Norwegian jazz pianist and composer (born 1970)
Tord Gustavsen
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Born
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1970-10-05
)
5 October 1970
(age 53)
Oslo
, Norway
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Genres
| Jazz
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Occupation(s)
| Musician, composer, bandleader
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Instrument(s)
| Piano
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Years active
| 2003?present
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Labels
| ECM
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Website
| tordg
.no
/index
_2
.html
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Musical artist
Tord Gustavsen
(born 5 October 1970) is a Norwegian
jazz
pianist and composer. He tours extensively worldwide, and he has been a bandleader for a trio, ensemble and quartet at various times, all bearing his name.
Early life
[
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]
Gustavsen was born on 5 October 1970
[1]
in
Oslo
and raised in rural
Hurdal
,
Akershus
.
[2]
He "grew up playing church music".
[3]
Later life and career
[
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]
Gustavsen holds a bachelor's degree (mellomfag) in psychology at the
University of Oslo
, before he attended the
Trondheim Musikkonsevatorium
[4]
for a three years study of jazz (1993?96). Thereafter he became a graduate (
Cand.philol.
) of
musicology
at the University of Oslo, where he was guest teacher of jazz piano and theory (1998?2002).
[5]
Between 2003 and 2007 The Tord Gustavsen Trio released three albums on
ECM Records
.
[3]
The trio was made up of Gustavsen on piano,
Harald Johnsen
on double bass and
Jarle Vespestad
on drums. The albums "contained rapt, pristine, meditative music, which resonated with the inner needs of a large, discriminating audience": combined sales exceeded 100,000.
[3]
The trio won the
Nattjazz
prize in 2005.
A later ensemble was composed of Gustavsen,
Tore Brunborg
(saxophones),
Mats Eilertsen
(bass) and Vespestad (drums).
[3]
With vocalist
Kristin Asbjørnsen
added for some tracks, the album
Restored, Returned
was recorded in 2009.
[6]
The album was awarded with
Spellemannsprisen
(the Norwegian Grammy).
[7]
[8]
The quartet's follow-up,
The Well
, was released in 2012.
[7]
That year, Gustavsen played over four days at the
Montreal Jazz Festival
: with the quartet, as a solo pianist and in a duo with vocalist Solveig Slettahjell.
[9]
The quartet album
Extended Circle
two years later "reveals a new edginess and dynamic impact that the quartet brings to Gustavsen's music."
[3]
In addition, he has recorded as a
session musician
, and guested on friends' albums. Collaborative projects have included Norwegian jazz vocalist and songwriter
Silje Nergaard
, musician Carl Petter Opsahl, actress Cecilie Jørstad and drummer Rune Arnesen, duo aire & angels and jazz vocalist
Siri Gjære
. He also took part in
Nymark Collective
established by
Kare Nymark
. Since 2014 Gustavsen has collaborated with the German-Afghan jazz singer
Simin Tander
, releasing the album
What Was Said
(2016). They also performed at the 2016 Vinterjazz and the 2016
Vossajazz
in Norway.
Gustavsen continues to be highly interested in psychology and has written a lengthy thesis on the paradoxes of improvisation, drawing on the
dialectical
psychological theory of
Helm Stierlin
and
Anne-Lise Løvlie Schibbye
.
[10]
Honors
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]
Discography
[
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]
Albums
[
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]
Collaborations
[
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]
- aire & angels duo with
Siri Gjære
- aire & angels
(1999)
- aire & angels II
(2002)
- Nymark Collective
- First meeting
(2000)
- Contemporary tradition
(2002)
- Bessie Smith Revisited - Live in concert
(2008) - with Kristin Asbjørnsen
- Silje Nergaard
- Port of Call
(2000)
- At First Light
(2001)
- Nightwatch
(2003)
- The Essential
+
Live in Koln
[DVD] (2005)
- SKRUK
- SKRUK / Rim Banna
Krybberom
(2003)
- SKRUK / Torun Sævik / Cecilie Jørstad
Sommerlandet
(2004)
- SKRUK / Nymark Collective
dype stille sterke milde
(2006)
- SKRUK / Mahsa Vahdat
I vinens Speil
(2010)
- Carl Petter Opsahl
- Indigodalen
(
Heilo
, 2001)
- Improvisions
(Park Grammofon, 2005)
- Love, The Blues
(Park Grammofon, 2008)
- Other projects
- Whoopin
(2001)
- Humans & Places
(2006) with
Ulrich Drechsler
Quartet
- ID
(2007) with
Anna Maria Jopek
- Sorgen og gleden
(2008) with various artists
- Natt i Betlehem
(2008) with Solveig Slettahjell (Peaked in NOR: #32)
References
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External links
[
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]
Awards
|
Preceded by
First award in 2005
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Recipient of the
Nattjazzprisen
2005
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Succeeded by
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Preceded by
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Recipient of the Jazz
Spellemannprisen
2009
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Succeeded by
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Years given are for the recording(s), not first release, unless stated otherwise.
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Studio albums
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International
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National
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Artists
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Other
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