Liberty Ship made the waters stir already on their first double release. Now the star quartet, composed of the leader-saxophonist Esa Pietilä, pianist Aki Rissanen, bassist Antti Lötjönen and drummer Olavi Louhivuori, are bringing out the follower, also a double album. Seascapes continue to be present on the sophomore, too.
Captained by one of the major torch-bearers of the Finnish improvised music, Esa Pietilä, quartet Liberty Ship releases their second album on 5 March. The upcoming album, entitled The Wide Open Suite & Noises at Sea, is a follow-up in many senses to the praised debut: it comes out on the same label, the Tampere-based Eclipse Music, and does not diverge from the debut’s uncompromised open-mindedness. The double album comprises of an acoustic and an electronic release, which share the thematic of seafaring. Pietilä’s top crew consists of some the ablest younger-generation jazzers: pianist Aki Rissanen, bassist Antti Lötjönen and drummer Olavi Louhivuori – acclaimed artists not only in the Finnish, but international scene.
Founded in 2012, Esa Pietilä Liberty Ship came to large-scale attention in 2013, after releasing their debut. The vigorous double recording Approaching (Eclipse Music 2013) was selected among the albums of the year by the influential jazz media New York City Jazz Record, while Helsingin Sanomat extolled the group that “had instantly sailed to the forefront of Finnish jazz groups”. They continue to trust their original guiding principle, free improvisation, in their expeditions in unchartered waters. This ship is a unit that is steered together in the spirit of co-operation, and each of the four gifted members have also contributed some material to the new album. All the tracks of CD 2 have been composed by the band together.
“The title and the idiom of the new album came to being very spontaneously,” says Pietilä. “We have prepared an imaginative voyage for the listener, but this is not the one and only way to approach the album. On the second CD we wanted to try out something new in terms of the sonic landscape.”
Indeed, Liberty Ship’s new sound is represented especially by the second CD of the double album, where the group broadens their sonic horizon with the help of electronic effects. Indeed The Wide Open Suite & Noises at Sea presents two sides of the group, complementing their earlier acoustic sound with an electronic dimension. The inclusion of electronics definitely adds a new chapter to the story of one of the brightest-shining groups of today’s Finnish jazz scene.
Sax player Esa Pietilä (b.1964) is a versatile musician, who, in addition to his career as a jazz artist, has been involved in projects of classical music and contemporary music. His active groups include Liberty Ship, Esa Pietilä 3, a duo with the American drummer Harvey Sorgen, duo with accordionist Veli Kujala and the project Unprecedented with the kannel player Eija Kankaanranta. In the sphere of classical music, Pietilä has collaborated with, among others, Avanti! and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen. Also, he gives solo performances frequently, for instance, in churches and at festivals.
Esa Pietilä Liverty Ship: The Wide Open Suite & Noises at Sea
Eclipse Music / ECD-201530 (release date 5 March 2015)
Distribution: Supersounds Music
CD 1: The Wide Open Suite
1. To Wide Open (Pietilä) / 2. Super Glide (Louhivuori) / 3. Southern Light (Louhivuori) / 4. The Tide (Pietilä) / 5. Night Glide (Pietilä) / 6. For Rainbows (Rissanen) / 7. Clouds & Storm (Louhivuori) / 8. Festivo (Pietilä, Rissanen, Lötjönen, Louhivuori)
CD 2: Noises at Sea
1. Hook The Loop / 2. Radar / 3. Gone Fishing! / 4. After The Dinner / 5. Submarine / 6. Rum / 7. If it f****** Rains / 8. Talking to Mermaids / 9. Ocean Blues / 10. Farewell
Kaikki sävellykset / CD2: Pietilä, Rissanen, Lötjönen, Louhivuori
Esa Pietilä Liberty Ship
Esa Pietilä – tenor sax & live electronics / Aki Rissanen – piano & live electronics / Antti Lötjönen – bass / Olavi Louhivuori – drums & live electronics