What was said

Description

What was said adds new colors to Tord Gustavsen's musical palette. His latest trio is based on the subtle understanding born from his long association with percussionist Jarle Vespestad. It features the lovely Afghan-German singer Simin Tander and explores Norwegian liturgical music in an unconventional way. "With Simin we collaborated with an Afghan poet," explains Gustavsen, "to translate and shape a selection of hymns in Pashto that I grew up with in Norway." Simin Tander also sings, in English, words inspired by the Persian mystic Jalal al-Din Rumi (1207-73) and a poem by American writer Kenneth Rexroth (1905-82). Beyond the language and its sound play, the blend between Tander's voice and Gustavsen's melodic inventiveness on piano, enhanced by subtle electronic interventions, possesses a uniquely emotional and poetic strength. The Gustavsen/Tander/Vespestad trio will resume its program in clubs and concert halls across Europe at the beginning of 2016, including two concerts in Paris at the end of January (Sunside). What was said was recorded at Studio Rainbow in Oslo in April 2015 and produced by Manfred Eicher. January 30 and 31, 2016: Paris, Sunside (Tord Gustavsen, Simin Tander, Jarle Vespestad)