Biography

Turku Jazz Orchestra, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2022, released its second full-length together with composer-conductor Jussi Lampela. The album called Jazz Noir was published by Flame Jazz Records in August 2022. The soloists on the album included Finland's leading jazz players, trumpeter Jukka Eskola and saxophonist Jukka Perko.

Turku Jazz Orchestra released new music saturated with the buzz of history and topical themes. The Jazz Noir album takes the listener on a journey through time to the dark landscapes of 1940s and 50s crime jazz and film noir, and the compositions and the orchestra are conducted by the musical multi-talent Jussi Lampela. The big band's lush sound is complemented by excerpts from important political speeches of the Cold War period. Finland's leading jazz players, saxophonist Jukka Perko and trumpeter Jukka Eskola, add their touches into the atmosphere as soloists.

"It's unbelievable to be at this point that the releaze is finally happening! Releasing a record for a big band has been a dream of mine for a long time, and it is now coming true in the best possible way. The soloists on the album are some of the most famous Finnish instrumentalists, and important to me personally on many levels: Jukka Eskola and I have been collaborating for almost 15 years, and Jukka Perko has been an important role model and teacher for me for over thirty years. It is special to have them together on this record," Lampela rejoices.

In his compositional work, Lampela has been inspired by the speeches of world leaders who helped define the Cold War era and were involved in changing the course of history. The opening track features an excerpt from Winston Churchill's Sinews of Peace speech from 1946, where the term "Iron Curtain" was used for the first time. The speeches selected for the album deal with the threats of the era, from communism to nuclear weapons, but there are also sparks of hope, e.g. in the John F. Kennedy speech heard on the Strategy of Peace track, and Ronald Reagan's speech in the song Tear Down This Wall. The link to Finland is J.K. Paasikivi's speech to the nation about the background of the Finno-Soviet Treaty of 1948, which attracts attention with its topicality in the current political climate.

Tracklist

1. Prelude – It Is My Duty(Winston Churchill: Sinews of Peace – 1946 – Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri)
2. YYA-sopimus(J.K. Paasikivi kommentoi YYA-sopimusta – 1948)
3. Chance For Peace(Dwight D. Eisenhower: Chance for Peace – 1953)
4. Mystery In Black And White
5. Steps That Can Be Taken Now(Dwight D. Eisenhower: Atoms for Peace – 1953 UN General Assembly)
6. Good Night, And Good Luck(Edward R. Murrow – on Joseph McCarthy – 1953)
7. There's A Spy Around The Corner
8. Strategy Of Peace(John F. Kennedy: American University Speech – 1963)
9. Tear Down This Wall (Ronald Reagan – 1987)