Tord Gustavsen

Artist Website
“Musically, I have the very clear feeling that my stretching out and being creative has a much better chance of happening organically, avoiding alienation and stiffness, when done in energetic connection with my roots – with the sensuality and groundedness of the hymns and the spirituals and the lullabies.”
 
Tord Gustavsen was born in Oslo in 1970 and grew up in the Norwegian countryside. He began playing the piano aged 4, and was composing and improvising before he learned to read music and perform classical pieces. He recalls: “I played in churches and local settings of different kinds, combining classical training with writing my own songs and performing gospel.”
 
At the age of 19, he began his studies at the University of Oslo, doing a degree in sociology, psychology and comparative religion. While finding these [...]
“Musically, I have the very clear feeling that my stretching out and being creative has a much better chance of happening organically, avoiding alienation and stiffness, when done in energetic connection with my roots – with the sensuality and groundedness of the hymns and the spirituals and the lullabies.”
 
Tord Gustavsen was born in Oslo in 1970 and grew up in the Norwegian countryside. He began playing the piano aged 4, and was composing and improvising before he learned to read music and perform classical pieces. He recalls: “I played in churches and local settings of different kinds, combining classical training with writing my own songs and performing gospel.”
 
At the age of 19, he began his studies at the University of Oslo, doing a degree in sociology, psychology and comparative religion. While finding these studies highly meaningful, he also felt a growing need for doing music full time. He was accepted into the jazz department at the Conservatory of Music in Trondheim in 1993, where he formed several bands and toured all over Scandinavia.
 
Changing Places, Gustavsen’s 2003 recording debut with his trio, was ECM’s most successful debut in a decade. Michael Tucker wrote: “Nothing is forced, or rushed: a variety of quietly memorable, essentially poetic themes unfold, every one of them caressed rather than clipped by pianist Gustavsen… this is superb stuff.” 2005 saw a second trio album, The Ground, which reached No. 1 in the Norwegian pop charts and in 2007 they completed the trilogy with Being There.
 
In 2009 Gustavsen launched a new, more flexible ensemble, which released the album Restored, Returned. The line-up included Tore Brunborg on saxophones and Kristin Asbjørnsen on vocals. This was followed in 2012 by an instrumental quartet album called The Well, which John Fordham praised in the Guardian for its “gospel playing, acres of open space, memorable melodies and a glistening delicacy of touch”. The quartet also released its peak album Extended Circle in 2014, before Gustavsen turned to a new line-up for his 2016 release What was said, now collaborating with German-Afghan vocalist Simin Tander and Jarle Vespestad on drums. Here, he also started to expand his own sound palette with subtle samples and synth textures triggered from the piano; and with synth bass. The album combines Tord’s original compositions on Sufi poems with highly original re-workings of traditional Norwegian hymns into the Afghan language Pashto.
 
With the 2018 release The Other Side, it was again time for the instrumental piano trio format, although still with subtle electronics. Gustavsen and Vespestad was now joined by Sigurd Hole on bass. The album presents a musical conversation between J. S. Bach chorals, Norwegian folk tunes and Gustavsen’s original compositions. This way of building repertoire is carried further in the current trio line-up, featuring Steinar Raknes on bass. This trio released the albums Opening in 2022 and Seeing in 2024; and is touring Europe and North America extensively.
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Date All Primary Artist Composer
YEAR DATE Artist VENUE LOCATION
2026 February 25 Tord Gustavsen Trio

"Seeing"

 LAC Lugano Arte e Cultura - Sala Teatro Lugano, Switzerland Event
2026 February 26 Tord Gustavsen Trio

"Seeing"

 Theaterhaus Stuttgart, Germany Event
2026 February 27 Tord Gustavsen Trio

"Seeing"

 Unterfahrt Munich, Germany
2026 February 28 Tord Gustavsen Trio

"Seeing"

 Jazzclub im leeren Beutel Regensburg, Germany Event
2026 March 13 Tord Gustavsen Trio

"Seeing"

 Kurhaus Bad Hamm Hamm, Germany Event
2026 March 17 Tord Gustavsen Trio

"Seeing"

 Christ Church Cathedral Vancouver BC, Canada Event
2026 March 18 Tord Gustavsen Trio

"Seeing"

 Athenaeum Music & Arts Library La Jolla Ca, United States
2026 March 19 Tord Gustavsen Trio

"Seeing"

 Irvine Barclay Theatre Irvine CA, United States
2026 March 20 Tord Gustavsen Trio

"Seeing"

 SF Jazz San Francisco CA, United States Event
2026 March 21 Tord Gustavsen Trio

"Seeing"

 SF Jazz San Francisco CA, United States Event
2026 March 22 Tord Gustavsen Trio

"Seeing"

 Music + Minds Inverness CA, United States
2026 March 25 Tord Gustavsen Trio

"Seeing"

 The Myrna Loy Helena MT, United States Event
2026 March 27 Tord Gustavsen Trio

"Seeing"

 Ramsey Concert Hall Athens GA, United States Event
2026 March 29 Tord Gustavsen Trio

"Seeing"

 The Mansion at Strathmore North Bethesda MD, United States Event
2026 May 09 Tord Gustavsen Paliesius Manor Paliesius, Lithuania