We Jazz Finland Vinyl & CDs

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: 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.