Track Listing

1. At Home
2. Vicar Street
3. Draw Near
4. Blessed Feet
5. Sani
6. Interlude
7. Karosin
8. Still There
9. Where We Went
10. Cocoon
11. Around You
12. Vesper

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3843 in Music
• Released on: 2007-04-30
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .23 pounds

The Guardian, (John Fordham), April 27, 2007
(4 stars) Gustavsen's tunes are hypnotically strong, and the integration of bass and drums is total.

Independent On Sunday, (Phil Johnson), April 29, 2007
(5 stars) The opener 'At Home' is a marvel; a gently drifting
bolero with a funk-undercurrent. Sublime.

Irish Times, (Ray Comiskey), May 18, 2007
(5 stars) It's saturated in the concentrated, spacious, nuanced
interplay that gives the trio's work such beauty and emotional power.

Customer Reviews

ECM's new Keith Jarrett
I am 61 years of age. It is probably not too extreme to describe Keith Jarrett is the pianist of choice for many of my generation who love jazz. We were bowled over by Facing You all those years ago and have been thrilled by most of his output ever since. Even the pieces that we might individually have thought were a bit off-track (and doubtless these varied from one of us to another) subsequently made sense in the context of the overall development of his art.

Being There gives me the sense that we have, in Tord Gustavsen, a pianist whose talents will build from their already formidable level for years to come. We used to wear out vinyl LPs by playing them too much. If a laser jet can similarly wear out a CD, this one is the most serious candidate in my collection. It is, quite simply, perfect music that cannot be recommended too highly.

As good as its predecessors



Two recent reviews of "Being There" present a paradox. While one marvels at how avant-garde jazz can reach number 1 in Norway, the other observes the temptation to describe Tord Gustavsen's music as a cooled-down pastiche. Definitely not avant-garde and no mere pastiche, the Tord Gustavsen trio are simply creators of some of the finest, most beautiful and moving music around, irrespective of genre or style. The real paradox is how they make it sound so easy and how, given the number of piano trios in existence, their music is so recognisable.

Like its predecessors, "Being There" 's beauty defies description but suffice it so say that the music's hymn like purity and crystal clear intensity of feeling are rarely matched. Some of the more restrained tracks are unmistakably Tord Gustavsen (on Saturday, 3 bars were enough to identify the music being played in a shop I visited).

Elsewhere, however, the music is more kinetic than before, most noticeably "Blessed Feet" which pays a debt to the Esbjorn Svensson Trio while the insistent arpeggios of "Sani" calls to mind Jarrett in his solo prime.

It is difficult to identify highlights but "Around You" is a candidate with its beautiful, fuller sound. This is arguably the best example of Jarle Vespstad's fantastic percussion which contributes fully to the broader sound without resorting to mere volume or pyrotechnics. Not to be outdone, bassist Harald Johnsen is in nimble, melodic and sympathetic form throughout, underpinning Gustavsen and Johnsen.

Not for the first time in their career, and hopefully not for the last, Tord Gustavsen and his trio have produced a candidate for album of the year. In a parallel UK they could make Number 1. They deserve it but do we deserve them?

From EST to Tord Gustavsen
About three years ago, stuck on a motorway in a blizzard for hours, I stumbled upon flicking through the radio channels, a concert by EST and was imediatly hooked. Having now bought all their CD's plus the video recording Amazon kept recomending Tord Gustavsen to me, what the heck I thought and bought "Being There" unheard.

Thanks Amazon for forcing my hand.

At first the music did not grab me, not foot tappingly funky like EST, another reviewer said "is it jazz" and I know what he meant. I don't know what it is either but after a few listenings it will really get ya. Isn't it strange how often the things that at first don't grab get to be more liked than some records you liked from first hearing.

This is fantastic music you will become addicted and unable to take the CD out of your player be warned!