Norwegian guitarist Gisle Torvik’s Tranquil Fjord is indeed for the most part tranquil, but like any Norwegian fjord it is also dramatic. Sometimes in small, subtle ways, sometimes in large, obvious ways.
Torvik is a prolific young musician who doesn’t confine himself to one style or genre, but for this album he fronts a standard jazz trio with Audun Ellingsen on double bass and Hermund Nygård on drums. It appears to be his third album since 1999 and the first without vocals. Although this album fits neatly within anyone’s definition of jazz, it also frequently flirts with various kinds of popular music and even, I suppose, some classical guitar at times. He’s earned comparisons to the likes of Jan Garbarek and Pat Metheny. Mostly, though, it’s just beautiful music, clearly Nordic, sincere and cool without resorting to nujazz or smooth jazz kitsch.
The 10-track album is bookended by two versions of the title piece, the first by the trio the second solo. The lovely tune is a perfect showcase for Torvik’s crystalline tone, which is abetted by Ozella’s penchant for pristine sonics. Production is by Karl Seglem, another Ozella regular. Here’s the trio version:
Torvik shows his modern jazz credentials in the peppy, somewhat angular “Kryssande” with its odd time signature. A delicate, mildly programmatic solo piece, “Før Bløming” (before blooming) leads into the lightly swinging trio tune “Bløming.” An acoustic guitar is added to the mix, Torvik backing himself on the sunny “Endelaus Veg” (endless road). Energetic bass and drum work from his compatriots seem to push Torvik from a languid beginning to a more ecstatic approach as the tune progresses. I can’t help but hear a little bit of Mason Williams in another acoustic piece, “Stille Song,” with its self-conscious melancholy and shades of pop. Probably my favorite is “Arv” (heritage), which starts off as a delicate solo electric waltz-time piece that picks up a modicum of swing when Ellingsen joins in on bass and the two jointly explore the piece’s harmonic possibilities. After the lush, romantic ballad “Blå Skugge,” Nygãrd gets to show his subtly impressive chops on drums and percussion behind the straight-ahead tune “Lang Veg Heim” (long road home).
Tranquil Fjord is subtly impressive on every level. Nothing about it is overtly flashy, as the three players perform with admirable restraint. And yet the music is anything but static; no aimless noodling here, but every tune has internal tension and an arc from beginning to end.
(Ozella, 2013)
