Norwegian gives Lutheran hymns an Afghan twist

With its roots in gospel music, jazz has always had a spiritual side. Now a Norwegian jazz pianist is taking the Lutheran hymns of his youth to a wholly new and unexpected level.

Tord Gustavsen's latest album grew from a simple desire.

"I was at a point where I really felt like reconnecting with my spiritual roots in the hymns that I grew up with," he said.

More than that, he wanted to explore and reinterpret those Norwegian Lutheran songs. Then one day he heard a German-Afghan vocalist, Simin Tander. He loved her phrasing and intonation.

"And I also heard her singing in the language of Pashto," he said. "And I had this amazing experience of understanding nothing and still feeling I understood it all. And that paradox was really strong."

What would happen, he wondered, if the hymns of his youth were sung in Pashto, a language spoken in Afghanistan and parts of Pakistan?

The result is the album "What Was Said."

The sound on the album is spare: Gustavsen's keyboard, Tander's velvet voice and the minimalist drumming of Jarle Vespestad. Yet the music envelops a listener.

Its simplicity also belies the preparation that went into each song. First, Gustavsen translated several hymns from Norwegian to English, trying to capture what he saw as their essence.

"And took it to an Afghan poet, who did then the actual translations based on these edits and reinterpretations that we had developed," he said.

"To me, the sounds of the Pashto language are so special," said Gustavsen. "The way the vowels are pronounced and the way the melodies are caressed in this language is really special."

Together, Gustavsen and Tander also arranged works by the ancient Sufi poet Rumi. Those are sung in English.

Simin Tander grew up speaking German and English. She was just beginning to explore Pashto, the language of her late father, when Gustavsen approached her with the idea. She enjoys the interplay of language and spirituality that stretches across continents.

"You know, when I sing in English, it's very clear," she said. "Every word I do understand, immediately. But in Pashto, it's both. It's a part of me, and still a lot of mystery."

The Tord Gustavsen Trio will bring that mystery to play in a concert Friday evening at Mindekirken Norwegian Lutheran Church in Minneapolis. Given recent history between the West and Pashto speakers in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Gustavsen suggested, maybe this musical project can offer a little hope.

"It's a contribution to saying we can not only have dialogue, we can actually learn from each other," he said.

It's learning aided by a piano, a drum and a velvet voice.