Producer/drummer Teppo Mäkynen shares a new release with his celebrated alias The Stance Brothers. ”On Top” is a solid gold Stance groover which appears on this We Jazz Records 7” vinyl single as two versions. On side A, the track is led by guitar and flute (the latter courtesy of Diamond T aka Timo Lassy) and the flip introduces a soul jazz scorcher with organ & vibes. Both cuts are ripe and ready to be enjoyed by DJs and home listeners alike.
Danish drummer Terkel Nørgaard presents his trio consisting of some of the key players in the Copenhagen scene and American star trumpeter Ralph Alessi on the lineup. Not merely a ”feature”, Alessi and the Danes form a coherent band unit capable of producing memorable and highly inspired contemporary jazz which links to the Nordic tradition of dynamic sound ranging from delicate minimalism to powerful avantgarde eruptions. The album Terkel Nørgaard ”With Ralph Alessi” is released by Helsinki’s We Jazz Records. On the new album, the Danish trio plus Alessi achieve something that can always be regarded a remarkable feat. They deliver a highly inspired set of music which links the album onto the ever-evolving lineage of jazz music, and at the same time introduce a new band capable of stunning the listener in the here and now.
OK:KO is a fresh quartet from Helsinki led by drummer Okko Saastamoinen. The band’s spiritual and searching sound is characterized by their highly personal musical language and genuine teamwork, honed by continuous touring in between the band’s 2017 debut and their second album “Syrtti”, released on Helsinki’s We Jazz Records. The OK:KO band sound has its origins on the spiritual pool of jazz, historically speaking, but the band brings forth a strong personal musical statement thanks to Okko Saastamoinen’s memorable compositions and each musician’s ability to bring their own vocabulary into the common musical language. Already a live favourite on the local scene, on “Syrtti” OK:KO shows that it’s not a band of mere promise any longer – they deliver in the here and now.
On the fifth release on the Grotto Editions X We Jazz 10” EP series, sax man Pauli Lyytinen steps up with a strong 4-tracker featuring Verneri Pohjola on trumpet, Eero Tikkanen on bass, and Mika Kallio on drums. ”Artist of the Year” at the 2017 Pori Jazz Festival, Finland’s premiere jazz event, Lyytinen displays his ability of writing melodic fire music with ever-evolving momentum. The quartet pools together their creative resources, presenting four original compositions by Lyytinen. They rely on their individial soloistic strengths and get a lot of mileage out of the group’s strong interplay.
The Hipodrome Of Music 