Jazz Finland Live

Pianist Aki Rissanen and Belgian saxophonist Robin Verheyen combine forces with drummer Markku Ounaskari in this trio that literally seizes the moment.

Aleatoric is music in the here and now. The album released on Eclipse Music in 2013 was recorded during a special, live, one-day studio session. The term “aleatoric” refers to composing and making by means of chance and coincidence. And even though a lot of the material here is composed, the element of chance is the defining one on this album. Just like many of the all times classic jazz albums, “Aleatoric” captures, like a musical photograph, a special moment in the recording history of these great musicians. The music is new and fresh but, at the same time, the method of making this album is deeply rooted in the best tradition of classic jazz.

Pianist Aki Rissanen (b. 1980) has been quickly rising among the few top forces of the instrument in Finnish Jazz, and gained growing attention in the European jazz scene. In addition to his high merits in the Solo Piano Competition at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland and La Defense competition in France, Rissanen is best known for his works with Verneri Pohjola, Jukka Perko and the UMO Jazz Orchestra. The acclaimed Aki Rissanen Jussi Lehtonen Quartet with Dave Liebman has been released in 2015 by German label Ozella Records. His long term duo partner Robin Verheyen (1983) is considered one of the top European saxophone players and accomplished jazz musicians from Belgium. He has established himself since 2007 in NYC where he quickly build a reputation there and has worked with such jazz heavyweights as Gary Peacock, Bill Carrothers, Drew Gress and many others. Since 2012 he has also started a collaboration with pianist Marc Copland. Recently they have performed as a quartet with Gary Peacock and Joey Baron at the Jazz Middelheim Festival in Belgium.
Drummer Markku Ounaskari is well respected all over Europe and has recorded, among others, for the legendary ECM record label. His high experience brings deeper perspectives to the soundscapes of the young soloists. Ounaskari has been awarded with the Yrjö award in 2014, the most prestigious jazz prize in Finland

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