Tord Gustavsen (born 5 October 1970) is a Norwegian

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

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

Gustavsen was born on 5 October 1970 in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

and raised in rural

Hurdal Hurdal is a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Romerike. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hurdal. Hurdal is located about north of Oslo, along the lake Hurdalsjøen. ...

Akershus Akershus () is a county in Norway, with Oslo as its administrative centre, though Oslo is not located within Akershus. Akershus has been a region in Eastern Norway with Oslo as its main city since the Middle Ages, and is named after the Akers ...

. He "grew up playing church music".

Later life and career

Gustavsen holds a bachelor's degree (mellomfag) in psychology at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...

, before he attended the Trondheim Musikkonsevatorium for a three years study of jazz (1993–96). Thereafter he became a graduate ( Cand.philol.) of

musicology Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, ...

at the University of Oslo, where he was guest teacher of jazz piano and theory (1998–2002). Gustavsen-Tander-Vespestad-Vossajazz2016

Between 2003 and 2007 The Tord Gustavsen Trio released three albums on

ECM Records ECM (Edition of Contemporary Music) is an independent record label founded by Karl Egger, Manfred Eicher and Manfred Scheffner in Munich in 1969. While ECM is best known for jazz music, the label has released a variety of recordings, and ECM's a ...

.Conrad, Tom (February 2014) "Extended Circle – Tord Gustavsen Quartet (ECM)". ''The New York City Jazz Record''. p. 25. 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. The trio won the Nattjazz prize in 2005. A later ensemble was composed of Gustavsen, Tore Brunborg (saxophones),

Mats Eilertsen Mats Eilertsen (born 4 March 1975) is a Norwegian jazz musician and composer. He is known for recording with numerous bands, including the Maria Kannegaard Trio, Ola Kvernberg, Nils Økland, Eldbjørg Raknes, Anders Aarum Trio, Eirik Hegdal, S ...

(bass) and Vespestad (drums). With vocalist

Kristin Asbjørnsen Kristin Asbjørnsen (born 12 May 1971) is a Norwegians, Norwegian jazz singer and composer whose focus is on improvised music. She is known for musical projects like Dadafon including with Carl Haakon Waadeland, Krøyt, Kvitretten, and Nymark Co ...

added for some tracks, the album '' Restored, Returned'' was recorded in 2009. The album was awarded with

Spellemannsprisen The Spellemannprisen (also referred to as the Norwegian Grammy Awards) is a Norwegian music award ceremony presented by IFPI Norge and FONO. It was first awarded in 1973 for the recording year 1972, and has been awarded every year since. It is ...

(the Norwegian Grammy).
The quartet's follow-up, ''

The Well The Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link, normally shortened to The WELL or The Well, is a virtual community founded in 1985. It is one of the oldest continuously operating virtual communities. By 1993 it had 7,000 members, a staff of 12, and gross annu ...

'', was released in 2012. 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. The quartet album '' Extended Circle'' two years later "reveals a new edginess and dynamic impact that the quartet brings to Gustavsen's music." In addition, he has recorded as a

session musician A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a reco ...

, and guested on friends' albums. Collaborative projects have included Norwegian jazz vocalist and songwriter

Silje Nergaard Silje Nergaard (born 19 June 1966) is a Norwegian jazz vocalist and songwriter. She is one of the best-selling jazz artists on the official sales chart in Norway. She became known worldwide after the release of the international bestseller ''Tel ...

, 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 Kåre 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 Vossajazz or Vossa Jazz (established 19 December 1973) is an international jazz festival in Voss, Norway, which takes place annually during the week before Easter, and which also includes concerts throughout the year. The festival has been led by ...

in Norway. Gustavsen continues to be highly interested in psychology and has written a lengthy thesis on the paradoxes of improvisation, drawing on the

dialectic Dialectic (; ), also known as the dialectical method, refers originally to dialogue between people holding different points of view about a subject but wishing to arrive at the truth through reasoned argument. Dialectic resembles debate, but the ...

al psychological theory of Helm Stierlin and Anne-Lise Løvlie Schibbye.

Honors

* 2005: Nattjazzprisen (for the Tord Gustavsen Trio) * 2009:

Spellemannprisen The Spellemannprisen (also referred to as the Norwegian Grammy Awards) is a Norwegian music award ceremony presented by International Federation of the Phonographic Industry#Local associations, IFPI Norge and :no:FONO, FONO. It was first awarded i ...

in the class Jazz (for the Tord Gustavsen Ensemble)

Discography

Albums

Collaborations

;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 ;

* ''Port of Call'' (2000) * ''At First Light'' (2001) * ''Nightwatch'' (2003) * ''The Essential'' + ''Live in Koln'' VD(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 Anna Maria Jopek (born 14 December 1970) is a Polish vocalist, songwriter, and improviser. She represented Poland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1997, 1997 Eurovision Song Contest, with the song "Ale jestem" and finished 11th out of 25 participat ...

* ''Sorgen og gleden'' (2008) with various artists * ''Natt i Betlehem'' (2008) with Solveig Slettahjell (Peaked in NOR: #32)

References

External links

*
Tord Gustavsen Trio Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gustavsen, Tord 1970 births Living people 20th-century Norwegian pianists 21st-century Norwegian pianists Chamber jazz pianists Norwegian jazz composers Norwegian jazz pianists Spellemannprisen winners Norwegian University of Science and Technology alumni University of Oslo alumni Musicians from Hurdal Tord Gustavsen Ensemble members ECM Records artists