REFLECTIONS

I enjoyed their two previous albums too, and I feel a bit guilty for never reviewing them here (they haven't got too many!). Now I've listened to their new one and think that it's their best work. MIST SEASON is a Finnish group who play elegant, melodic, instrumental, mellow and yet dynamic Fusion. A good referring point would be FINNFOREST from the seventies, but better really. More variable in instrumentation and more melodic. Amidst tracks of tight group playing there are also intimate acoustic pieces by solo piano or guitar. A nice addition is female vocals on two tracks here (another of them is lyricless vocalese).

Maybe it could also be said that this album is a little more progressive than the previous ones, which were more safely in the mellow, sort-of 'easy listening', jazz category. This feels silly to say, as if this was any harder to enjoy immediately! A wider variation in compositions is partly due to the inclusion of covers: there's a Santana tune featuring trumpet ('Aqua Marine'), two pieces of Italian film music... oh, even a track composed by Roine Stolt ('Lobsterland Groove'), I don't know from which origin, maybe not Flower Kings? Actually that was one of my least favourites; it's got an Ethnic touch in the style of PIIRPAUKE, with accordion included. Despite all this, the whole album is very coherent and balanced; nothing feels out of place. 67 minutes of beautiful, relaxing music, highly recommended!

This is the third musical offering from MIST SESAON from Finland,an extremelly talented band composed of some of the most talented musicians from this beautiful country!Well,definitelly this album can be considered trully exceptional,and it confirms the expression-third time is the lucky charm!REFLECTIONS is the most mature and elaborated album of the band and has every ingredients to compose a very,very likeble audition of something really wonderful made by real pros!As usual-the sound id exceptional and the graphic presentation,the booklet is phenomenal too!Some wonderful pictures are in the booklet and fit perfectly well with the music of the cd!Great atmosphere,mesmerising jazz tones,sometimes ambiental almost and prog jazz orientated too- and superbe interventions everywhere of a wonderful sax!From the point of view of the compositions-this album is more prog orientated then the previous two and the short intros are so beautiful and catchy ,introducing the longer tracks which are elaborated and perfectly well performed!Not even a single weak track on this album,definitelly the process of selection of the tracks has been very seriusly made!It's rare in today's music to find such excellent music ,honestly made for the love of music,with the purpose to offer the listeners a higher form of art under all aspects,without the ambition to prove something mind blowing - just good ,wonderful music!I can say that REFLECTIONS is a timeless album,with no age and standards-it's just very good music that gives to the listener,to the most pretentious ones a great feelings , calm and peaceful moods!SUPERBE from the first to the last second of it!4.5 STARS for a little musical jewel!

An interesting band from Finland. This is their third album.

Mist Season is clearly in the easy listening jazz mould. On this album, they have gone a bit more progressive and moved a lot closer to a band like Return To Forever. Good solos, good melodies and a good drive. Oh yeah, they reminds me a lot of Return To Forever and their epic masterpiece Romantic Warrior. But Mist Season also includes a lot of Finnish music in the mix and even some female vocals. But most of their music is instrumental mid tempo, not particular intense jazz.

There are some really great tracks here. They are paired up with some pretty decent tracks too. The vocal track for example and a couple of other tracks does nothing for me. I am also missing some really killer tracks here too. But my main gripe is that this album is too much of an easy listening album without the great melodies to go along with it. But it is still a very good album from a very interesting band.

3.5 stars

Mist Season is a Finnish five piece formation featuring very experienced and skilled musicians. Once I got their first eponymous CD from 2004 as a promo, I was impressed with their pleasant instrumental blend of blues, jazz and rock. The work on piano,saxophone and guitar is outstanding and the rhythm-section very dynamic. In 2006 Mist Season released the successor entitled Woodlands, also instrumental. The band has made progression, with more variety and a wider range of instruments, from flute and accordeon to sitar and synthesizer. It took a while before Mist Season produced their third effort Reflections, in 2011.

And for the first the music contains vocal parts, from female singer Mirja Lassila (in two songs). Especially in the alternating Defending Hands her warm, a bit high pitched voice matches wonderfully with the folky music featuring twanging acoustic guitars and soaring flute.

From the 14 compositions three tracks feature short improvisations on the Grand piano, dubdued and tender. Also two short pieces on the acoustic ? and classical guitar: Summer Season in the vein of Steve Howe and Chaser like Steve Hackett is beautiful 'unplugged'' work. The other seven (instrumental) tracks are a progressive, very melodic blend of several styles, with the emphasis on a fusion of jazz and jazzrock (loaded with brass and woodwind instruments, especially the saxophone).

It's remarkable how easily Mist Season switches from style and atmosphere, and how outstanding all the instruments sound. A few examples.

The swinging Manaos (with a known theme): fiery electric guitar, fluent synthesizer flights and powerful saxophone.

Lobsterland Groove (written by fellow Skandinavian Roine Stolt): from dreamy with accordeon to flashy synthesizer runs and sparkling saxophone, accompanied by lush Hammond.

Matelda's Song: from soaring to mid-tempo with howling electric guitar.

And the highlight Sally And Jack : an intro with classical guitar, then dreamy with intense saxophone and a final part with a compelling guitar solo, between Gilmour and Latimer.

Mist Season also plays a Santana cover, no coincidence that the track Aqua Marine (an omnipresent trumpet) is from Santana his jazz/jazzrock era.

On this album you can enjoy frequently from a outstanding soli and a wide range of instruments, especially in Pan(jazzy piano) and Promenader (electric guitar,saxophone and synthesizer, in a jazzrock climate).

Highly recommended, if you like fusion, jazz and jazzrock, with lots of brass/woodwind instruments.

Just in case, the one moment PA mentions 2 social comments, the other moment zero social comments, it is really two social comments.