-
"The Ground is uniformly beautiful, and the
trio's rigorously restrained playing is a complete marvel. I've already
saved space at the top of my 2005 list for The Ground." (JazzTimes -
read the
entire review)
-
".. a style full of implied meanings and
inverted historical references. Contemplative but in no way spineless ..
this is a fine recording that rewards repeated listening." (BBC Music
Magazine, UK - * * * * for both sound and performance)
-
"Once again Gustavsen’s sensitivity, finesse
and understatement shine through like quiet morning light illuminating an
enchanted forest. There are no wasted notes, no gimmicks, no exercises in
clever techniques, nothing but introspective jazz played with delicately
layered elegance that you hope will be the thing you hear before the
fragrance of memory perfumes your dreams. ... Tord Gustavsen’s The Ground is
sublime beyond description; another quiet masterpiece from this gifted
pianist." (Offbeat, New Orleans - read the
entire review)
-
"Quiet, introspective jazz piano has rarely if
ever been so flavorful or so, yes, compelling. The guys can literally weave
spells with Gustavsen's ideas. .. Several times during the writing of
this review I stopped to allow this set's last three tunes, 'Interlude,'
'Token of Tango,' and 'The Ground'—all of them continuations of the somber
mood and pensive thoughts that permeate the entire album—to carry me away.
..
An artist to watch, Tord Gustavsen is one of the most intricate
voices in jazz to emerge in many years." (Stereophile Magazine, US -
recording of the month May 2005 - read the
entire reveiw)
-
"The album is utterly gorgeous, I keep playing
it for sheer pleasure. ... Gustavsen's touch and tone are ravishing, and
Johnsen and Vespestad match him for quality, all captured in superb recorded
sound. ... a mesmeric and enriching experience." (Jazzreview, UK)
-
"On The Ground, Gustavsen once again
demonstrates an enviable knack for penning compositions as simple, tuneful
and seemingly inevitable as folk songs or hymns. ... Long months of touring
have sharpened the band's reflexes, to the point that it breathes as a
single organism. Vespestad fashions ever-surprising propulsion from little
more than an implication of shimmering cymbals and rustling brushes; pianist
and bassist trade lead and support roles with confidence and grace. ECM's
typically warm and resonant yet detailed recording faithfully recaptures the
trio's quiet fire." (Time Out New York)
-
"The music shimmers." (Village Voice,
New York)
-
"one of the most beautiful and moving records
I've heard. Gustavsen has the most delicate touch and a great sensitivity to
the pure sound of the piano." (Northern Echo, UK)
-
"His original songs resonate with solid,
reassuring melodies and spare improvisations that are at once accessible and
comforting. This trio thrives on understatement but the results are never
less than warmly engaging. It's gratifying to hear the TG Trio emerge as a
fully formed unit with genuinely fresh ideas and musical stories to tell." (Primetime,
UK)
-
"For a European group, Tord Gustavsen's trio
has gained a lot of traction with American jazz listeners. Mr. Gustavsen ..
appeals to dark emotions - not violent grief or anger so much as a kind of
morbid ecstasy, turned into cinematic dimensions, neat consonance and
molasses tempo. The band's overall sound is sleekly new, but Mr. Gustavsen's
melodies point to durable elements of older culture: little figures that
suggest gospel, pop, flamenco or Baroque music, or maybe a weepy standard
that Frank Sinatra was singing in the early 50's. Anyway, he's got it: a
pop-music quality, the charisma of sadness. This charisma plays out extra
slowly, in minor keys and with a nearly stifling control over dynamics. ..
You can call it obsession, the consistent and involuntary song of a
melancholy soul; it's certainly pretty. .. I admire Mr. Gustavsen's
professional discipline to strap himself to the strategy that works the
best." (New York Times)
-
"The Ground does not disappoint.
The transparency that
marked out Changing Places,
has become more sharply defined, while the compositions are
shaped with greater clarity of musical vision, allowing Gustavsen to weave
his captivating, highly melodic improvisations to greater effect. Somehow
this group draws you into its music, and each piece is a musical journey
within the totality of the album itself. When the album is over you realize
the extent to which this group has probed into the very heart of musical
meaning. .. There really is not a piano trio in the whole of jazz that
sounds like Gustavsen’s, which has continued to grow together into a
remarkably integrated unit refining a vision of jazz that is very much its
own." (Jazzwise - UK, read the entire
reveiw)
-
"Soulfully hip. Haunting, hook-based themes delivered as a close three-way
embrace. .. Gustavsen may not play many notes, but he does make them all
count, and Vespestad's patient, multi-textured drumming is hypnotic
listening." (The Guardian - UK * * * *)
-
"The most enthralling pianist/composer and trio to emerge for an age ...
follow up the sensational Changing Places with a second set of
pellucid ballads, ghostly tangos and gently twinkling ice-funk. Slightly
freer than before, but no less stately, The Ground is reverie music
of the highest order. … In short, this album will make your life better." (The
Independent On Sunday - UK)
-
" lyrically memorable and passionately sober
originals -- melodic beauty and expressive execution" (Billboard -
read the
entire review)
-
"a very focused recording - haunting,
atmospheric and austerely beautiful" (Andy Hamilton, The Wire)
-
"The Ground is another album of
elegantly subtle miniatures that .. takes its steps forward gently and with
care, yet doesn’t sacrifice the all-important element of risk that gives it
its life and sophisticated energy." (All About Jazz - read the
entire review)
-
"What's most striking about the way Gustavsen
plays is the liquid, flowing quality of his motion. The pianist places
careful emphasis on timing and dynamics. Together with bluesy colorations
and gospelly phrasing, there's something spiritual about this collection of
brief meditations. I'ts hard not to be swpt away." (All About Jazz
II)
-
"With the release of 'The Ground' Gustavsen
once again shows why he has inspired such fervor of glowing recommendations.
He skillfully maneuvers between the gentle staccatos of jazz and the
melodies of the classical realm, and creates a space of tranquility and
meditation, all with deft avoidance of the trap of being too cerebral. The
lines are perfectly placed, and create a simple, solid structure for songs
to inhabit. .. Gustavsen and Co. make music that is both subdued and
sophisticated, a complexity of airy rumination that never acquiesces." (Washington
Examnier, Alexandria, VA)
-
"[T]his is another wonderful collection of
music. Rather than simply repeat a winning formula, The Ground explores
different territory. CP was built on the space around the music with the
quiet studio air essentially being a fourth instrument. With the new album
there's a more obvious blues feeling, a more driving swing and a busier
dynamic between the trio members.
The melodic beauty that marked the first album is still evident
as is the amazing understanding between Tord (on piano), Harald Johnsen
(double-bass) and Jarle Vespestad (drums). Where on Changing Places Jarle's
astonishing drumming was serving more to add layers of depth, texture and
feel, here there seems to be a more obvious virtuosity on show. Harald
maintains his approach, which is built on transmitting more passion through
his strings than most any other bass player I've heard. His tone, intonation
and musical feel are simply faultless. And then there's Tords piano work.
Passionate, tender, intuitive - these words keep coming to mind as I listen
to his playing. He and the piano become one to a level that I've rarely
heard.
Don't buy The Ground expecting Changing Places II. Rather buy
The Ground because it's beautiful, moving, and powerful. Buy it because it's
played by one of the freshest sounding trios in modern jazz. Buy it because
it's a great album. Buy it." (Craig Fenemor, AudioEnz - New Zealand)
-
".. a definite spiritual flavour. The
determining factor is Gustavsen's capacity for melody and for weaving
graceful, even profound solos seamlessly from the fabric of each piece. But
there is also Harald Johnsen's expressive bass and Jarle Vespestad's subtly
imaginative drums to ingage intimately in an interplay that has grown even
more secure and, in its understated way, more assertive." (Irish Times
- * * * * * - read the
entire review)
-
"The Ground takes up from where Changing
Places left off and wallows in those feelings of faint melancholy you get
when gazing out of the window on a wet Sunday afternoon. Gustavsen is a
pianist of poetic cast, an exceptionally lucid player with a sure sense of
melodic structure and an often astonishing lyrical imagination. Spellbinding
stuff." (The Observer * * * * * - read the
entire review)
-
".. another collection of extremely
carefully-judged illuminations. .. supremely calming." (BBC Jazz)
-
"The Ground is an absorbing and
contemplative cd, in which Gustavsen performs a series of originals with a
grace, serenity and open-hearted lyricism that makes them immensely
attractive. .. There's a quiet intensity at work in this music that makes it
compelling." (Yorkshire Post)
-
"The album of the year and it has arrived ten
months early. FIVE STARS" (Birmingham Post)
-
"... sounds like EST meets Keith Jarrett --
with the catchy tunes of the former and something approaching the emotional
intensity of the latter. Go buy." (Time Out, UK - critics' choice March
2005)
-
".. a bewitching blend of Scandinavian cool,
gospel heat and hymnal calm. .. a hushed stately interplay, musical parts
that murmur, nudge and conjain, an organic elegance." (Mojo, UK)
-
"The good news is that after two years of
international touring, The Ground is better still — more focused, more
melodically memorable, less abstract, and, in places, more funky. This year
has already brought strong piano albums from EST and Lynne Arriale and the
venerable Jarrett has a solo double ready; Gustavsen is up there with them."
(Times Online * * * *)
-
"I want to stay in this musical space. For a
long time." (Aftenposten - Norway)
-
"12 beautifully crafted piano meditations" (Dagbladet
- Norway)
-
"Listening to this is liberating. Melodic
phrasing and beautiful trio interaction, where the division between
improvised and arranged music is transcended. A splendid new album." (Dagsavisen
- Norway)
-
"In a world of so much caos, Tord Gustavsen's
musical language carries comfort and makes you whole. ... Great players. ...
You wonder how he is able to make the piano sing this way." (Dagens
Næringsliv - Norway)
-
"Heavenly hymnal jazz. These are hymns without
words. Contemplative music that sooths you soul." (Vårt Land - Norway)
-
"12 pieces so melodic, insistent and original.
Improvisations are beautifully integrated in the total work. Together,
Gustavsen, Johnsen and Vespestad make an integrated organism. It's hard to
create music more beautiful than this." (puls.no - Norway)
