Aki Rissanen

"Divided Horizon starts ever so gently yet progresses rapidly towards a more forceful and playful expression. High on logic but never too calculated, Rissanen eases himself into the role of a weathered storyteller as the album flows along."

Bassist Antti Lötjönen is one of the busiest Finnish jazz players, having played on well over 100 records, and in dozens of groups. His solo debut was released in April, just a day before Lötjönen turned 40. This summer, touring will have to wait, but Lötjönen doesn’t mind the breather. In Wif Stenger’s interview, the bassist talks about his music and team playing.

"Bold openings, world class piano playing and top shelf compositions aside, the real showstopper on Art in Motion is the intricate interplay and collective chemistry."

"Dredging the murky depths of our base instincts, this music coerces the listener to gaze inside their very being."

Solo albums, piano trio work and extensive efforts as a sideman both locally and globally made Aki Rissanen one of the leading Finnish jazz pianists of his generation. Now his new album seems to be catapulting him to the top of the heap.

Lauri Porra reveals in the first sentence of his booklet commentary that he is the great-grandson of Jean Sibelius – but it’s more by way of explaining his musical background than to trade on the relationship.

As witnessed both on Verneri Pohjola’s Bullhorn and Aki Rissanen Trio’s Amorandom, the musicians breathe together in a magic way. And with Another North, they push the envelope of band ESP even further.

Two jazz professionals, journalist Andreas Müller and label manager Dave Stapleton, had a brief chat about Finnish jazz prior to Jazzahead! 2017, the international jazz expo and showcase festival taking place from 27 until 30 April in Bremen, Germany.

Progress is all about trying out new things, as every forward-thinking artist intrinsically knows. Nevertheless, a case could be made that it is not enough if only the vanguard embraces the unknown. Perhaps all could take a page out of Pepa Päivinen, Janne Tuomi and other open-minded musicians’ book.

"On Amorandom, Rissanen’s canny music is rooted in the piano trio tradition but is nevertheless forward-looking. "

"For some years jazz fusion (broadly defined) has seen something of a revival in Finland. Drummer and composer Mikko Hassinen’s new band and album Elektro GT evidently belongs in this rising stack."