Music Review: Tord Gustavsen - Being There

One of my reviewerland pet peeves is the use of the word 'mellow.' Somehow it has become a pejorative term, used mostly while dismissing music as "not going anywhere," or "too slow." My normal response is to think that this reflects more on the critic than the music. This being the world of fast, faster, fastest, subtlety is often looked down upon if not completely ignored.

Whatever happened to introspection? To beauty for beauty's sake?

Listeners with short attention spans will not find much to hang onto with the Tord Gustavsen Trio's Being There. Though tempos do move up past the ballad and extreme rubato, much of the music is focused on development of the idea. No displays of chops, no attempts at instrumental acrobatics. Instead, it's exactly as Gustavsen puts it: "loving every note."

With Harald Johnsen on double-bass and Jarle Vespestad on drums, Gustavsen's trio plays some decidedly un-"trio-like" music.

Hmmm... that's not quite right. Again...

Without a song-by-song rundown (because inner detail is king on this release), let's get to the heart of the music. While there are tunes both with and without compositional structures (key centers, time signatures, etc.), what's center stage to the ear is the advancement of the underlying melodic idea. This is most obvious on selections that lack a concrete framework, where each player adds to the birth of the idea as time advances. This is as true of the opening, romantic blues of "At Home" as it is of the freer "Interlude." It's a very intimate listening experience, as if observing the music crystallizing in mid-air.

Though Gustavsen does lend his name to this trio, special credit must be given to the stellar kit work of Jarle Vespestad. His incredibly subtle and melodic constructs perfectly link together and complement the piano and Johnsen's bass. One listen through Being There and Vespestad landed on my Paul Motian-headed list of favorite jazz drummers.

I hate to employ stereotypes when discussing the "mellow=boring" crowd, but if they would just put down their game controllers for a few minutes, they just might see what I'm getting at.

OK. Maybe not.

Article Author: Mark Saleski

Mark Saleski is a writer and music obsessive based out of the Monadnock region of New Hampshire. He has contributed to Jazz.com and also writes reviews for Blogcritics.org. He produces the weekly feature The Friday Morning Listen. …

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