Record Reviews

HEIKKI SARMANTO ~ EAST RIVER FIFTY-FIFTY 1081 (Barcode: 600609330371) ~ FINLAND ~ Jazz Recorded: 1999 Released: 2023 By the turn of the Millennium Finnish pianist / composer / bandleader Heikki SarmantoFind albums by this artist was by all means a fully established and already legendary figure on the local and international Jazz scene, with a recording legacy of almost forty albums as a leader and countless concert appearances behind him. His fame and well earned respect were an obvious result of his extraordinary talent, but also his incredible proficiency and consistency, which are of epic proportions. This live recording is a summary of sorts of his career at that point, at least as far as playing in small Jazz ensembles, like in this case a classic timeless Jazz quartet comprising of saxophone, piano, bass and drums. It also summarizes his career as a composer, since the eight original compositions composed by him and performed by the quartet span his entire career as a songweaver, mixing some early pieces and some more recent (at the time) ones. The quartet is also a gathering of “friends and relatives” of sorts, comprising of musicians that played with Heikki Sarmanto for many years going back as far as his early steps in the Jazz domain. Saxophonist / flautist Juhani AaltonenFind albums by this artist is a no less legendary figure and joins Sarmanto in the Pantheon of Finnish Jazz Godfathers. Heikki’s younger brother, bassist Pekka SarmantoFind albums by this artist, remains as one of the Finnish Jazz bass virtuosos. Drummer Matti KoskialaFind albums by this artist, a superb instrumentalist and a Jazz educator, also goes back many years playing along Sarmanto at the very early days. All four musicians get plenty of opportunity to solo on this album and their individual talents can be fully appreciated. The music is of course the epicenter of this album. Sarmanto’s highly melodic compositions and his sense of harmony have been an endless well of sublime emotional music. His heartwrenching ballads are like a soundtrack of the beauty of the Finnish landscape. This is Finnish Jazz at its best, taking the essence of the Jazz spirit and combining it flawlessly with other musical sources to create a perfect amalgam. It remains untouched by the tides of time. Combined with the excellent sound quality of this recording, this album is an instant classic, which deserves to be heard by Jazz lovers the world over. Side Note The above are my liner notes included on this album's artwork. I am honored when asked by the Artists to write liner notes for their albums, always hoping that my words reflect the true spirit of the music. This is also a symbol of our mutual respect and friendship developed over the years. The same is also true when Record Labels ask me to write liner notes for their releases, mostly in the case of reissues of archival albums, which is a symbol of their appreciation of my knowledge and historical perspective and my recognition of their dedication to the preservation of the history of recorded music and the effort to keep human Culture and Aesthetics alive.

Updated: 26/07/2024Posted: 26/07/2024

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