We Jazz Finland 黑胶唱片和CD

Review: We Jazz Records welcomes a label debutant here for a tasty little 7". Gothenburg-based Finnish pianist Joona Toivanen is the man and he offers up a fresh take on Terry Riley's 'Keyboard Study' with trusty help from Tapani Toivanen on bass and Olavi Louhivuori of Superposition on drums, both of whom complete his trio. It is a heady, minimalistic piece with a deeply introspective mood. On the a-side is an edit of his future album cut 'Except For' which is another complex, moody piece of inward-looking jazz minimalism with gorgeously mellifluous

Review: This tasty 7" single brings together two stalwarts of the thriving Finnish jazz scene, namely saxophonist Timo Lassy and drummer Teppo Makynen. It's A-side "Calling James" that hits home hardest, as Lassy adds a snaking, alluring sax solo - all parping blasts and fluid fills - to a bustling, percussively rich Makynen drum track. Despite the fact that there's no other instrumentation, it's a genuinely heavy dancefloor workout. On the flip you'll find the looser and slightly more experimental "Yanki", where Lassy provides some free-jazz style soloing over a distinctively left-of-centre Makynen drum workout.

Review: Two previously unreleased jazz gems from Finnish flutist and saxophonist Esa Pethman, who's visit to Belgium is forever chronicled on this limited 7" vinyl. 'The Flame' is an incredible alto flute composition described in the liner notes by Mikko Mattlar as a 'true modern Fenno-Jazz evergreen', featuring Jean Fannis on piano and a particularly stellar drum performance from Al Jones. 'Like Steel' showcases Pethman in a completely different light on tenor sax, with an incredible trumpeter found in Francesco Santucci. This high quality 7" is a true slice of proto-modern jazz and a must have for European jazz fanatics. An incredible piece of history.

Review: Somehow what we have here is a lost MPB gem, but from rural Finland. This is a first-ever reissue of it, 33 years after it was first released by the Brazilian pair of Rosanna Guimaraes Tavares and Zelia Nogueira da Fonseca aka Rosanna & Zelia. They left their home in Latin America in 1988 and headed to Europe where they dropped a wealth of albums in Germany into the mid-2000s. Zelia still make music and the pair sang on a house cut by German mainstay Ian Pooley. They wrote this one while on a short trip to Finland for the local label Maumau Music and it got a regional release at the time - and now makes it onto the world stage.

Review: Finland's exceptional We Jazz label continues with 'Tremendoce' series from Otis Sandsjo's Y-OTIS with four fresh new pieces pressed up to this vital 7". All of the tunes here are super fresh and forward-thinking with Kathrin Pechlof on harp adding another dimension to the sound. The joys flute on 'Tremendoce Part 2' is light and airy, the drums busy and meandering. 'Part 3' is a chunkier, slower tune with a big sax lead that makes you move your body and then 'Skerry Part 1' brings the mellifluous piano vibes. 'Skerry Part 2' layers up big kick drums with lurching grooves and busy oboe work to make for some superb avant-garde action.

Review: Berlin-based Swedish tenor saxophonist Otis Sandsjo is back with another of his brilliant albums. Y-OTIS TRE is his third on We Jazz Records and one that finds him working closely with his old work partner, pal, bassist and producer Petter Eldh, plus the live band keys-man Dan Nicholls. Crafted and produced by Eldh & Sandsjo, the album embraces the band's Swedish roots within the continuum of layered liquid jazz. It has a neon, 3D essence, morphing from laser sharp to gooey like jelly, and each track is ripe with evolutionary ideas though also remains rooted in recognisable forms, cross-referencing its own concepts but never repeating. With a mixtape-like DNA, the music teems with vibrant colours and acoustic depth and blurs boundaries between live performance and studio innovation.

Review: We Jazz Records' periodic seven-inch box sets are a good way to keep up with the Finnish label's unique but often in-demand releases. This third edition is packed to the rafters with (relatively) recent treats, with highlights including the head-nodding spy-jazz suspense of the Stance Brothers' 'On Top' (which is available in two equally as alluring variations), the jaunty Steve Reich-goes-jazz brilliance of 'Erzeben Koma' by Koma Saxo, the Hamond-sporting lounge vibes of Eric Malmberg's 'Till Minne Av Lilly Lindstrom' and the experimental nu-jazz suite that is Otis Sandsjo's 'Tremendoce'. Top-notch, inventive and hugely entertaining: a must-have!