Tord Gustavsen - What Was Said

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2016
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 59:56
Size: 138,6 MB
Art: Front

(2:45)  1. Your Grief
(5:09)  2. I See You
(6:23)  3. Imagine The Fog Disappearing
(4:46)  4. A Castle In Heaven
(7:26)  5. Journey Of Life
(5:42)  6. I Refuse
(5:35)  7. What Was Said To The Rose-O Sacred Head
(3:03)  8. The Way You Play My Heart
(3:08)  9. Rull
(4:25) 10. The Source Of Now
(3:23) 11. Sweet Melting
(4:26) 12. Longing To Praise Thee
(3:39) 13. Sweet Melting Afterglow

What was said introduces a new trio from Norwegian pianist Tord Gustavsen, featuring German-Afghan vocalist Simin Tander, with the support of longtime collaborator drummer Jarle Vespestad (who has played on all of Gustavsen's previous ECM recordings). The inspiration for the program was the tradition of Norwegian church music, but it is explored in a most untraditional way. The most obvious difference is the polyglot approach to the sung languages. Gustavson's interest in Sufi poetry and enjoyment of the sound of the Pashto language led to the decision to translate Norwegian hymns into Pashto. Lyrics adapted from the great Persian poet Rumi get the reverse treatment, and are sung in English. One song sets a poem by U.S. poet Kenneth Rexroth (who counted Rumi among his influences), which stays in the original language (English). Gustavsen saw this as a way to make connections between these poets, establishing a dialog across centuries. However unorthodox all this cross-translation seems, Tander makes it sound completely natural. Her intimate, lyrical voice is equally at home in both languages, as well as singing wordless vocalise and improvising. Gustavson still plays the piano as his main instrument, but has augmented it with discreet electronics and occasional synthesizer bass, while Vespestad provides percussive textures or timekeeping as required. So the group is a true trio, not just a vocalist with accompanists.

They take these roles in different ways throughout the program. The opener "Your Grief" (an English Rumi translation) sounds like a voice/piano duet at first, but ends with a gentle percussion solo. "Imagine The Fog Disappearing" is the first track to use a full band sound, with drums, prominent electronics, and bass synthesizer. "Journey Of Life" (a Norwegian traditional sung in Pashto) uses toms and vocalese, and one section has a lovely sustained synthesizer pad with melodic piano on top. There is a brief instrumental interlude just past the halfway mark, two lyrical Gustavson originals played without vocals, sounding more like his previous ECM releases. "The Way You Play My Heart" has a Gospel feel, while "Rull" shows an almost martial side to Vespestad's drumming. "Longing To Praise Thee" is another Norwegian traditional tune, but this time Tander sings it without words. Closing "Sweet Melting Afterglow" begins with a collective improvisation, then fittingly ends the album with a Norwegian tune sung in Pashto. What was said presents a quietly surprising vision of a new kind of musical fusion. It's subtle, and may take a couple of listens before the beauty takes hold. ~ Mark Sullivan  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/what-was-said-tord-gustavsen-ecm-records-review-by-mark-sullivan.php

Personnel: Tord Gustavsen: piano, electronics, synth bass;  Simin Tander: voice;  Jarle Vespestad: drums.

What Was Said

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Simin Tander - Where Water Travels Home

Size: 131,6 MB
Time: 56:14
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2014
Styles: Jazz Vocals
Art: Front

01. Yau Tar De Grewan (5:23)
02. Above The Ground (5:12)
03. Behind The Curtain (3:43)
04. Where Would I Fly To If I Could (7:50)
05. Little Song (2:42)
06. Far (3:16)
07. De Kor Arman (4:55)
08. Larsha Nengrahar Ta (4:13)
09. Dark Woods (4:11)
10. Our Silent Storm (4:27)
11. Water (1:26)
12. La Chanson Des Vieux Amants (3:42)
13. Traveling On (5:09)

A typical jazz format perhaps, but the delivery on Simon Tander's second CD is anything but typical. As on her memorable debut Wagma (Neuklang Records, 2011), Tander sings in various languages—English, French—and in her improvised language. Here, however, Tander explores her roots by singing in pashto—her Afghan father's language—with mesmerizing results. On Wagma, Tander already sounded conceptually and musically fairly rounded, but Where Water Travels Home comes across as a more mature and personal work, one that reaffirms Tander's credentials as an original contemporary singer.

Tander casts her seductive spell on the opening number, "Yau Tar De Grewan" (A Thread from The Collar), a gorgeous arrangement of one of three Afghan poems sung in pashto. Pianist Jeroen van Vliet, bassist Cord Heineking and drummer Etienne Nillesen provide perfectly weighted support to Tander's emotive delivery on this ode to the birth of love:

"I turned into dew and slept on the morning flower
Tired and weary, I slept in the lap of your sight
Today you took me to the skies with one smile"

Kabul street sounds provide sympathetic background to "De Kor Arman" ("The Desire for Home"), a slow-burning pashto blues tale. Guest musician Alex Simu's softly voiced clarinet brings a yearning quality to this ambiguous love story. On the upbeat "Larsha Nengrahar Ta" ("Go to Nengrahar and Bring me a Black Dress") Tander's voice dances, driven by guest tablaist Niti Ranjan Biswas and Nillesen's rhythmic urgency. The three pashto-sung songs—poetic in origin and in delivery—mark a bold departure for Tander but the emotive depths that she harnesses so convincingly make these among the CD's standout tracks.

Three tracks feature Tander's invented language: on "Behind the Curtain," thumb-piano delicacy contrasts with Tander's powerful chanson-like delivery; on "Little Song" a damped-piano motif and gently pulsing bass waltz with Tander, whose soft plosives and cooing seduce like a lullaby; the quartet-composed "Far" revolves around Tander's konnakol-inspired improvisations as the quartet's smoking intensity threatens to burst into flames. With the exception of "Behind the Curtain" where Van Vliet stretches out, conventional solos are rationed and instead a subtle elasticity in the music's individual and collective contours reigns throughout.

Several tracks feature lyrics by Tander's sister Mina Tander; on "Above The Ground," however, it's Tander's soaring wordless cry during the song's surging finale that hits the gut; "Dark Woods" is a brooding, sensual song of seduction; Van Vliet's hypnotic piano mantra forms the spine of "Traveling On," a melodically and emotively alluring ballad. Elsewhere, "Where Would I Fly to If I Could" shifts episodically between powerful orchestral passages, Tander's simple narrative and her more dramatic improvisations. "Our Silent Storm" is an achingly beautiful ballad that could have come from Leonard Cohen's bluesiest pen, while "La Chanson des Vieux Amants" sees Tander tackles Jacques Briel's bitter-sweet love song with requisite intimacy.

Tander's beguiling voice holds center stage on these haunting songs of love's vicissitudes, but her wonderfully empathetic trio is no less vital a part of the equation. A palpable group chemistry pervades these thirteen tracks, whose considerable charms grow through repeated listens. Poetic, lyrical and uplifting, Where Water Travels Home is a strong contender for vocal album of the year.

Personnel: Simin Tander: voice; Jereon Van Vliet: piano, electronics; Cord Heineking: double bass; Alex Simu: clarinet (7); Niti Ranian Biswas: tabla (8).

Where Water Travels Home

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