About

“From just a passing glance, it was clear that Tord Gustavsen's piano trio was not going to be another Bill Evans-esque piano trio that swings and bops. He and his band are Norwegian, they are signed to the ECM label (meaning they are produced by the delicate touch of label boss Manfred Eicher), release albums with poetically vague titles like The Ground and Being There, and adorned them with blurry photos of unpopulated landscapes. Before pressing play, it was clear to the listener that Gustavsen's brand of jazz was going to be cut from a different tree.

Sure enough, Gustavsen slowly and steadily built himself a worldwide following by releasing some generously received albums that exist outside a tidy market definition of jazz. After the death of the trio's bassist Harald Johnsen, the pianist put the trio format on indefinite hold while he explored a variety of ensembles in his recordings. With bassist Sigurd Hole, Gustavsen has teamed up with his longtime drummer Jarle Vespestad to revive the trio format for the first time since 2007 with The Other Side. It is just as minimal and as understated as the three three trio albums that Gustavsen recorded in the previous decade, so any advancements made in their sound may be difficult to detect.” – Pop Matters

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