Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Jarmo Saari Filmtet: A Tribute to Finnish Cinema

116

Jarmo Saari Filmtet: A Tribute to Finnish Cinema

By

Sign in to view read count
Jarmo Saari Filmtet: A Tribute to Finnish Cinema
One of the few things more obscure than Finnish jazz is Finnish cinema, and even more obscure would be Finnish film music. Guitarist Jarmo Saari fuses together these little known elements and creates a surprising and delightful jazz revue of all three. In the process, Saari's Filmtet also highlights the strengths and weaknesses of many contemporary jazz artists. At moments the Filmtet improvises with imagination and flair, but at others they retreat into mere adaptation of the source material.

By referencing the previous sixty years of Finnish cinema, the Filmtet explores a healthy portion of twentieth-century popular music. Saari and his group of Finnish jazz veterans display versatile technique while navigating this wide-range of emotional material with equal amounts of sensitivity and humor. The evergreen "Rilluma-Rei" puts the group through a tense series of tricky orchestrated passages, while they bounce between tango and polka-like rhythms, until they break through into a sublime outro groove. "Lasisydan" has the group swinging and jumping after Ellington, while Pepa Paivinen's clarinet playing drifts into Dolphy territory with a concise solo of angular phrases. Paivinen's tenor sax excursions also drive "Paaskytorni", as he builds aching peaks and valleys behind the loose swing of the rhythm section. The original is a unique psychedelic piece from the late 60s by Otto Donner and the Blues Section, complete with world-weary vocals, and the Filmtet has captured that weary and fragile sound poinangtly. But they manage to extend the song's musical and emotional content with a gentle, refreshing coda that resolves the uneasiness left by Donner's original.

Saari tackles more traditional film scoring on two pieces, and attempts to avoid simple reproduction by combining themes from different movies. "Klaani/Juha" reaches ambitiously, combining composer Anssi Tikanmaki's themes from Mika Kaurismaki's 1984 crime film Klaani (The Clan) and Aki Kaurismaki's 1998 silent film remake of Juha. The group rapidly switches from the stilted rock anthems of "Juha" to the haunting melody of "Klaani", which bears a striking resemblance to Morricone's "The Sicilian Clan". Unfortunately, the result twists and turns like the robotic progressive meanderings of not-so-vintage Jethro Tull. They do insert an inspired fusion improvisation in the middle, complete with fuzz-box Fender Rhodes, that hints at what more this group could accomplish if they cut loose.

With such a diverse collection of musical styles, the album treads dangerously close to becoming a faceless hodgepodge. However, the Filmtet sprinkles delicious tone colors throughout the album, like theremin and vacuum tubes on the fairy tale theme from Lumikuningatar, and Saari's work on the whole album finds and fills the right cracks in the rhythm and melody.

Saari has chosen some untapped musical resources for this album, and that alone makes it noteworthy in a jazz world which too often gives one audio deja-vu. His group executes with an ear for detail and tonal color that brings life to these classic, at least in Finland, movie themes. The music, as well as the movies, deserve a wider audience.

Track Listing

Prologi; Rilluma-Rei!; Sinua, Sinua Rakastan; Lasisydan; Lumikuningatar; Paaskytorni; Sota ja Rauha; Klaani/Juha; Akselin ja Elinan Haavalssi.

Personnel

Jarmo Saari
guitar, electric

Jarmo Saari: guitar, voice, theremin; Pepa paivinen: soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, bass clarinet, flutes; Seppo Kantonen: keyboards, accordion; Hannu Rantanenz: acoustic bass; Marko Timonen: drums, percussion; Petri Keskitalo: tuba (3, 4, 8, 9); Olli Haavisto: pedal steel (7, 8).

Album information

Title: A Tribute to Finnish Cinema | Year Released: 2001 | Record Label: EMI Music

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Love Is Passing Thru
Roberto Magris
Candid
Sunny Five
Inside Colours Live
Julie Sassoon

Popular

Eagle's Point
Chris Potter
Light Streams
John Donegan - The Irish Sextet

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.