Such is the arresting beauty of Tord Gustavsen's sound, it's no surprise that his albums have captured a significant following, surpassing even those of other rarified artists on the ECM label. But the Norwegian pianist doesn't live on beauty alone. His sculpted playing, which draws strongly on his church background with its tidy gospel voicings while also incorporating Spanish and South African accents, has a kind of liquid weight that brings to mind Ethan Iverson of the icon-bashing Bad Plus, as markedly different as they are stylistically. Beyond that, it's the remarkable shift-shaping qualities of Gustavsen's trio that make Being There so compelling. Gustavsen has talked about being influenced artistically by "the psychology of relationships." The psychology of the relationship among him, bassist Harald Johnsen, and drummer Jarle Vespestad is made compelling not only by standard interactive effects, but also by the unique shape-shifting that occurs through continual shifts in how much voice each player has in relation to the others, how much lightness or darkness, how much intensity. A notable advance over the trio's first two albums, on which being deliberate sometimes translated into dull, Being There rarely loses its grip. There are stories being told here, with endings that change with each spin. --Lloyd Sachs (103MB)
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