The Ground
The second album by Norwegian pianist and composer Tord Gustavsen is another set of crystalline beauty. Lyrical in both his writing and playing, the music is informed by his Scandinavian homeland's austere landscapes, as well as a wide swath of jazz traditions and gospel influences from his youth (as a teenager Gustavsen was a church organist). The trio's interplay is supple and subtle to the point of the rhythm section sounding like they're actually a part of the piano. The music's gentle propulsion seems to be carried forward equally by all three players. Emotionally resonant, the warmth and clarity of ECM's high production standards captures every nuance -- even lightly struck cymbals resonate with incredible presence.--David Greenberger