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.”
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At the age of 19, he began his studies at the University of Oslo and his interest in jazz started to flourish. 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”. Gustavsen says: “Taken together, the bands and projects represent my quest for a deepening of my own playing.” Gustavsen’s most recent line-up sees him on piano and electronics collaborating with Simin Tander (vocals), Jarle Vespestad (drums).