Playing solo is when I feel most connected to myself, the instrument and the music. Ever since I heard The Köln Concert by Keith Jarrett for the first time in my early twenties, I have pursued a similar way of expressing myself through the piano. It took 16 years of dedicated practice until I felt ready to go on stage without a single idea planned out and to improvise a complete solo concert. This debut concert was released in 2022 as The Trondheim Concert and was well received by music critics around the world:
Impressive stuff – the future of spontaneous-improvised solo concert is in safe hands. // Stuart Nicholson, Jazzwise ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️, Editor’s Choice
What we have here, is quite possibly one of the finest improvised solo piano performances I have had the pleasure of listening to in the last decade or so. // Mike Gates, UK Vibe ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Following The Trondheim Concert was the release of The Nidaros Concert and The Hamar Concert in 2023. I wanted to kick start this new phase of my solo project, because of my high ambitions and because it’s something I truly care about. I believe this project is my most profound, groundbreaking and border-defying contribution to the music scene. In 2025, my live albums were discovered by multi-grammy winner Toby Gad, and together we released The Kempen Concert in October 2025. This album was also very well received, with several renowned critics stating more explicitly than ever before that I’m one of the few that carries on the legacy of Jarrett. It makes me humble and highly motivated at the same time.
The Kempen Concert, the latest documentation of his solo piano odyssey, provides further evidence of Berg’s contribution to the art of solo piano improvisation and is becoming more compelling and can no longer be ignored or dismissed as a Jarrett light. Yes, Jarrett forged a wholly original path of his own, but Berg comes from a Norwegian jazz perspective and has something fresh to offer with a Nordic kind of blues. // Stuart Nicholson, Jazzwise ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Inevitably, comparisons will be made between Berg and a now-retired ECM pianist, even to the similarity of their concert formats with the inevitable concluding standard, but Berg is his own man, with his own distinct voice. He is a serious composer and a fine improvisor. This strong set will merely enhance his status. // Simon Adams, Jazz Journal
I spent nearly two decades to build up the courage and skills required to accomplish something close to my own expectations and goals. It’s rather ironic, to prepare so much and for so long only to let everything go when the moment strikes. But it’s about preparing for the unexpected, and to be able to transform every little detail into something meaningful. My improvised music ranges from atonal to traditional and melodic styles. It can be literally everything, and I really enjoy that. I try my best to connect all the dots and to tell a musical story, spanning from the very first note to the last.
ESPEN BERG 