Record Reviews

OLLI AHVENLAHTI ~ THE POET LOVE 168 ~ FINLAND ~ Jazz Recorded just a year later (1976) after his debut album, this album continues where the previous one left off. Ahvenlahti wrote all the music and the beautiful arrangements. The trumpet player is now the Finn Markku JohanssonFind albums by this artist and the line up was extended to a nonet, including the master sax player Eero KoivistoinenFind albums by this artist, Bertil StrandbergFind albums by this artist on trombone and a couple of percussion players. This expanded line-up allows for more advanced brass arrangements and more soloing by the players. The mood is still very “cool”, with gorgeous melodies and pulsating rhythms. In years the album has become a classic and young Finnish jazz musicians studied it as a model for their own jazz development. Thirty years after it was recorded, this sound today every bit as fresh and inspiring as it was at the time of its release. A must!

CD 1 Oversampling Remastered Recommend To A Friend

MIKE KOSKINEN ORCHESTRA / OTTO DONNER TREATMENT ~ JAZZ LIISA VOL. 09 & VOL. 10 SVART 033 ~ FINLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 1973 Released: 2016 Trumpeter / composer / bandleader Mike KoskinenFind albums by this artist was one of the most prominent figures on the Finnish Jazz scene in the early to mid 1970s, involved in a wide rage of stylistic explorations, from Free Jazz to more conventional post Bebop. He was one of the first Finnish Jazz musicians to study at the Berklee College of Music. He released his debut album "SunwebsFind albums with this title" on 1976 and moved to the US a year later. This live radio broadcast presents Koskinen leading two ensembles, an octet and a big orchestra, which include the crème de la crème of the Finnish Jazz scene at the time: trombonists Mircea StanFind albums by this artist, Petri JuutilainenFind albums by this artist and Raimo NaatanenFind albums by this artist, trumpeter Kaj BacklundFind albums by this artist, saxophonists Juhani AaltonenFind albums by this artist, Paroni PaakkunainenFind albums by this artist, Pentti LahtiFind albums by this artist, Pekka PoyryFind albums by this artist and Teemu SalminenFind albums by this artist, pianist Olli AhvenlahtiFind albums by this artist, guitarist Otto BergerFind albums by this artist, bassists Teppo Hauta-AhoFind albums by this artist and Heikki VirtanenFind albums by this artist, drummer Edward VesalaFind albums by this artist and percussionist Ari ValtonenFind albums by this artist. They perform five compositions (three by the octet and two by the orchestra) four of which are original compositions by Koskinen and one is an arrangement of a Chick CoreaFind albums by this artist tune. The music portrays the diversity of Koskinen musical interests, with almost straightforward Jazz pieces and Free / Improvised orchestral experimentations, which are the more challenging and in retrospect interesting. Composer / arranger / bandleader / trumpeter Otto DonnerFind albums by this artist is one of the Godfathers of Finnish Jazz and one of the greatest European Jazz composers. His ensemble Otto Donner TreatmentFind albums by this artist changed lineups according to specific project requirements and the large orchestral lineup caught on this live radio broadcast is sadly not fully known, but includes trumpeter Markku JohanssonFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Christer BoustedFind albums by this artist, Juhani Aaltonen (who also plays flute) and Paroni Paakkunainen, pianist Esko LinnavalliFind albums by this artist and others. They perform four original compositions by Donner, which feature Bousted and Aaltonen as the primary soloists. The music is absolutely delightful and reflects Donner´s talents as composer and arranger, as well as the incredible level of musicianship by his band members. As everything else recorded by Donner, this is a first class musical gem. Overall this is some of the most staggering music created in Europe in the early to mid 1970s that one is able to hear and for European Jazz connoisseurs this is an absolute must have! Side Note The Finnish independent label SvartFind albums on this label Records released an unprecedented series of albums called Pop Liisa and Jazz Liisa, which present priceless historical recordings of Finnish Rock, Progressive Rock, Jazz-Rock Fusion and Jazz music, recorded live and broadcasted from the Liisankatu Studios in Helsinki under the "Popstudio" and "Jazzstudio" monikers between 1972 and 1977. The studios were owned by the YLE (Finnish Broadcasting Company), a public broadcasting service, which not only allowed the burgeoning Finnish music scene at the time to be exposed but also carefully archived the recordings for future generations. All this incredible music was previously unissued and collectively is probably the most important document of Finnish music from that period ever assembled. The music was released on 36 LPs (Pop Liisa Vol. 01 to Vol. 18 and Jazz Liisa Vol. 01 to Vol. 18) and on 18 CDs with every two consecutive volumes combined on one CD. The sound quality is absolutely superb, often better than the sound quality on the LPs released by these artists at the time. Many of the groups appearing on these albums never managed to record an album and these recordings are the only recorded legacy in existence of their activity. The released are accompanied by well researched and intelligent liner notes. This archival project is an outstanding example of how Cultural Legacy should be treated as well as of exemplary dedication to record producing professionalism.

Updated: 08/06/2020Posted: 08/06/2020

CD 1 Remastered Recommend To A Friend

OILING BOILING ~ TWO FACES SVART 142 (Barcode: 6430065581222) ~ FINLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 1977 Released: 2017 This is a reissue of the second album by Finnish Jazz drummer / composer / bandleader Matti OilingFind albums by this artist and his band Oiling BoilingFind albums by this artist, which on this album was a sextet and included also trumpeter Markku JohanssonFind albums by this artist, saxophonist Erik DannholmFind albums by this artist, guitarist Juha BjorninenFind albums by this artist, bassist Ilkka WillmanFind albums by this artist and keyboardist Tuomo TanskaFind albums by this artist. The album presents eight tracks, six of which are original compositions (three by Tanska, two by Johansson and one co-composed by Oiling and the recording engineer Harold BurgonFind albums by this artist) and two are Jazz standards. The music, as the title suggests, presents a mixture of Jazz and Fusion tunes, each genre given one side of the original LP, with the band being completely capable of handling both on equal footing. Great playing and soloing and excellent original composition make it a highly enjoyable listening experience, which lost nothing of its strength over time. Oiling was one of the pioneers of modern Finnish Jazz and Fusion and a role model for many Finnish drummers, in both Rock and Jazz circles. He wrote the first tutorial book about drumming in the Finnish language in 1969 (expanded in 1975). He was also a pioneer of mixing Jazz with Funk and Rhythm And Blues and his many albums with the Oiling Boiling band reflected these influences, never compromising on musical quality. He was also a sweet person and I was lucky to meet him several times and kept in touch with him until his untimely passing in 2009. Overall this is a wonderful piece of Finnish Jazz / Fusion history, well worth being remembered and still a great piece of quality enjoyable music. Warmly recommended!

Updated: 08/05/2023Posted: 17/07/2020

CD 1 Remastered Recommend To A Friend