The Tord Gustavsen Ensemble "Restored, Return" (ECM Records) Release March 16, 2010

Then Kristen Asbjordnsen sings “Lay Your Sleeping Head, My Love,,” with soft and dry jazz vocals of the Norah Jones type, but she gets more experimental with songs like “Restored, Returned,” singing in moans and syllables that turn into words. Lyrics are much more poetic than the typical jazz set. It’s actually very impressive and refreshing to hear some jazz vocals with real lyrical substance! Then I read in the booklet that all lyrics were from, “Another Time,” by the great author W.H. Auden. I was a little disappointed that they hadn’t written the lyrics themselves, but they pulled it off well. “Restored, Returned,” was most memorable in my mind, especially when it slowly climbs to a climax, and we get to hear such a great range of techniques and sounds from the amazing vocalist.

There’s an undercurrent of trip-hop anguish in the sound where it turns into a Beth Gibbons type of sound at some points. I hate to compare these well-versed musicians to others; no artist really wants to be compared to someone else, but for the purposes of this review, it’ll give you a good idea how they sound! Also the mysteriousness of Middle Eastern, Flamenco like modalities adds to the sensitivity of pain and despair. You can think of the feeling as a very refined blues.

Track after track, the album drew me in, wondering about all the different creative ways they were capable of mixing lyrics with sound, instruments with vocals. It goes beyond words and there’s careful attention that the vocals are more like one of the instruments and not just the lyrical center.

Tore Brunborg jumps in on the Sax solos. The dry tone of it is similar to the vocals and often blends well with them with tracks like the eerie, “Left Over Lullaby.”

I would have liked them to explore sound a little more, perhaps with more textures from the saxophone, and perhaps even with the voice instead of using them as mainly melodic elements. Also, pianist Gustavsen is very modest, perhaps too modest. Although he is the leader and writer of the music, he has very few shining moments besides laying down the driving and mysterious textures of the rhythm section.

The melodies are really nice also. I mean very nice!!! Refined, mature, different, compelling, emotional, and groovy. However, if you’re not used to the jazz set, the album can get fatiguing by the last third of it. For some, you may want to give the music a rest for a little bit and let it meditate, then come back to listen to the rest of it. It would have been nice to hear something to wake me up in the mix to juxtapose the intensely contemplative and mysterious nature of the album. You can get lost in your thoughts easily, and perhaps stuck in disturbing inner feelings that may be too uncomfortable for many. However, if you’re brave and patient, the album is very beautiful, including the Winslow Homer like cover art of eerie abstract waves crashing, or something like that. I came to the conclusion that if you let the album do what it’s supposed to, instead of being stuck into sounds that you’re used to hearing, you’ll see that this particularly album has a lot of substance, maturity, and beauty! I hope you all try it and experience how liberating it is!

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