Jazz Articles
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Jonah Parzen-Johnson: You're Never Really Alone
by Karl Ackermann
You're Never Really Alone is the seventh solo album from baritone saxophonist Jonah Parzen-Johnson. “Solo" is misleading as Parzen-Johnson's nuanced use of electronics has consistently added the kind of multiple dimensions that belie the work of a single player. This album, in contrast, is wholly acoustic but showcases Parzen-Johnson's remarkable ability to create enigmatic, deeply moving and mystical soundscapes and narratives. Even without his customary electronic enhancements, Parzen-Johnson utilizes the full range of sounds available from the baritone ...
read moreGard Nilssen's Supersonic Orchestra: Family
by Mark Corroto
Why can't all music be supersonic? That does not mean supersonic as in a speed exceeding that of sound, but sound that is sonically superlative. Drummer, composer, and bandleader Gard Nilssen's music is seemingly always sonically superb. His 17-piece Supersonic Orchestra was captured in 2022 at the Mondriaan Jazz Festival in Den Haag, Netherlands, for Family, his follow-up to If You Listen Carefully The Music Is Yours (Odin 2020). The Supersonic Orchestra is made up of seven saxophones ...
read moreEmma Salokoski with Ilmiliekki: Joulu Joulu Jul
by Anthony Shaw
If you are looking for a novel way of approaching the December 2022 festive season, musically speaking, and are not deterred by a mixture of Nordic languages, then this album may appeal. The songs are sung in Swedish and Finnish, and without any accompanying lyric sheet an English speaker might do well to search for lyrics online. Keen observers of the Nordic jazz scene will know the band behind the album from its prominence in the mid 2000s, following victory ...
read moreMusic For Ukraine
by Ian Patterson
Music For Ukraine is a benefit album whose proceeds are intended solely for humanitarian aid in Ukraine. This gargantuan compilation features artists from the roster of Finnish label We Jazz Records. The twenty-six tracks--contemporary jazz for the most part, with the odd foray into modern chamber and electronica- tinged experimentalism--amount to two-and-a-half hours of compelling music. A host of well-known Finnish artists such as Verneri Pohjola, Timo Lassy, Olavi Louhivuori, Mikko Innanen, Aki Rissanen and Kalle Kalima are all featured. ...
read moreIlmiliekki Quartet: Ilmiliekki Quartet
by Pat Youngspiel
When opener “Three Queens" kicks off seemingly mid-motion, Verneri Pohjola, Tuomo Prättälä, Antti Lötjönen and Olavi Louhivuori—a foursome going by the name of Ilmiliekki Quartet—sound as though they've already been at it for a while. They're all warmed up, in complete sync and have found a common groove at which they're smoothly tugging and pulling in a united front. There is a stumbling notion to how the piano keys fall from one chord into another, constructing cadences and voicings as ...
read moreTimo Lassy and Teppo Mäkynen: Live Recordings 2019-2020
by Friedrich Kunzmann
The Finnish pairing of Timo Lassy and Teppo Mäkynen belongs to the kind of collaborations where one really doesn't know what to expect next, but that whatever it is, it's bound to be quite extraordinary. Both respected leaders in their own right and busy musicians in contexts that reach far beyond the boundaries of jazz, the two appear to be at their best when performing together. This collection of live material, recorded at We Jazz Festival, Porvoo Jazz Festival and ...
read moreJAF Trio: JAF Trio
by Friedrich Kunzmann
JAF Trio's eponymous debut outing is filled with tight drumbeats, striding bass walks and quirky sax lines sliding down slippery slopes. The young Danish-Finish outfit, composed of saxophonist Adele Sauros, Joonas Tuuri on bass and drummer Frederik Emil Bulow, offers a first glimpse into their studio work after having performed together on several occasions over the last few years. Sauros' influence from working with the group Superposition and Turi's contributing to the Bowman Trio--two ensembles who each recently released their ...
read moreAntti Lotjonen Quintet East: ALQE
by Friedrich Kunzmann
Bassist Antti Lötjönen is anything but a small name in the Finnish jazz cosmos. Holding down the deep frequency spectrum in some of the country's most renowned instrumental outfits, such as the electronica-infused jazz trio 3TM or the acoustic Ilmiliekki Quartet, Lötjönen has established a cunning reputation as a sideman leading up to this, his debut release as a leader with the so-called Quintet East. Accordingly high are the expectations of a musician of his caliber—expectations which are more than ...
read moreSuperposition: Superposition
by Friedrich Kunzmann
This outing by Helsinki-based jazz group Superposition is as bold as debut records come. In place of catchy melodies, the reeds focus on odd lines composed of small intervals. Instead of comfortable swing and funky shuffles, bass-and snare-drum work up a choppy sweat to wild cymbal blows. Not to mention the unstoppable double-bass fingers, running up and down the frets like a bullet climbing a staircase. Over the span of eight original compositions, Superposition presents an unquenchable thirst for the ...
read moreJonah Prazen-Johnson: Imagine Giving Up
by Karl Ackermann
When Jonah Parzen-Johnson released his first full-length album, Michiana (Primary Records, 2012), the Brooklyn-based artist seemed to give priority status to the electronics through which he filtered his baritone saxophone compositions. Even more so, Parzen-Johnson's 2015 follow up, Remember When Things Were Better Tomorrow (also on Primary), was dominated by ambient drones. Parzen-Johnson has continued to develop his approach and on Imagine Giving Up we hear more complex applications for both the baritone and the synthesizer and a more human ...
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