Music / European jazz
Review: Tord Gustavsen Trio, St George’s
From the warmth of the welcome he received coming onstage Tord Gustavsen can have been in no doubt that he was among friends. The Norwegian jazz pianist has been a favourite at St George’s for many years, coming round every couple of years with a new ECM album to introduce to his many Bristol-based fans. It would all have been very familiar but for the introduction of a new member to the trio. Jokingly introduced as ‘an intern’ Steiner Raknes has taken the place of longtime bass player Sigurd Hole, and his formidable pedal set-up announced new sonic possibilities for this acoustic piano trio.
Jarle Vesperstad (drums) and Steiner Raknes (bass). (Photo: Tony Benjamin)
Drummer Jarle Vesperstad remains on board, however, and the evening kicked off on very familiar territory with a gospel-evoking melody introduced with light touch drums and bass before building to a stronger sound. The piano took an almost classical tone driven by anthemic left-hand chords, the bass a nimble counterpoint, the drumming a narrative undertow. The sound resolved and then subsided into a gentler ending with hand-pattered percussion and softly thrummed bass. We were definitely on familiar territory and the audience inevitably went wild – and this was only the first number.
Steiner Raknes (bass). (Photo: Tony Benjamin)
It was interesting to see what the new bass player brought to the band’s sound. He proved to be an excellent player, of course, with a distinctively rhythmic style and an ear for electronics that would see him adding harmonisation and distortion judiciously to powerful effect. This all brought in new possibilities, prompting Gustavsen himself to deploy a small electronic keyboard at times. One number (there was little in the way of introductions) wafted from ethereal Nordic electronica into the jaunty disjoint of a Tom Waits arrangement. Squatting down, Raknes used his voice through the pedal system, then the number kicked off and he was suddenly back up, producing an electric guitar sound for what felt almost like a Pink Floyd rockout. At a Tord Gustavsen gig!
is needed now More than ever
Tord Gustavsen Trio. (Photo: Tony Benjamin)
They rounded that one off with an old favourite – Graceful Touch – and a return to the classic Scandi piano trio sound, followed up by the folk-tune derived The Circle which took the elegant theme into a cinematic sweep before collapsing into a delicate duet between piano and bass. This was a new tune yet very much part of the Tord Gustavsen playbook, and others followed that showcased the pianist’s varied stylistic repertoire of post-Romantic excess, Calvinist rigour and Satie-like delicacy. How delighted were the audience? Well, they demanded (and got) no less than three encores and the merchandise queue nearly blocked the exit so I’d say it was an unqualified success all round.
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