Espen Berg, piano and compositions // Bárður Reinert Poulsen, bass // Simon Albertsen, drums
Since their debut in 2014, Espen Berg (piano), Bárður Reinert Poulsen (bass), and Simon Albertsen (drums) have established themselves as one of the most distinctive piano trios in European jazz. They have toured across Europe, Japan, China, and India, sold out clubs such as Ronnie Scott’s in London as well as concert halls in Tokyo, Kyoto, Guangzhou, and Athens, and have been described by Jazz Journal (UK) as «one of the best trios in existence today».
Espen Berg Trio continues both to challenge and to renew the piano trio format through their distinctive combination of complex rhythmic language, deep harmonic insight, and strong melodies, all driven by an intense, virtuosic, and playful interplay.
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Espen Berg Trio has released four albums on the Japanese label Blue Gleam and sold over 2000 CDs in Japan. Their third album, Free to Play, was listed in Downbeat as one of the best releases in 2019. In 2026, four years after their previous release, the trio returns with their fifth album, Entropies, released June 5 on Svale Records. Created over a period of nearly three years, the album nevertheless emerges as their most concise and transparent recording to date, carrying forward the trio’s defining qualities in the very best way.
Entropies revolves around the tension between order and dissolution — the planned and the immediate. Berg has written a set of explosive, highly memorable melodies, but also pushes further with spontaneously composed pieces and polymetric structures that place both the trio and the listener right on the edge of their seats.
A decade of records has been building toward a trio that could hold rigour and abandon in the same hand without dropping either, and here they are doing exactly that, for three-quarters of an hour, without a wasted gesture. This is Espen Berg at full powers and the Espen Berg Trio arriving, completely, as themselves. – UK Vibe (5/5) in their review of Entropies (2026)
Together, Espen Berg’s trio challenges and renews the classic piano trio format through its use of complex rhythmic language, deep harmonic insight, and great melodic strength. The trio has been in existence since 2014, and shows no signs of letting up yet. This uncompromising, vital set reaffirms its continuing dominance today. – Jazz Journal in their review of Entropies (2026)
The richness of the nuances that follow one another in Entropies consecrates the art of Espen Berg. The ease with which he creates climates that continue to metamorphose remains exceptional. – Citizen Jazz in their review of Entropies (2026)
More reviews of Entropies: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ by Spectrum Culture (US) and ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ by Dagsavisen (NO)
ESPEN BERG 