Espen Berg, piano and compositions // Bárður Reinert Poulsen, bass // Simon Albertsen, drums
Espen Berg Trio is an award-winning piano trio from Norway. Outselling concert halls all over the world, the trio referred to as one of the best trios in existence today by Jazz Journal has already made a mark outside their home country. Their music might be reminiscent of that of Brad Mehldau, Keith Jarrett, Shai Maestro or Tigran Hamasyan, but above all it’s a personal addition to the legacy of the piano trio and to the evolution of the Nordic jazz scene, featuring a compelling combination of strong melodies and complex rhythmics, immense technical abilities and a highly engaging interplay.
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Espen Berg Trio has been touring in Europe and Japan frequently, releasing four albums on the Japanese label Blue Gleam. In 2019, the trio made a solid impression on the jazz industry gathered at jazzahead! in Bremen, resulting in a tour in India and concerts at highly profiled European clubs like Ronnie Scotts in London. Their third album, Free to Play, was listed in Downbeat (US) as one of the best releases in 2019, and as of spring 2024, EBT’s fifth album is in the making.
Undoubtedly one of my favourite albums of this year, “Free To Play” is a richly rewarding experience, from a trio who are proving to be not just one of the best in their field of music, but also beyond boundaries. Fabulous music that I have a feeling Iʼll be enjoying for many years to come.
– UK Vibe 5/5 stars
Like all the best music, this album reveals something new and pleasing on each successive hearing
– BBC Music, review of Free to play (2019)
Espen Berg was declared a true master of the piano (All About Jazz) when releasing his debut album Noctilucent, in 2012. His third album The Trondheim Concert (2022), all improvised and live-recorded, was featured in many of Europe’s leading jazz magazines, and described as one of the finest improvised solo piano performances from the last decade or so by UK Vibe. Espen was awarded Norway’s largest jazz scholarship at Molde Int’l Jazz Festival in 2016, resulting in a commissioned work for the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra. He is also known for his collaboration with Silje Nergaard, Hildegunn Øiseth Quartet, A Tonic For The Troops, Seamus Blake, Daniel Herskedal, Marius Neset, among many others. In 2023 he was appointed to official Steinway Artist and premiered his latest commissioned work, Water Fabric, which was written for Trondheim Jazz Festival, Oslo Jazz Festival and Maijazz in Stavanger.
ESPEN BERG 