(what Was?)

After three fine quartet albums that culminated in 2014's excellent Extended Circle, Norwegian pianist and composer Tord Gustavsen returns to the trio format of his earliest ECM outing. What Was Said isn't a look back at the standard piano trio format. German-Afghan vocalist Simin Tander joins the pianist and drummer Jarle Vespestad. Gustavsen's instantly recognizable sound ripples in ever widening circles around melodies often based in traditional Norwegian hymns, folk songs, and gospel music. This band incorporates improvisational elements into the core of each composition, and the singer is a co-conspirator in the moment of creation. Tander sings in Pashto, Norwegian, and English. In most cases, lyrics have been translated from their origins into another tongue. Tander's delivery, an expressive and disciplined, slightly smoky contralto, is full of mystery…

Tord Gustavsen - What Was Said (2016) {ECM 2465}
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© 2016 ECM Records | ECM 2465
Jazz / Contemporary Jazz / Chamber Jazz / Nordic Folk

What was said brings new colours to Tord Gustavsen’s musical palette. His latest trio project builds upon the subtle understanding of his long musical association with drummer Jarle Vespestad, introduces German-Afghan vocalist Simin Tander, and explores the tradition of Norwegian church music in untraditional ways: “For the repertoire of the new project, Simin and I have been working with Afghan poet B. Hamsaaya, translating and shaping a selection of hymns that I grew up with in Norway into Pashto,” Gustavsen explains. “This process has been challenging and really fruitful. We have gone quite far in interpreting the lyrics in a more ‘integral’ manner, reaching into a space where I feel that Sufism and Christianity actually meet.”