Tord Gustavsen & Trygve Seim

Tord Gustavsen and Trygve Seim, two of Norway’s most prominent representatives of the “Nordic sound,” will perform as a duo in Heidelberg for the first time. In October, in the unique setting of the Heiliggeistkirche, two musicians whose art is characterized by concentration, a refined sense of sound, and spirituality will come together.

Gustavsen is one of those jazz pianists with a distinctly unique style, underpinned by an exceptional touch. His music, which he himself once described as “little hymns,” combines intimacy and depth. On the saxophone, Trygve Seim developed an unmistakable, elegiac tone that bridges jazz and classical music—inspired in part by Jan Garbarek’s “Eventyr.”

SZ critic Andrian Kreye described just how intense this interplay is after a joint concert: Gustavsen can “shape the notes so delicately” that it’s as if he were playing the strings with “horsehair bows,” while Seim develops an “enormous presence” from simple motifs. In “Piano-Pianissimo,” the two “literally took the audience’s breath away.”

Their music creates a captivating interplay between silence, improvisation, and spirituality. Gustavsen and Seim—an extraordinary duo for an extraordinary church setting.