Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
44 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Echt ECM, April 10, 2005
I'm not a huge fan of this kind of nouvelle-cuisine ECM piano trio music but it's hard to deny that this is an excellent example of the genre. The tempos and dynamics never get much more pulse-quickening than a slow simmer but they always have a pulse--there's plenty of space & pauses for reflection but this never turns into tempoless navel-gazing. The stylistic reference-points--jazz, gospel, Satie, pop, bossa, tango, the odd Spanish tinge, &c--are so abstracted & quietened down that they blur imperceptibly into each other. The tunes more or less run together too, ranging from melancholic languor to, er, languorous melancholy. This is mood music--but it's _good_ mood music.
|
|
|
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Tord Gustavsen trio hits 'The Ground' running., August 9, 2005
This CD has been blowing my mind for about two weeks now. I'm a big fan of ECM, I think they've been putting some really interesting jazz out there for awhile (Joe Maneri, Jan Garbarek, Charles Lloyd,Keith Jarrett, Dave Holland, etc.), and this is no exception. From the subtly glowing, out of focus album art, to the heart rending beauty of songs like 'Being There', and, 'Kneeling Down', through the slow drag of the intro to 'Curtains Aside', up to the brilliantly upbeat outro to 'The Edges of Happiness', this CD is amazing. It's solid all the way through, a perfect soundtrack for all kinds of activities, something to just sit down and let float through your mind too. Tord Gustavsen on Piano, Harald Johnsen on double bass, and Jarle Vespestad on drums. I am bowled over by this fantastic outing.
Just thought I'd share. I always like to spread the good jazz around.
|
|
|
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Sparkling Example of Taste!, July 14, 2006
I hardly have to mention (even though I will) that jazz is a beautiful art. It is a music that, when done right, "speaks to the gut" in ways that not many other musics can. Yet, much like trends in classical music, so much of the current jazz output is designed to appeal almost exclusively to the intellectual side of the coin; interesting progressions and chord scales, but not much else.
This is why I like the Tord Gustavsen Trio, and this CD, so much. Here, Gustavsen and company have really created music that goes straight for the gut. The music is beautifully understated; space between notes becomes as important as notes themselves. Tempos are slow and steady, but never quite languishing. And the compositions manage to combine the feel of romantic-era composers of Eastern Europe (Smetana, Dvorak) with a laid-back jazz sensibility.
The only complaint I have about the disc is that the barrage of slow, minor key tunes - no matter how beautiful each one is - could really have benefitted from some variation. It took me a few good listens to the CD before really getting used to it, and even then, I still tend not to listen to the whole disc in one sitting (preferring a few songs at a time).
Other than that, Gustavsen and company have produced a wonderful disc here. They are examples of taste - from the very unforgettable melodies they create to the melodicism with which thes solos are handled, "The Ground" sparkles.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
~ Tord Gustavsen Trio
~ Simple Acoustic Trio
~ Tomasz Stanko
~ Marcin Wasilewski
~ Nik Bärtsch
by Tord Gustavsen Trio 
