November, the fifth album by Joona Toivanen Trio, will come out in September on the acclaimed Italian label CAM Jazz. Formed by Joona Toivanen, Tapani Toivanen and Olavi Louhivuori, the outfit’s music is characterised by tranquil serenity and strong melodicity.
Joona Toivanen Trio will release their new album November on 5 September on the Italian CAM Jazz label. It will be their second release under CAM Jazz and the fifth in total. Pianist Joona Toivanen, bassist Tapani Toivanen and drummer Olavi Louhivuori can be each described as sovereign masters of their own instruments. The trio will celebrate the release by playing two shows in Finland, on 9 September at Malmitalo, Helsinki, and on 11 September at Jyväskylä’s mecca of jazz, Poppari. After the brothers Toivanen’s removal from Finland it is a rare treat to have the group to perform on the Finnish soil.
Originally, Joona Toivanen Trio hails from Jyväskylä, where the brothers Toivanen and drummer Louhivuori started playing together in Jazz Bar’s junior jam sessions before any of them had come of age. With a special permission to play at a bar, they quickly became a local jazz phenomenon. After two self-released albums, Joona Toivanen Trio singed a contract with the renowned EMI Blue Note before becoming one of CAM Jazz label’s protégés. The trio is known for their seamless musical communication, clear and serene soundscapes and strong sense of melody. Being a naturally tight-knit group, each musician also composes for the group: The result is lyrical, melodic and elegant music, and a sound that both recognisable and individual. With these ingredients it is hardly a surprise that Joona Toivanen Trio is one of the most alluring young Finnish jazz bands – one that has toured as far and wide as Europe, Australia and Asia.
Joona Toivanen (b. 1981) belongs to the crème de la crème of Finnish pianists, currently residing in Göteborg. His latest release is the 2013 solo album Polarities. Besides his own trio, Toivanen has collaborated with some of the best Finnish jazz artists, and after completing his degree at the Jyväskylä Conservatory he has studied at the Academy of Music and Drama in Göteborg and at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm. Tapani Toivanen (b. 1982), currently based in Copenhagen, plays in the 2013 Danish Music Award winner Aske Drasbæk Group. Drummer Olavi Louhivuori (b. 1981) is unarguably one of the leading Finnish drummers of today. In addition to his genre-stretching group Oddarrang, Louhivuori can be encountered sitting on the drummer’s seat in such groups as SUN Trio, Tomasz Stanko Quintet and Alexi Tuomarila Trio. This summer, he was selected as the Pori Jazz Artist of the Year.
Joona Toivanen Trio: November
CAM Jazz CD CAMJ 7878-2 (release date in Finland: 5 September 2014)
1. Moon Illusion / 2. Troll Walk / 3. Moorkrad / 4. November / 5. Duoibal / 6. Plainfield / 7. Behind Her Eyes / 8. Two Steps Aside / 9. Beyonder / 10. Light And Color / 11. Open, Closed
Joona Toivanen, piano / Tapani Toivanen, bass / Olavi Louhivuori, drums
Compositions: Joona Toivanen 1., 3., 5., 6., 11. / Tapani Toivanen 4. / Olavi Louhivuori 2., 7., 8., 9., 10.
Joona Toivanen Trio live
Tue 9 Sep at 7PM, Helsinki, Malmitalo
Thu 11 Sep at 9:30PM, Jyväskylä, Poppari