Jussi Reijonen: Three Seconds | Kolme Toista

East/West jazz fusion has a long presence on the U.S. jazz scene and that foothold has been growing in the 2000s. Composer/guitarist/oud player Jussi Reijonen is uniquely qualified to bridge musical cultures. Nordic by birth, he has lived in the Middle East, Africa, and the U.S., absorbing native music at each stop. Reijonen's solo debut, Un (Self Produced, 2012), paved the way for Three Seconds | Kolme Toista. The acclaimed debut album incorporated global influences but in a melodic haze. This sophomore release takes those influences and places them in sharper, often dramatic relief.

With the exception of pianist Utar Artun, Reijonen starts with a clean slate of colleagues. He is joined by a global ensemble that includes Americans, trumpeter Jason Palmer, drummer Vancil Cooper and bassist Kyle Miles, He is also joined by Turkish trombonist Bulut Gülen, Jordanian/Iraqi violinist Layth Sidiq, Palestinian cellist Naseem Alatrash and Japanese percussionist Keita Ogawa.

Where the multi-cultural leaning of Un is expressed in minimal and understated ways, Three Seconds | Kolme Toista is often more volatile. The album is a five-movement suite beginning with "The Veil." It opens with a single guitar chord, and a mournful cello, and builds to a small explosion of sound. Palmer and Gülen's brass carry the piece over to Artun whose piano perfectly transcends cultural styles. As the strings continue to accelerate the tempo, the music becomes an exhilarating ritual of whirling resonances.

The second movement of the suite—"Transient"—features influences that are primarily Middle Eastern, accented by Reijonen's oud. Strings dominate this section, sometimes approaching a drone but countered by a grittier undercurrent. "The Weaver, Every So Often Shifting the Sands Beneath Her," the third movement, opens as an unadorned collage that progressively reshapes to accommodate the full ensemble. Some brief but enlightening solos come from Reijonen, Gülen, and Palmer. The album closes with "Median;" it is part chamber music, part processional, held together and moved along by Artun's exceptional playing.

East/West fusion brings to mind something other than what Reijonen's group has created here. For one, it is far broader in geographic scope. Beyond influences, it never has the feeling of trying to incorporate another musical culture just to check the box. The music is unlike anything in memory; it doesn't simply alternate worldly assortments of styles but rather creates a new, genre-less, form. Three Seconds | Kolme Toista is spellbinding from beginning to end, and full of virtuoso performances; it is one of the best recordings of 2022.

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