga Jazzist. See the video for National Bank's odd mix of IDM and uber-white soul as done by Norwegian dudes with beards. Speaking of Jaga, 2005 is their 10th year together, and they'll have a new CD out soon to celebrate.
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I dunno why I've been so verbose the past two days. It's practically Tofu Hut-ian around here. It could be because I'm pent-up with words since I haven't had time to post as of late. It could be because I subconsciously took up Zoilus' "we still believe in text" quip. Or it could be that my verbiage overflow is the result of being utterly wrecked on coffee and Pop Tarts the past two mornings.

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