Nordic jazz is considered to be reserved, calm, relaxed and laid-back, just as the landscape in Scandinavia is wide and open, inviting you to forget yourself. The Tord Gustavsen Trio is no exception with its new album Seeing. Although - something is different.

The titles of the tracks are predominantly religious. In fact, the playlist includes two chorales by Johann Sebastian Bach, Christ lag in Todesbanden and Auf meinen lieben Gott, as well as a Norwegian folk song, Jesus, gjør mig stille, and Nearest My God, to Thee, an English hymn by Lowell Mason from the 19th century. Gustavsen says almost as a justification that he is getting older and concentrating ‘on the essentials in life and in music’.

The accompanying text describes the music itself as a ‘unique blend of jazz, blues, gospel and Scandinavian folk and church music’. In fact, the various elements can be found again and again, and in the Bach compositions there is always a touch of classical music in the piano runs. The percussion, on the other hand, is more atmospherically active in the first chorale with its reduction to cymbal rolls. Auf meinen lieben Gott, on the other hand, is accompanied by classical jazz playing, which is definitely exciting to hear - even if Bach didn't see it that way.

Something else is interesting: the flow of the music is always there, but the tonality is not always directed like a statement. In the title track Seeing, for example, some passages are intoned more like questions. This almost dialogue-like interplay makes you sit up and listen more attentively. A clever trick.

Seeing is also great art in other respects. Gustavsen's highly variable touch, Steinar Rakne's nimble and delicate bass playing and Jarle Vespestad's versatile drumming, ranging from brooms to felt mallets and sticks, not only create an atmospherically dense sound structure. They also give every note a heartbeat on the journey, which makes the recording equally sensual with headphones and loudspeakers.

With Seeing, the Tord Gustavsen Trio presents a very quiet but no less impressive album that guarantees comprehensive listening pleasure. (Thomas Semmler, HighResMac)

Tord Gustavsen Trio:
Tord Gustavsen, piano
Steinar Raknes, double bass
Jarle Vespestad, drums