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Itkuja Suite, Invocations On Lament

Rent Romus

Label: Edgetone Records
Released: 2023
Views: 691

Tracks

Porun polku (Lament’s Journey); Stands on Water, Falls on Land (Vedessä seisoo, maalla kaatuu); Itkust iloon (Lament to Joy); Runo onnesta (Lucky poem); Olin kerran onnekas (I was once lucky); Itku suistamolaisille siirtolaisuudesta (Lament on being a refugee); Runkoteiran halla (Rungoteus) Rye Spirit; Hear Me When I’m Lost (Kuule huutoni); Suurimaa (Grand Country); Intrinsic Light (parts I-II); Shapeshifter.

Personnel

Rent Romus

saxophone, alto

Heikki Laitinen

vocals

Heikki Koskinen

trumpet

Joshua Marshall

saxophone, tenor

Mark Clifford

vibraphone

Safa Shokrai

bass

Cory Combs

bass, acoustic

Max Judelson

cello

Ann McChesney-Young

accordion

Timothy Orr

drums

Erika Oba

flute

Additional Personnel / Information

Erika Oba: c-flute, Piccolo.

Album Description

The tradition of song through lament has served as a form of community expression spanning millennia, invoking processes of healing in profound ways. The Finnish word itkuja (eet-koo-yaw) literally means crying, but hidden within this translation embodies deeper undercurrents of meaning. Itkuja surpasses the biopic Western acceptance of polar opposites (i.e. happy/sad, good/bad), drawing a more all- encompassing world view of the definition of existence, loss, and change. On this new recording, themed on the challenges of the living, Life’s Blood and Laitinen are splendidly supportive of the mission. The compositions by Romus and Koskinen summon the instrumentalists to shine in solos, pairings, and ensemble. The result is an audible balance between sadness and joy, inherent to itkuja. “We’re expressing the feeling of lamentation in a way that’s universal”, says Romus, “and putting the life-affirming elements of jazz in with the lament structure.” The itkuja conventions of alliteration and parallel exposition are channeled in both lyrics and music. The stories, sung by Laitinen in Finnish, are (with one exception) historical laments informed by The National Archives of Finland’s Ancient Poems of the Finnish People, with reference to the historic refugees of Finno-Ugric people across Northern Europe, and also to Romus and Koskinen’s longing for their heritage. With the benefit of translation, this offers listeners a dazzling discovery both musical and poetic, and a universal call to remembrance and healing.

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