Kristin Asbjørnsen - The Night Shines Like The Day

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2009
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:14
Size: 92,8 MB
Art: Front

(1:02)  1. Green is everywhere
(3:51)  2. If this is the ending
(3:42)  3. Snowflake
(3:49)  4. Don't hide your face from me
(4:17)  5. Afloat
(3:06)  6. And I long to see you again
(1:28)  7. I'm too heavy now
(2:36)  8. Walk around me
(4:16)  9. Moment
(4:25) 10. Rain, oh Lord
(2:08) 11. One day my heart will break
(2:55) 12. Someday I'll carry you home
(2:32) 13. Lose

2009/2010 saw the release of Kristin’s new enchanting solo album: “The night shines like the day”. This is the first album totally based on Kristin’s own lyrics and music. The music is a powerful, mesmerizing beautiful exploration; quiet and intense, with an incredibly strong awareness in the way Kristin is approaching the songs. It’s soulful music that flows, touchingly grounded in Kristin’s unique voice. Kristin wrote the songs at the piano; but along the way the music developed within a haunting and distinctive ensemble sound, where West-African guitars blend creatively with the cello and piano. The arrangements are coloured by Kristin’s interpretations of African American spirituals on the critically acclaimed album ‘Wayfaring Stranger’, as well as her long term duo work with Tord Gustavsen. And they show traces of old gospel hymns and the West African danceable approach. http://kristinasbjornsen.com/album/the-night-shines-like-the-day/
Kristin says:

“I invited some of the musicians that have been very important to me during the past years. I feel humble and I am touched by the way they have approached my songs, with such powerful musical performances and with so much beauty.”
These arrangements are so finely tuned and rich in texture, with an exceptional playful interaction between the musicians. Still the music tender and somber expressions maintains the simplicity and the warm intimacy from where the songs were born.

“The night shines like the day” carries strong imprints of love.
The longing to embrace and being embraced.

“It has been a long journey since these songs started to grow in me. Working with the music has been both comforting and challenging. When everything falls apart and there seems to be no way out, we sometimes experience a glimpse of hope entering the darkness, that creates contours of a new view and new directions expressed in the title of the album: “The night shines like the day”. Creating these songs has been a process gradually grounded in a strong hope and belief that something broken can be turned into beauty.”

Personnel:  Kristin Asbjørnsen – vocals; Tord Gustavsen – piano and fender rhodes; Olav Torget – konting and guitars; Svante Henryson – cello and electric bass; Knut Aalefjær – percussion; Jostein Ansnes – vocals, lap steel and additional guitars; Sizwe Magwaza – vocals; Nils Petter Molvaer – Trumpet on “Moment”

The Night Shines Like The Day

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Tord Gustavsen Trio - The Other Side

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:35
Size: 153,8 MB
Art: Front

(6:04)  1. The Tunnel
(5:13)  2. Kirken, den er et gammelt hus
(5:17)  3. Re-Melt
(4:37)  4. Duality
(3:54)  5. Ingen vinner frem til den evige ro
(3:14)  6. Taste And See
(4:54)  7. Schlafes Bruder
(4:32)  8. Jesu, meine Freude / Jesus, det eneste
(3:24)  9. The Other Side
(3:33) 10. O Traurigkeit
(2:28) 11. Left Over Lullaby No. 4
(6:19) 12. Curves

Like a dusty, Southern gothic novel, Norwegian pianist Tord Gustavsen opens his return to the trio format with the moody, enigmatic "The Tunnel." All his compositions on The Other Side bare their secrets slowly and play out their methodically expressionistic hauntings with a gospel-influenced left hand seemingly rooted thousands of miles away in the muddy Louisiana delta. Though Being There (ECM, 2007) was widely hailed yet often criticized as being cool in nature, The Other Side is a warm, whole-cloth adventure of spacious interiors, dug into and revealed with the kindred aid of stalwart drummer Jarle Vespestad and new bassist Sigurd Hole, who bears his love of dark contours and folk influences on his sleeve, creating a full, deft space through which the pianist leads his trio. Harald Johnsen, the trio's original bassist, died of an unknown illness at the age of 41 in 2011. 

Gustavsen freely mixes the ancient music of Norway with his love of Bach, the pianist arranging three chorales for the album; amongst them, the Vespestad-led "Schlafes Bruder" integrates a deep groove that Bach may never have imagined. Gustavsen brings all he's learned in the interim years, playing with fiddlers and Iranian musicians, to his writing. "Re-Melt" is powered by the pianist's melodic insistence and Vespestad's understated groove. The atmospheric rumination of "Taste and See," "Leftover Lullaby No. 4," and the closing "Curves" are simply beautiful, lyrical statements, taken at a pace that almost belies time. ~ Mike Jurkovic https://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-other-side-tord-gustavsen-ecm-records-review-by-mike-jurkovic.php

Personnel:  Tord Gustavsen: piano, electonics;  Sigurd Hole: bass;  Jarle Vespestad: drums.

The Other Side

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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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Tord Gustavsen Quartet - Extended Circle

Styles: Piano Jazz
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:09
Size: 117,4 MB
Art: Front

(2:55)  1. Right There
(5:40)  2. Eg Veit I Himmerik Ei Borg
(2:53)  3. Entrance
(6:21)  4. The Gift
(4:54)  5. Staying There
(3:33)  6. Silent Spaces
(2:50)  7. Entrance (Variation)
(4:38)  8. Devotion
(5:01)  9. The Embrace
(0:43) 10. Bass Transition
(5:13) 11. Glow
(6:23) 12. The Prodigal Song

The evolution of Norwegian pianist Tord Gustavsen and his relationship with ECM Records has always been more about expansion rather than linear forward motion. The closing sentence of an All About Jazz review of The Well (2012), in fact, says it all: " If Changing Places [2003] announced an important new pianist on the international stage, nearly a decade later Gustavsen's The Well reaffirms a trajectory which may move forward in circumspect increments, but move forward it does, with the inevitability of ripples in a pond."  It's no surprise, then, that the third album to feature the pianist's recent quartet is called Extended Circle, as it possesses numerous meanings, all with their own significance, amongst them the growing community of players with whom he has interacted over the past decade, as well as the culmination of Gustavsen's two ECM tryptichs, beginning with the trio recordings Changing Places, The Ground (2005) and Being There (2007), and continuing with the quartet sessions Restored, Returned (2009), The Well, and now, Extended Circle.  But most importantly, Extended Circle refers to the manner in which the introspective and thoughtful Gustavsen has patiently evolved his music, largely mining a narrow range of tempos but demonstrating just how much can be found in such a seemingly restrictive context. Gustavsen's recordings have become instantly recognizable, and for a number of reasons, but not one of them have to do with predictability. Instead, with a background of interests, ranging from Norwegian traditionalism and romantic classicism to the gentlest hints of gospel and the pianist's own defined nexus where Caribbean music and New Orleans jazz meet, Gustavsen has, with the assistance of first a fine trio and now an even more accomplished quartet, created a body of work that, rather than pushing ahead in straight trajectory, truly does expand in concentric circles, like ripples on a pond.

Extended Circle is the third recording to feature saxophonist Tore Brunborg and bassist Mats Eilertsen both leaders in their own right as well as Jarle Vespestad, a former founding member of noise improv trendsetter Supersilent and ongoing drummer with the genre-defying Farmers Market, whose Slav to the Rhythm (Division, 2012) was easily the group's best in an already superb discography. Together, through recording and regular touring including an impressive stop at the 2010 Ottawa Jazz Festival the quartet has collectively assumed Gustavesen's penchant for slow growth, delivering often meditative music that is, however, increasingly demonstrative of a slow burn that's all the more dramatic for its sometimes subtle, other times more overt contrasts. The depth of interaction on Extended Circle has also reached a new level. Two versions of "Entrance" may be the first time a collective writing credit has appeared on a Gustavsen record, but it's really a spontaneous composition that demonstrates just how mitochondrial the quartet's interconnectivity has become. This is free improvisation with a purpose what Gustavsen calls a "module-based collective composition" and if it lacks clearly defined form, it possesses a mood, an ambiance and certain structural touchstones that make clear just how deeply the members of this group are listening, and how essential that quality is to this music. Elsewhere, Gustavsen compositions like the gently propulsive "Staying There" are almost song-like in their spare melodism, with Brunborg speaking volumes with the subtlest of inflections, while "Devotion" is a slowly intensifying rubato tone poem that more explicitly suggests Extended Circle's intrinsic spiritual nature, with Eilertsen's arco creating melodic counterpoint to Gustavsen's eastern-tinged modality.

And while Gustavsen has always been about slow tempos, the quartet's interpretation of the traditional Norwegian hymn, "Eg Veit I Himmerik El Borg" (A Castle in Heaven) demonstrates that simmering heat is not beyond its reach. Vespestad's gentle but frenetic drumming and Eilertsen's soft but insistent support provide a foundation over which Gustavsen's meditative ruminations float initially, but gradually pick up steam over the course of five minutes, as Brunborg's tenor building from a whisper to a scream before returning to the hymn's singable theme. 

All of which makes Extended Circle's suite-like 50-minute program Gustavsen's most diverse and satisfying to date. There's no danger of the pianist losing the pensive patience that defines so much of his work, but as his career has progressed so, too, has Gustavsen concentrically expanded his purview. His initial concept may remain at the core of a gradually expanding series of stylistic circles that stay true to his core aesthetic, but the evolution Expanded Circle demonstrates is equally the inevitable consequence of regular recording and touring with this group of hyper-talented musicians. ~ John Kelman  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/tord-gustavsen-quartet-extended-circle-by-john-kelman.php
 

Personnel: Tore Brunborg: tenor saxophone; Tord Gustavsen: piano; Mats Eilertsen:double bass; Jarle Vespestad: drums.

Extended Circle

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