Explore Eivind Austad Trio

• 1 Moonage Daydream 05:58
• 2 Exploring 04:46
• 3 Minor to Major 08:09
• 4 Eastbound Meditation 05:20
• 5 Dodecaphone 04:17
• 6 Before the Storm 03:24
• 7 Five Against Three 06:57
• 8 Re-view 05:31
• 9 Passacaglia 06:03
• Total Runtime 50:25

Info for Explore

This is an exploring album. The well-known format of the piano trio is a point of departure exploring in composition and improvisation what a piano trio also can be. And how it can sound. There is an opening to these explorations, one can hear musicians stretching musical ideas into something barely known if not the unknown.

Eivind Austad has given himself restrictions when composing or he has searched for inspiration, tools, ideas and musical elements from a number of sources, so as to challenge himself creatively. The resulting ideas and sketches have then been worked with by the whole trio, collectively developing the compositions. The album is rich in musical ideas, and explores both tonal, rhythmical, and sonic dimensions, often simultaneously. At the same time there is a simplicity to the musical ideas, as if they are built up from fragments. The interaction between the musicians is a testament to how they clearly know each other musically, whole it also sounds like they collectively have agreed to explore the very format of the piano trio. Where Austad’s recognizable melodic playing is often in the forefront, the different musical elements move between the players, they all contribute melodies. It is a cliché to describe a piano trio as all musicians contributing to one musical entity, but this cliché at the same time can say something about how to listen to these musicians co-creating.

Listening to “Exploring” it feels like a parallel to seeing a three-dimensional object; it can be turned around, vied in multiple perspectives. The same is here done in sound, the instruments pulling in different or similar directions, making the music sound multidimensional, as if what is foreground and what is background can change in the act of listening. The exploration of the album as a whole also comes about in how composition and improvisation coexist; it hardly makes sense to ask about the difference between these elements. The result of the collective creation is an example of a music from strong individuals with inspiring musical voices, but seemingly devoid of ego.

Eivind Austad, piano
Magne Thormodsæter, double bass
Håkon Mjåset Johansen, drums

Recorded November 17-18, 2022 by Davide Bertolini at GSS Studio, Bergen, Norway Mixed November 2023 by Davide Bertolini at Griegakademiet, Bergen
Mastered April 2024 by Morten Lund at Lund´s Lyd, Oslo, Norway
Produced by Thomas T. Dahl. Co-produced by Eivind Austad
Executive producer Odd Gjelsnes

Eivind Austad
is a Norwegian jazz pianist from the city of Stavanger. He grew up playing classical piano as well as gospel and church music before digging into the world of jazz music in his late teens. A few years after finishing high school he studied at the Conservatory of Music in Trondheim and became an active freelance musician. He moved to Bergen and established himself as one of the most in demand pianists/keyboardists covering a broad range of styles and expressions. Out of the many artists and musicians he has worked with one can mention jazz saxophone player Kjetil T. Møster, guitarist Thomas T. Dahl, the late great saxophone player Sigurd Køhn, drummer/percussionist/multi artist Ole Hamre, drummer Frank Jakobsen, drummer Ernst Wiggo Sandbakk, guitarist Frode Alnæs and singer Sigvart Dagsland. Aside from being a musician, Eivind also teaches and runs the Jazz department at Bergen Music Conservatory/University of Bergen (The Grieg Academy). Some of his recording credits counts bass player Ole Amund Gjersvik, singer Tone Lise Moberg and pop artist Karin Park. He has led his trio with different line ups since 2001 and will release his first recording as a leader in 2016.

This album contains no booklet.