Tord Gustavsen Trio
Seeing

Tord Gustavsen piano, electronics
Jarle Vespestad drums
Steinar Raknes double bass
Recorded October 2023 at Studios La Buissone
Engineer: Gérard de Haro
Mastering: Nicolas Baillard
Cover photo: Fotini Potamia
Produced by Manfred Eicher
Release date: September 20, 2024

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
–Psalm 119:105

Each new recording by the Tord Gustavsen Trio constructs an unassuming waystation for the ECM listener, and on Seeing, we are given the most rustic lodging yet. In addition to the usual attention to detail one has come to expect from this venture, there is a certain plasticity to the sound that, while always humming at the core, now rises to the surface after patiently compressing its diamond light beneath the earth. Thus, the album’s title is more than an equation of listening with how the eyes take in the world around them; it is also an expression of the music’s indefinite state of being.

From the stained glass scintillations of “Jesus, gjør meg stille” (a Norwegian traditional) to the bass-driven road trip of the bandleader’s own “Seattle Song,” we find ourselves in territories at once familiar and freshly rendered for the soul. Soul is precisely what the band has more than enough to spare in its artful blend of gospel pastels and jazzier charcoal. “The Old Church” is a prime example of how beautifully these mesh together and is distinct for bassist Steinar Raknes’s solo, which stands out in an album largely focused on the group’s collective vibe. It’s also a running spiritual theme in a context where such classic hymns as Lowell Mason’s “Nearer My God, To Thee” (rendered so beautifully alone at the piano) and the Bach chorales “Christ lag in Todesbanden” and “Auf meinen lieben Gott” feel just as much of the here and now as Gustavsen’s originals feel curated from some old codex. The lushness of Johann Sebastian’s creations is matched only by their brevity. Like Bible verses that cut right to the core when one needs them, each lays sins bare on the altar of forgiveness, cutting them into smaller and smaller pieces until they disappear from view. Thus, faith is shown also to be creative, so that touch becomes a way of life.

Among the remaining selections by Gustavsen, if “Piano Interlude – Meditation” is made of stone and wood, then the title track travels on the wind, knowing one’s place in the world by dislocation. As in “Extended Circle,” we know this embrace the moment we feel it, having encountered it in dreams, in memories, and in hopes for the future. And here they are before us, welcoming and forgiving, waiting for life to unfold with philosophical humility. This leaves us only with “Beneath Your Wisdom,” which is the heart of the band, in which opens a door to whatever may burn in the depths of human regard.

The pianist notes a theme of “cherishing” in this music. Thus, as a return to form, Seeing proves itself to be an affirmation. The quieter the play, the more we feel revived, ready to take on the demons of this world. As the psalmist says above, God shows us only a few steps ahead. The rest is for Him to know.