TOLONEN!

Recorded in Helsinki in October of 1971, 18-year old Jukka Tolonen leads his Wigwam friends through an awesome folk- and jazz-informed representative of his unique and definitively progressive ideas.

1. "Elements - Earth/Fire/Water/Air" (8:06) a song that sounds as if The Grateful Dead were being joined by a classically-trained Bluegrass/Folk band. Very interesting--and very invigorating. Great play from everybody involved: especially Jukka himself (on acoustic guitars, wah-wah guitar and piano and spinet!) and Pekka Pohjola on bass (melodic, as usual). The uncredited flute player deserves some flowers as well. I think they did it: they covered all four of the elements! Excellent suite--comprised of four equally great sections. (14.75/15)

2. "Ramblin" (9:02) soprano sax starts off up top while Jukka and bassist Heikki Virtanen set up the semi-funky R&B, semi jazz-rock motif for further soloing by both Pekka Poyry and Jukka. This bass player is impressive! (Perhaps as much for how forward in the mix he's been placed.) Jukka is also very impressive: using both technical skills and effects as needed/desired. Still, he does show that he's young and has more to learn--especially in the isolated solo he has in the third minute. His jazz Django-like strumming is also pretty advanced though I expect he'll get cleaner with experience. His work behind the sax, within the rhythm corps, is almost as impressive: that sixth minute is pretty amazing! Mr. Poyry does, however, manage to crawl out from beneath his leader's shadow in the seventh and eighth minutes. Very nice! (And you all know that I am not a sax man.) The song's final two minutes sees everybody gelling into an even-keeled ensemble, which is nice. Evenso, Jukka can't stop impressing me with his virtuosic instincts and displays. (19.25/20)

3. "Mountains" (6:35) slow guitar chord strums (one chord) while "distant" horn plays sentimentally behind. This goes on for 130 long, Rodrigo/"Aranjuez"-like seconds before the sax fades away, replaced by a couple of Mike Oldfield-like mandolin- and 12-string-sounding guitars for a little less than a minute before the original motif is brought back for a round of melodic repetition. Then the two motifs are cleverly melded into one interesting weave. I love creativity like this! Excellent song. Excellent emotional conveyance. (9.25/10)

4. "Wanderland" (5:02) Pekka Pohjola, Ronnie Österberg and multiple tracks of multiple instruments devoted to Jukka's guitars, acoustic and electric, spinet, and piano make for a great tune that reminds me of the instrumental sides of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Comus, The Strawbs, Gryphon, and other anachronistic prog and folkie pop artists; just a sweet, nice folk AMERICA-like tune (recorded a month before America was to release their Amazing first album). (9.25/10)

5. "Last Night" (Live at Tavastia-Club) (3:26) full on, ear-splitting (high volume) rock 'n' roll--complete with electric everything and rollicking organ to boot. This shows Jukka and the gang's rock/prog rock proclivities. (8.625/10)

Total Time 32:11

My verdict is that, while Jukka is definitely a jazz-trained guitarist, like so much of the output coming from the Wigwam family of musicians, this is not as much a Jazz-Rock Fusion album as an album of wide-ranging progressive rock: there's rock, folk-jazz, prog, and folk-pop music (sans lyrics) and a little creative/experimental Jazz-Rock Fusion (before it really existed as its own musical domain). With technical skills and creative instincts like those presented on this album, I look forward with great anticipation to hearing and reviewing all of Jukka's 1970s output!

A/five stars; a masterpiece of creative and wide-ranging folk- and jazz-infused progressive rock music. I would not, however, call this a proper representation of Jazz-Rock Fusion. HIGHLY recommended! Especially if you like really creative, inventive song palettes and song constructs.

P.S. I would rate this down for its unseemly brevity, but it's just too likeable--and too fascinating.

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