British record label Edition Records releases the celebrated trio’s sophomore on 10 November. The group will play their new material live at London’s legendary jazz club PizzaExpress and Helsinki’s Koko Jazz Club, among other venues.
Finnish pianist Aki Rissanen’s stellar trio releases their second album on the famed British label Edition Records on 10 November. With bassist Antti Lötjönen and drummer Teppo Mäkynen in the rhythm section, Aki Rissanen Trio convinced critics already on their debut Amorandom, which won the Emma Music Prize for Best Jazz Album in 2016. The upcoming disc, Another North, is an ambitious and rhythmically intensive continuation of the debut and it stands out with its defined vision to explore the expressive possibilities of a piano trio. The group gives its European album launch shows at the famous jazz club PizzaExpress in London and at the Saarbrucken Jazz Festival in Germany. On the Finnish soil the group will play next at Espoo’s Sello Hall, Tampere’s TTT Club and Helsinki’s Koko Jazz Club.
Another North is a powerful statement that lifts the Finnish trio to the big leagues of European jazz. Instead of the stereotypically Nordic idea of piano trio jazz – built around minimalism and spaciousness – the trio sets out to map entirely different musical landscapes. Their long history of playing together is tangible and Rissanen’s musical red thread carries throughout the recording. In the end it is the effortless communication between the band members that acts as a foundation for such an original and defined album as Another North.
“The new material mirrors the development that we have undergone in the past few years as well as our collective vision of what a modern Nordic jazz trio could sound like,” says Rissanen. “Developing textures, unhurried but intensive energy of expression and the blurring of the boundaries between composed material and improvisation are key boulding blocks of our updated, recognisable sound.”
The opening track “Blind Desert” sets the direction for the album and the trio keeps to this path until the end. Their bold new rendition of Hungarian composer György Libeti’s Piano Etude recreates the masterpiece by saturating it in jazz rhythmics and the tenderness of classical music. Interestingly, the piece was originally inspired by Bill Evans and his music – one of Rissanen’s biggest influences – which closes the circle in an apt way.
Aki Rissanen (b. 1980) has an exceptional knack for combining the classical tradition and jazz on various levels in his playing. Indeed, he in counts among the most gifted and productive jazz musicians of his generation. In 2004 Rissanen came second in the prestigious solo piano competition at the Montreux Jazz Festival, and the Paris-based La Defence Festival awarded him as the best soloist and for the best his programme in 2006. 2015 saw him issue the solo album Sturm, which took its cue from the sphere of electronic music, and a year before came out the Aki Rissanen // Jussi Lehtonen Quartet’s eponymous album featuring the American jazz legend Dave Liebman. On the album Aleatoric, Rissanen joined forces with Belgian saxophonist Robin Verheyen and Finnish drummer Markku Ounaskari. Rissanen’s newest outfit, Aki Rissanen Trio, released their debut Amorandom last year, and the upcoming disc Another North is sure to catapult his group to the forefront of European jazz field.
AKI RISSANEN TRIO: ANOTHER NORTH
Edition Records 2017 CD/LP/digital (EDN1101/ EDNLP1101, release date 10 Nov 2017)
Distributed by Border Music / The Orchard
1. Blind Desert / 2. John's Sons / 3. New Life And Other Beginnings / 4. Étude 5: Arc-en-ciel Reimagined / 5. Nature Of The Beast / 6. Before The Aftermath / 7. Hubble Bubble
Aki Rissanen, piano / Antti Lötjönen, double bass / Teppo Mäkynen, drums
All compositions by Aki Rissanen, except 2. Jarmo Savolainen, 4. György Ligeti and 7. Rissanen/Lötjönen/Mäkynen
AKI RISSANEN TRIO LIVE
Mon 6 Nov Aki Rissanen Trio, Saarbrucken Jazz Festival, Saarbrücken
Ti 28 Nov Aki Rissanen Trio, PizzaExpress Jazz Club, London
Fri 24 Nov at 21 Helsinki, Koko Jazz Club, tickets 22,50 €
Thu 30 Nov at 19 Espoo, Sello Hall, tickets starting at 16 €
Thu 7 Dec at 19 Tampere, TTT Club, tickets 14 €
http://akirissanen.com
http://facebook.com/akirissanenmusic
http://editionrecords.com/artists/aki-rissanen/
Photo: Dave Stapleton.