Tord Gustavsen Trio: Changing Places

By GRAHAM REID

(Herald rating: * * * * )

The European label ECM has long sprung cerebral jazz musicians from Norway - saxophonist Jan Garbarek, guitarist Terje Rypdal and drummer Jon Christensen - but this piano trio's debut album for the label has a rare warmth which belies their cold-climate origins.

These spare yet melodic tunes (Bill Evans immediately springs to mind) have an internal logic all their own: Gustavsen knows the value of silence and space but can also suggest a late-night lounge bar as much as a concert hall; bassist Harald Johnsen moves effortlessly between the notes and spaces; and the deft, light-touch drummer Jarle Vespestad has worked with a Norwegian band with the name Supersilent, which seems fitting here.

It can be energetic (the slightly excitable IGN) but really the titles tell you everything: Melted Matter, At a Glance, Song of Yearning, Where Breathing Starts, Your Eyes, Graceful Touch ...

Poised and elegant, quasi-classical, suggestions of blue moods, effortlessly listenable and ineffably subtle, this announces a new trio from the chilly north. But one which will heat your heart. Lovely.

(ECM/Ode)