Perko and Rantala's upcoming duo recording will be the first of its kind for Perko on the German label, ACT Music. The power duo will perform their new material at April Jazz on 25 April.
Two giants of Finnish jazz, Jukka Perko and Iiro Rantala, have joined forces in the studio, and soon we all will have the pleasure to enjoy the fruits of this encounter. The upcoming album, It Takes Two to Tango, is due to come out on 24 April on the acclaimed German label, ACT Music, and it presents the pair’s idea of the essence of jazz, sketched with a sophisticated and unwavering hand. With these two internationally-renowned artists in question, we can reasonably expect that 1+1 equals 3 - at the very least. The album-launching show takes place on Saturday 25 April, at April Jazz in Espoo.
The album title is not intended solely as a reference to the democratic give-and-take prevailing between two jazz musicians, but also as a tribute to the essentially dialogical relationship between the musician and the composition. “I’m inspired by Keith Jarrett’s idea that jazz comes to life when the artist engages in dance with the material”, says Perko. “Despite the title, the album's music is jazz, first and foremost. Of course, the tango is so deeply rooted in the Finnish mental soil that its presence always looms in the background.” Indeed, the idea of subtle and constant communication with the other party – whether a musician or a composition – adds a new layer to Perko’s and Rantala’s mature and distinctive expression. The duo’s mutual readiness to respond to each other’s moves invests the music with an incredible and palpable intensiveness. The selected pieces further highlight this, providing an excellent ground for duo playing and probing the possibilities of musical interaction. The Perko and Rantala’s renditions of such songs as ”Stella By Starlight” and ”Siks oon mä suruinen” show that the duo is capable of reinterpreting any song in a way that is both fresh and respectful of the composition’s autonomy.
Jukka Perko (b. 1968) is unarguably among Finland’s most acclaimed saxophonists. Perko has recorded and toured with a number of his own groups, of which recently the most active ones have been Jukka Perko Jazztet and Jukka Perko Avara. Perko’s popular renditions of traditional hymns and his long career as a member of Perko-Pyysalo Poppoo and Hurmio-orkesteri have gained him a chapter in the canon of Finnish jazz. Perko was awarded with the Yrjö Jazz Prize in 1989, and he has also won the Emma Prize twice for the jazz album of the year. Perko was catapulted to fame in the 1980s when he was recruited to play on the legendary trumpeter, Dizzy Gillespie’s, tour. As a signee of ACT Music, Perko will enter a new phase on his international career.
Iiro Rantala (b. 1970) is recognised as an exceptional virtuoso pianist and composer. His march to fame begun from the group Trio Töykeät – one of the success stories of Finnish jazz. In addition to this trio, Rantala has demonstrated his versatility in a range of groups and curated the Kansi Auki Piano Jazz Festival in Helsinki. He has also hosted the TV shows Iirottelua and Iiro irti and provided music for the programme Juhannusjuna. He has proved immensely popular in Germany, especially, where it his solo piano album was awarded with Deutsche Schallplattenkritik and Echo Deutscher Musikpreis prizes in 2011.
Jukka Perko & Iiro Rantala: It Takes Two to Tango
ACT Music, ACT 9629-2 (release date in Finland 24 April 2015)
Distribution: Oy Fg-Naxos Ab
1. My Sweetheart is Beautiful ("Minun kultani kaunis on" / trad., arr. Jukka Perko) / 2. Jealousy (Jacob Gade) / 3. Just Say I Love Her ("Dicitencello Vuie" / Rodolfo Falvo, arr. Jukka Perko) / 4. For Mama ("La Mamma", Charles Aznavour) / 5. Therefore I Am Sad ("Siks oon mä suruinen" / Toivo Kärki, arr. Teemu Viinikainen & Iiro Rantala) / 6. Romance ("Romanssi", Nils-Eric Fougstedt) / 7. A Blessing ("Lyckönskan" / trad., arr. Vellu Halkosalmi & Iiro Rantala) / 8. I Will ("Tahdon", Jukka Perko) / 9. Stella By Starlight (Victor Young) / 10. Love Is So Beautiful ("Ja Ljublju Tebja Zhizn", Eduard Kolmanovsky) / 11. Good Intentions ("Tositarkoituksin" / Irwin Goodman, arr. Matti-Johannes Koivu & Jukka Perko) / 12. Finlandia [piano solo version] (Jean Sibelius / arr. Iiro Rantala) / 13. Finlandia [duo version] (Jean Sibelius / arr. Marzi Nyman)