7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Worth listening to but not as good as the first 3 releases!, Feb 24 2012
By Kami Dassen "dassenator" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Well (Audio CD)
Tord Gustavsen is one of the great contributors to the excellent selection of modern contemporary jazz albums under the ECM label. I do especially love The Ground and Being There. The last album I bought from him was Restored & Returned which is not as good as the first three albums, but somewhat I consider that one to be still better than The Well, especially since it is available in HighRes at HDTracks. Maybe I just have to listen to The Well a little more, but the addition of the saxophone in this Quartet sound a little too heavy on the new addition, and therefore reminds me very much of Jan Garbarek. Needless to say this album is lacking the details and harmonic balance we are used to with the earlier Trio arrangement. To me the bass and drums in combination with the melancholic melodies of the piano where the signature character of Tord Gustavsen. The Well has hardly any recording on it with emphasis on the drums. I consider it to be average.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Deep and satisfying, Mar 28 2012
By Mark Dennison - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Well (Audio CD)
I have to admit to being a huge fan of Tord Gustavsen and his approach to music. This album returns to the sparseness and deeply felt rhythms and silences of Being There to brilliant effect. Like the earlier albums, there is an emotional sweep that connects all the tunes, and they are executed with perfection. The overall feeling is - to my ears and soul - deeply satisfying. The use of bass, sax and percussion is unusual, thought out and very effective - the emotional whole dominates, but the effects are surprising: reflective and beautiful. There is still groove and the evident spirituality nods to gospel roots but faces east. A moving and, dare I say, great album that repays repeated listening. Thank you, Tord.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
what a difference a sax makes, Mar 25 2012
By Edd Anderson "ezduzed" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Well (Audio CD)
An Amazon Pre Order if I am correct, knowing the work as of trio, I figured maybe adding saxophone would be ok. Well my take is what expansion and new dimension to the sound of a great trio, way exceeded my expectations.
I am a fan of good trios,(piano, bass, drum is my favorite. Oscar Peterson Trio, Bill Evans Trio and Wynton Kelly are the first that come to mind. I am also a person that follows, "if it ain't broke don't mess with", and that sometimes we have to polish it up a bit, this is all of that and more. Pardon the pun, but the "The Well",takes us a little deeper into the creativity of Gustavsen as a composer, adding the sax seems to me now as evolutionary.
In my opinion this album shows both the love affair the Nordic people have for the American Jazz music and their growth as Jazz Artists and Composers.
I just love putting the big cans on and listening, a great stride for these artists, ECM, and jazz heads like me.