by Marisa Brown
Before he started his trio, Norwegian pianist Tord Gustavsen was already very much involved in his country's jazz scene. Contributions to releases by groups like the Silje Nergaard Band, the Ulrich Drechsler Quartet, and others had already helped to establish him as one of Norway's top players. In 2003, signed to ECM, Gustavsen, along with drummer Jarle Vespestad and bassist Harald Johnsen, released Changing Places, which was followed in 2005 with Ground. Two years later, Being There, what Gustavsen called the completion of the trilogy, hit shelves.