Edward Vesala : Lumi CD ECM - Iro populaire Haarla

Edward Vesala

Lumi

Esko Heikkinen trumpet, piccolo trumpet

Pentti Lahti alto and baritone saxophones, flutes

Jorma Tapio alto saxophone, clarinet, bassclarinet, flute

Tapani Rinne tenor, soprano saxophones, clarinets

Kari Heinilä tenor, soprano saxophone, flute

Tom Bildo trombone, tuba

Iro Haarla piano, harp

Raoul Björkenheim guitar

Taito Vainio accordion

Häkä bass

Edward Vesala drums, percussion

Recorded June 1986 at Finnvox Studios, Helsinki

This album marked Vesalas return to ECM a decadeafter his last release for the label, Satu. Only one musician remained from hislast appearance, Pentti Lahti. However, the aesthetic remains the same: asensuous kind of free jazz with an air of ritual, and one tune from long agoreappears in a new guise ("The Wind" off the Nan Madol album). Mostof the tracks here have something very distinctive about them, even if theinstrumental populaire lines wildly proliferate in the free jazz fashion. "FrozenMelody" opens with a beautiful introduction from Lahti that sounds likemid-period Coltrane. "Calypso Bulbosa" suddenly turns things electricand slightly funky with its electronic drums. "Fingo" bizarrelyalludes to marching band music. The closing "Together" putsBjörkenheims electric guitar in the spotlight. – All Music Review

Take a moment to wander the art of Morten Haug,whose cover photograph (one of ECM's best) is a gateway into what's to come.Like Edvard Munch's The Scream mummified, it silences that which is alreadysilent, and in so doing unleashes a slow torrent of organic music. As the rainof Iro Haarla's harp trickles through the branches of “The Wind,” picking awaythe last crumbs of our disbelief, we are able to ease into the carefultelepathy this ensemble braids together. Thus blown of our dust, we meditate in“Frozen Melody,” which, though it may begin in stillness, melts with everyrendered note. “Calypso Bulbosa” is a rougher diamond, freshly unearthed, thegrunge of an electric guitar still clinging to every clouded knurl. Birdcallsand flightless reeds share the same forest, twisting into all manner ofdistorted reflections. After sailing through the elliptical orbits of the“Third Moon,” we reach the title track, which indeed brings light to bear,cloud-shafted and wavering. The saxophone work here, and in the “Camel Walk”(Vesala's own “Donkey Jamboree”) that follows, is gorgeous, watery, silted.“Fingo,” no dissimilarly, sounds like a Bill Frisell tune blended in a sonicfood processor with Dino Saluzzi spice and a dash of late-night cabaret. Abrilliant inclusion. The album's briefest spit comes in “Early Messenger,” andbrings us “Together” in the full-circle closer, interlacing creative fingers inthe full dark of finality.Another puzzling masterpiece from Vesala. Savorit as you will. – ECM Reviews