Almost There is the nineth album of the Norwegian, Oslo-based Espen Eriksen Trio, featuring pianist and composer Eriksen, double bass player Lars Tormod Jenset (of Andreas Haddeland Trio), and drummer Andreas Bye (Knut Reiersrud Band). This album brings the trio to its core format, after two previous (and total three) albums with British sax player Andy Sheppard. The album was recorded (and mixed) at Eriksen’s studio of choice for the last five albums, Propeller Music in Oslo, and captures the trio at its best. That is why the trio’s albums are frequently used in tests and highlighted in HiFi circles.

But, no doubt, this fine trio is not almost there; it is there, deep there after almost twenty years of work, including extensive tours. And this trio does so in the most commanding, elegant and articulate way, offering another set of eight lyrical songs, often spiced with a Nordic melancholic vibe, but always with an immediate emotional impact and a dramatic, story-like quality. The trio’s interplay is organic, detailed, rich, but precise and compact, opting for less-is-more rather than being redundant. The music flows naturally, as if it is already integrated into the natural movement of this planet.

The album is structured in a way that highlights the rich sonic vision of the trio. The opening title piece introduces an uplifting, optimistic vibe. The light funky pulse of «Sepia Sky» imagines an American, Los Angeles-based crime plot, affected by typical Californian sepia sky. The dramatic «Winter Is Coming» sounds as if anticipating the tough Norwegian Season. «Ancient Rituals» flirts with mysterious Middle Eastern dances. «A Dream in Black and White» offers this trio in its most emotionally open, vulnerable mode.

Eyal Hareuveni

Espen Eriksen (piano), Lars Tormod Jenset (double bass), Andreas Bye (drums)