Trio Friedrich-Herbert-Moreno / Jere Laukkanen's Finnish Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra: Surfacing / Jere Laukkanen's Finnish Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra

The Subatomic. Trio Friedrich-Herbert-Moreno music might best be compared to that of Mike Nock's Naxos Jazz trio recording, Not We But One. That is, it has a structured, free-wheeling sound pregnant with personality and panache. This is progressive trio music that should be considered with that of pianists Paul Bley and Uri Caine. All pieces, save one (Ellington's "Azure") are originals, all introspectively extroverted. A paradox speaking to an enigma about an iconoclast. This music is a superb, poorly behaved collection that will tickle the fancy of any advant-gardist without running off the more mainstream.

The Superatomic. Talk about a multicultural affair. It was once said of Baroque composer Handel that he..."was a Saxon, living in England, writing Italian operas." Jere Laukkanen's Finnish Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra is a Scandinavian bunch playing American Music, channeling Chano Pozo. The result is a brash, loud, complex mercurial affair that jumps out and grabs the listener by the shirt collar. Laukkanen composed the majority of the cleverness digitally expressed on this disc. He has a smart ear and engaging compositional style. His arranging talent is put to the test on Dizzy's "Manteca" and a burning rendition of Jaco Pastorius' "Teen Town". Laukkanen taps other Naxos Jazz talent for this disc, employing Pekka Pylkkanen ( Pekka's Tube Factory 86028-2) on reeds and Lenni-Kalle Taipale ( Nothing to Hide 86035-2) on keyboards. The sum of all of these parts illustrates why Scandinavian big bands have come to the forefront of large ensemble jazz.