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Trio jazz for the inner blue note
It’s been a long time coming. For 15 years the Norwegian Eivind Austad Trio has been an important part of the Bergen jazz scene, but only now their international debut «Moving» hits stores.
After graduating from jazz college in Trondheim, northern Norway, pianist Eivind Austad settled in Bergen about 20 years ago, where he came to be an elementary protagonist not only of the local music scene but also the jazz college. Like many other Norwegian musicians, Austad was trained not only in jazz but also in classical and folk music. Still being the inspiration for exiting new music from different genres, the Norwegian folk tradition is held up high in the country’s musical education.
The «Norwegian school» has left it’s marks on Eivind Austad, but he had lost his heart long time ago to America. Gospel, R’n’B and blues form the essence of the trio’s sound and compositions. It’s this intrinsically American accent that distinguishes the Eivind Austad Trio from other ensembles of their generation who are putting the possibilities and impossibilities of piano jazz to the test.
There is a lot of soul in «Moving», it will surely hit the inner blue not in every true jazz fan. Also, the lyrical and narrative piano style of Eivind Austads evokes memories of Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea and other legends. Magne Thormodsæter on double bass and drummer Håkon Mjåset Johansen are the perfect accompanists – subtle, yet with impeccable timing and intuition. Beside the six mature and versatile original compositions its the cover version of David Bowie’s «Life on Mars» that really stands out. Austad, Thormodsæter and Johansen manage to wrap up the song completely in their signature sound without ever loosing track of the songs original flow.
Like all good Norwegian jazz records these days, «Moving» was recorded at Rainbow Studios in Oslo, known for their clear and transparent productions.
