27 or 37 Brothers

Joakim Berghäll’s big band album would amaze even if it was a conventional one – with some 20 musicians playing. But a glance at the flipside of the cover will bring your eyebrows up an extra centimeter.

Berghäll (born 1980) is known mainly as a woodwind player, performing with bands such as Astro Can Caravan or Sointi Jazz Orchestra. His previous own releases include a series of duet albums, Dialogues. On the new album, he plays 27 different instruments. Even a 37-piece one-man string orchestra is featured on one of the tracks. In a way, although with a fully-fledged Bigband Sound, this is also a matter of dialogues – each track features a guest soloist, from veteran master Juhani Aaltonen to the young and rising Adele Sauros.

Berghäll’s six compositions have a multifaceted global flavor. Straight forward jazz rhythms and African beats meet Nordic and even oriental ideas.  The recording is available on vinyl only, but a download ticket, including a bonus track, is enclosed.

BERGHÄLL BROTHERS BIG BAND: Vol. 1

Joakim Berghäll: Woodwinds, keyboards, guitar, bass, drums, percussion, cello, etc.
Soloists: Juhani Aaltonen, flute, Linda Fredriksson, saxophone, Tero Hyväluoma, violin Aili Ikonen, vocals, Kaisa Mäensivu, double bass, Adele Sauros, saxophone, Mikko Pettinen, trumpet 

Boulder BMHLP001