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Iro Haarla Sextet: Kolibri
by Neri Pollastri
Primo album per il sestetto “finlandese" di Iro Haarla, pianista, arpista e compositrice che dalle collaborazioni con Edward Vesala negli anni Settanta a oggi ha attraversato numerosi stilemi e generi, e che negli ultimi anni si sta facendo particolarmente apprezzare. Questa formazione--che affianca due quintetti, uno finnico-norvegese con il quale Haarla ha pubblicato due apprezzati lavori per ECM e uno finlandese--schiera musicisti di primissimo ordine: gli esperti Jari Hongisto, Kai Heinilä e Ulf Krokfors, che con la pianista avevano lavorato ...
Continue ReadingIro Haarla Sextet: Kolibri
by John Sharpe
On Kolibri, Finnish pianist Iro Haarla brings together four mainstays of the country's improvised music scene, along with rising trumpet star Verneri Pohjola, in an outfit which sits mid way between a small group and a big band in terms of its capabilities. It's an accomplished unit. All six were part of the TUMO agglomeration which partnered trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith on Occupy The World (TUM Records, 2013), while four of the older generation were part of celebrated drummer Edward ...
Continue ReadingIro Haarla Sextet: Kolibri
by Eyal Hareuveni
Finnish Pianist-composer Iro Haarla's compositions for her sextet emphasize her aim to reach a different, larger sound than the sound of her Finnish-Norwegian quintet (Northbound and Vespers, both on ECM, 2006 and 2011). This sextet is comprised of top Finnish musicians who collaborated closely with her in the past and began to work as the sextet in 2009. Its three-horn front line sound, as captured on Kolibri (the Finnish word for hummingbird), enables Haarla to use complex arrangements, rhythmic diversity ...
Continue ReadingIro Haarla Sextet: Kolibri
by Dan McClenaghan
Finnish pianist Iro Haarla has expanded her customary quintet approach--trumpet, saxophone and rhythm section--with the addition of a third horn, Jari Hongisto's trombone, on Kolibri. The sextet is composed of some of Finland's most dynamic improvisors, and Haarla has given these vibrant artists the space to move the music in their own individual directions within the framework she has laid down.From the first notes of the opener, “Nightjar," the music--spacious, minimalist in Haarlas' piano part, and initially featuring ...
Continue ReadingIro Haarla Quintet: Vespers
by AAJ Italy Staff
Giunta al suo secondo lavoro da leader, dopo avere militato per anni nelle formazioni guidate dal marito, il batterista Edward Vesala prematuramente scomparso nel 1999, la pianista/arpista e compositrice finlandese Iro Haarla conferma la buona impressione suscitata cinque anni fa con l'album d'esordio, Northbound. Non cambiano gli accompagnatori, un quintetto completato da vecchi e giovani leoni del jazz norvegese, a cominciare dal veterano batterista Jon Christensen, per finire col giovane trombettista Mathias Eick, oltre al sassofonista Trygve Seim e al ...
Continue ReadingIro Haarla Quintet: Vespers
by John Kelman
It's been six years since Iro Haarla released Northbound (ECM)--while not her actual debut as a leader, certainly her first with international exposure--an album of remarkable beauty that cemented the Finnish pianist/harpist/composer's position as the silent voice behind the music of her late husband, drummer Edward Vesala. There's no denying the import of Vesala's work for ECM, beginning with 1976's Nan Madol--truly a momentous album that spoke, in cinematic terms, of the landscape and culture of Finland--but, equally, a fundamental ...
Continue ReadingThe Iro Haarla Quintet at Scandinavia House
by Budd Kopman
The Iro Haarla Quintet at Scandinavia House, NYCScandinavia HouseNew York City, New YorkJune 16, 2008 There were not one but two reasons to be excited about attending this concert at Scandinavia House on this night. Pianist/harpist/composer Iro Haarla had never before played in New York City, so this was a first for her as well as her admirers. The second was that the music played was entirely from her debut album on ECM, Northbound ...
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