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Alexi Tuomarila: From Helsinki to Timbuktu
by Bruce Lindsay
Sometimes a person can be in the right place, just not quite at the right time. So it was for Finnish pianist Alexi Tuomarila. After his debut album with his quartet, Voices of Pohjola (Igloo Records, 2001), he signed to Warner Jazz in the early '00s, while he was still in his 20s. The second quartet ...
Iro 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 ...
Infinita: A Cross-European Venture
by Anthony Shaw
The opening 30 seconds of this exploration of the Time Continuum belies the power of the music that follows. A Cross-European Venture is a selection of pieces, mainly from the pen of pianist Sid Hille, more than ably assisted by a thoroughly competent Italo-Finnish gang of four. Hille's credentials have been accumulated over ...
Wadada Leo Smith & TUMO: Occupy The World
by John Sharpe
Trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith continues to challenge preconceptions. With Occupy The World, he exposes another facet of his orchestral music; more expansive than his stunning Ten Freedom Summers (Cuneiform, 2012) and less earthy than Hearts Reflection (Cuneiform, 2011), it's still part of a long lineage of large group works stretching back to Budding Of A Rose ...
Wadada Leo Smith and Tumo: Occupy the World
by Hrayr Attarian
Trumpeter, composer and multi-instrumentalist Wadada Leo Smith's career has been one of relentless exploration and bold innovation. His timeless works have always eschewed narrow categorization and shattered musical boundaries. Now, in the eight decade of his life his creative vision has matured without losing any of its youthful energy. On the heels of his epic Pulitzer ...
Esa Helasvuo: Stella Nova
by Eyal Hareuveni
Pianist Esa Helasvuo is one of the pioneers of the Finnish improvised music scene. An experienced artist and former educator at the acclaimed Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Helasvuo has collaborated with the best improvisers in that scene--including drummer Edward Vesala, bassist Teppo Hauta-aho and saxophonist Juhani Aaltonen--and composed music for various orchestras and choirs, as well ...
Jussi Reijonen: Playground of Sound and Texture
by Eyal Hareuveni
Jussi Reijonen is an exceptional musician. On his debut recording as a leader, Un (Self Produced, 2012), the Finnish guitarist/oudist has succeeded in crystallizing a spectrum of influences, sounds and textures into a highly personal, sensual mosaic that blurs the distinction between jazz, Middle Eastern traditional music, West African music, and even Finnish folk elements.
Kimmo Pohjonen: A Very Cool Instrument
by Nenad Georgievski
Certain instruments have yet to place themselves beyond how the public and most musicians perceive them, but that hasn't stopped some musicians from distinguishing themselves by taking a different path with them. As Jimi Hendrix is to the electric guitar, so is Finnish musician Kimmo Pohjonen to the accordion: a conceptualist and master improviser who has ...
Infinita: Time Continuum
by Anthony Shaw
The opening 30 seconds of “Wild," the appropriately named first track on this exploration of the Time Continuum, belies the melody and the meter of the music that follows. The album consists of 10 more pieces, mainly from the pen of pianist Sid Hille and more than ably assisted by this thoroughly seamless Italo-Finnish foursome.
Alexi Tuomarila Trio: Seven Hills
by John Kelman
While not entirely rare, it is relatively uncommon to find relationships forged so strongly that the musicians find themselves working together in multiple contexts, where the names remain the same, only the leader changes. Finnish pianist Alexi Tuomarila and drummer Olavi Louhivuori have been working together in a variety of contexts for the past several years, ...
