Basunstedet [presentation in Norwegian only]
Click to view...: Discography
In 2003 I released the first trio CD under my own name, "Changing Places", on ECM Records. A second trio CD came in 2005, called "The Ground"; and in 2007 the trilogy was completed with the release of "Being There". 2009 saw the launch of a new ensemble, with the album release "Restored, Returned" including saxophone and vocals.
Now, for some background on what has lead up to the present situation:
Educated from the well-known Jazz Department of the Conservatory of music in Trondheim, Norway (cf. Biography), I have been a professional jazz pianist for some years now; in a number of different projects. This includes duos with singers Siri Gjære (aire & angels) and Kristin Asbjørnsen (Asbjørnsen/Gustavsen Duo); trios with Jarle Vespestad/Harald Johnsen, Odd Magne Gridset/Magnus Forsberg, and Eirik Hegdal/Magnus Forsberg (Ratatosk); a project with vocalist Silje Nergaard; the creative neo-New Orleans Nymark Collective with trumpeter Kåre Nymark, bass player Mats Eilertsen and drummer Kenneth Ekornes; and a duo with clarinetist Simon Flem Devold. I play with clarinetist Carl Petter Opsahl in a duo setting as well as in his project Indigodalen. The bands are presented in depth on separate pages (cf. the links above). You can also read more about my playing and my albums in the Biography section.
Taken together, the bands and projects represent my quest for a deepening of my own playing, in a dual movement that goes towards getting more and more intimate with the history of jazz (at present, the earliest decades of this history are in fact my main focus, although contemporary jazz art is really my main field) – while never sacrificing the imperative of an individual “voice”; expressing itself in existential encounters with the here-and-now situation in playing. This dual task is extremely challenging. It is one that can never be accomplished with completion. But it offers a constant flow of possibilities for emotional-intellectual fulfillment in grooves, phrasing, melodies and timbre. And when the music is really happening, I feel privileged to be able to contribute something.