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Album Review

Jukkis Uotila / Stockholm Jazz Orchestra: The Music of Jukkis Uotila

Read "The Music of Jukkis Uotila" reviewed by Florence Wetzel


The Music of Jukkis Uotila presents an exciting array of modern big band arrangements performed by The Stockholm Jazz Orchestra (SJO), with compositions provided by SJO's drummer and occasional pianist, Jukkis Uotila. For over twenty-five years, the SJO has been at the forefront of big band music, proving that it's possible to explore innovation while remaining loyal to a fundamental swing. One of the ways SJO keeps their music fresh is by working with an impressive roster of guest stars, ...

130
Album Review

Nordic Trinity: Wonders Never Cease

Read "Wonders Never Cease" reviewed by Jerry D'Souza


The Nordic Trinity comprises three generations of Finnish musicians, which must say something about the perspective of guitarist Mikko Iivanainen, who founded the group. He is the youngest of the three, having been born in 1975. The other two, Juhani Aaltonen (tenor saxophone; born in 1935) and Klaus Suonsaari (drums; born in 1959) have established themselves in the twin worlds of jazz and improvised music. Suonsaari has long been in the US, while Aaltonen is heralded as the founding father ...

137
Album Review

Klaus Suonsaari / Frank Carlberg: Fallingwater

Read "Fallingwater" reviewed by Celeste Sunderland


The packaging for Fallingwater includes a quote from Wassily Kandinsky. Two tracks into the album, the music gives way to images of intricate linear patterns and geometric designs--and one gets the impression that the Finnish duo's music could have inspired the painter's own works. A constant, careful examination of sound and texture persists through each of the eleven tracks. As a duo, percussionist Klaus Suonsaari and pianist Frank Carlberg maintain a resolute focus which avoids the muddle ...

122
Album Review

Klaus Suonsaari: Live in Helsinki

Read "Live in Helsinki" reviewed by Ken Dryden


Drummer Klaus Suonsaari is equally at home in the worlds of post bop, mainstream jazz and free jazz, though this live trio performance focuses on the latter. The leader is joined by by saxophonist Scott Robinson (who utilized Suonsaari on all three of his very straight-ahead sessions for Arbors Jazz) and bassist Julian F. Thayer.

The trio's wild improvisations defy predictable paths. Robinson's “One, Two, 1-2-3-4 is a throwback to the late '60s, with the saxophonist on tenor alternately honking ...

121
Album Review

Karen Shane: It's Anybody's Spring

Read "It's Anybody's Spring" reviewed by Robert Spencer


Wow! Karen Shane has a vibrant voice somewhat reminiscent of Phoebe Snow's, and just as richly evocative and maybe even more varied and expressive. On this delightful collection of thirteen jazzy tunes (including one original), she shows an impressive command of the jazz idiom and a wonderful ability to invest even the hoariest chestnuts (like “But Not for Me" and “All the Way") with originality and new zest. (Just listen to how she bends notes on “Warm and Willing"!) Backed ...


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