VERNERI POHJOLA - Bullhorn
EDITION RECORDS EDN1056
Verneri Pohjola (trumpet) Aki Rissanen (piano) Antti Lötjönen (bass) Teppo Mäkynen (drums) with Jussi Kannaste (tenor sax) Ilmari Pohjola (trombone) Iida –Vilhelmiina Laine (cello)
Recorded & mixed at Studio Kekkonen, Helsinki, Finland 29th September to 1st October 2014
For a country with a relatively small population, Finland has always punched well above its weight in musical terms having both a vibrant folk tradition and being the birthplace of Jean Sibelius, one of the 20th century’s most important symphonists. Jazz performance and appreciation is no exception and since its introduction to the Finns in the mid 1920’s it has maintained a significant following as evidenced by the number of groups performing and recording today. The list is impressive: The Finnish Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra, The Umo Jazz Orchestra, The Five Corners Quintet, The Lenni –Kalle Taipale Trio and Pekka’s Tube Factory are some of the names that immediately spring to mind. Now we have another to add to the list and very possibly the most strikingly original of them all.
Although I can’t claim any expert knowledge I do feel that both Pohjola’s technique and compositional style – all the pieces are his – owe a great deal to the joik musical tradition of the Sami people of the northern climes in that it displays a spiritual, shamanic quality combined with echoes of an ancient epic grandeur of the type one finds in the great tone poems of Sibelius and , without in any way being frivolous, the `spaghetti western` music of Morricone , which may come about because of the links that have been detected between Sami folklore and that of Native Americans. Whatever influences are at play the music and the way it is performed is arresting and deeply moving whilst at the same time having sufficient rhythmic and improvisational incident as to qualify it as bona –fide jazz.
Pohjola’s distinctive tone dominates the music throughout : always lyrical and euphonic he seems ,at times, to merely breathe through his instrument maintaining a warm middle register before soaring into a piercing climax etched with a grainy vibrato as though summoning up ancestral spirits. There is a nobility in his compositions which are frequently uplifting and hymn like but also bleakly existential and these themes are bolstered by carefully crafted rhythmic arrangements that enhance their dramatic effect and include bass ostinati, percussive keyboard accents & effects and including gentle tom tom patterns that might be a reflection of the shamanic witch drums of the aforementioned Sami.
There are several stand out pieces, namely the title track and the beautiful anthem “He Sleeps, I Keep Watch”, with its lonely fanfare refrain. The tenor sax of Jussi Kannaste makes an extended appearance on the “Girls of Costa Rica” – not the Latin vamp you might expect from the title – in a solo built up from short pithy phrases in a way that perhaps emulates the Finnish reputation for reticence and serves as a useful contrast to the trumpeter’s eloquence. By way of variety one tune departs from the prevailing soulfulness and that is the quirky “Nanomachines” which features a rapid fire toccata amongst its four or five melodic episodes and another motif laden tenor solo which drives along with locomotive power.
This is certainly a recording which stands out from the crowd: although the music draws on manifold influences it sounds new and fresh; it is melodic and pleasing to listen to; it has passion but is never incoherent or self indulgent, indeed Pohjola has managed to combine economy of expression with a generosity of spirit to create music that will remain memorable and sustain repeated appraisal.
EDITION RECORDS EDN1056
Verneri Pohjola (trumpet) Aki Rissanen (piano) Antti Lötjönen (bass) Teppo Mäkynen (drums) with Jussi Kannaste (tenor sax) Ilmari Pohjola (trombone) Iida –Vilhelmiina Laine (cello)
Recorded & mixed at Studio Kekkonen, Helsinki, Finland 29th September to 1st October 2014
For a country with a relatively small population, Finland has always punched well above its weight in musical terms having both a vibrant folk tradition and being the birthplace of Jean Sibelius, one of the 20th century’s most important symphonists. Jazz performance and appreciation is no exception and since its introduction to the Finns in the mid 1920’s it has maintained a significant following as evidenced by the number of groups performing and recording today. The list is impressive: The Finnish Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra, The Umo Jazz Orchestra, The Five Corners Quintet, The Lenni –Kalle Taipale Trio and Pekka’s Tube Factory are some of the names that immediately spring to mind. Now we have another to add to the list and very possibly the most strikingly original of them all.
Although I can’t claim any expert knowledge I do feel that both Pohjola’s technique and compositional style – all the pieces are his – owe a great deal to the joik musical tradition of the Sami people of the northern climes in that it displays a spiritual, shamanic quality combined with echoes of an ancient epic grandeur of the type one finds in the great tone poems of Sibelius and , without in any way being frivolous, the `spaghetti western` music of Morricone , which may come about because of the links that have been detected between Sami folklore and that of Native Americans. Whatever influences are at play the music and the way it is performed is arresting and deeply moving whilst at the same time having sufficient rhythmic and improvisational incident as to qualify it as bona –fide jazz.
Pohjola’s distinctive tone dominates the music throughout : always lyrical and euphonic he seems ,at times, to merely breathe through his instrument maintaining a warm middle register before soaring into a piercing climax etched with a grainy vibrato as though summoning up ancestral spirits. There is a nobility in his compositions which are frequently uplifting and hymn like but also bleakly existential and these themes are bolstered by carefully crafted rhythmic arrangements that enhance their dramatic effect and include bass ostinati, percussive keyboard accents & effects and including gentle tom tom patterns that might be a reflection of the shamanic witch drums of the aforementioned Sami.
There are several stand out pieces, namely the title track and the beautiful anthem “He Sleeps, I Keep Watch”, with its lonely fanfare refrain. The tenor sax of Jussi Kannaste makes an extended appearance on the “Girls of Costa Rica” – not the Latin vamp you might expect from the title – in a solo built up from short pithy phrases in a way that perhaps emulates the Finnish reputation for reticence and serves as a useful contrast to the trumpeter’s eloquence. By way of variety one tune departs from the prevailing soulfulness and that is the quirky “Nanomachines” which features a rapid fire toccata amongst its four or five melodic episodes and another motif laden tenor solo which drives along with locomotive power.
This is certainly a recording which stands out from the crowd: although the music draws on manifold influences it sounds new and fresh; it is melodic and pleasing to listen to; it has passion but is never incoherent or self indulgent, indeed Pohjola has managed to combine economy of expression with a generosity of spirit to create music that will remain memorable and sustain repeated appraisal.
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Reviewed by Euan Dixon
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