SUMMER GAMES

(A shame how few reviews Jukka Tolonen has gained here; again mine is the first one.)

A while ago I gave full rating to The Hook, the third solo album by the Finnish ex-virtuoso guitarist Jukka TOLONEN (born 1952). Recently I've listened to all of his four first albums and I still think The Hook is the best, as well as the fullest of lively Jazz / Fusion spirit. Probably the debut Tolonen! (1971) is his best remembered work, but in my opinion he matured as a composer especially in these early years. Georgie-award (that's a Finnish yearly award for jazz) winning Summer Games is again produced by Måns Groundstroem. At this time Tolonen was influenced by Chick Corea's Return To Forever and Mahavishnu Orchestra (and also Bo Hansson's Lord of the Rings!), but his music remains distinctively Finnish in nature, and is very much at home in the famous Love Records discography of the time.

This album is mellower and more romantic than the ones before and after it. 'Wedding Song' is a serene, relaxed tune that reminds of JADE WARRIOR at their most romantic. Acoustic guitar is accompanied by reeds (flute, soprano sax, trombone) and the rhythm section that stays in the background. A prog listener may get associations also to the soft side of the earliest KING CRIMSON. 'A Warm Trip With Taija' - Taija being his wife - is livelier and jazzier, and twice the length, thus allowing the various instruments have solistic space. Tolonen plays also Mini-Moog and tabla on this beautiful track.

'Impressions of India' starts with a lonely acoustic guitar; the percusions, flute and trombone enter later. A joyful, rather fast number with an Oriental flavour, but not among the best. 'Thinking of You in the Moonshine' slows down the tempo and offers a dreamy, nocturnal piece of music that is hard to pigeonhole into any specific genre. It's a deeply progressive composition that gets more energetic towards the end. The title track is lighthearted and playful like the second track, and the only one to feature Tolonen's piano. I can imagine it being played on an old TV film about people enjoying sunny summer (they often used to have jazz music in them). The final track 'See You (Missing My Baby)' is, as you guess, romantic and mellow, featuring just reeds and acoustic guitar. A nice ending to this beautiful album, which is all too short.

I almost feel like I'm giving this 4 stars against my will. Yet I can't deny how well done this album is. I'm not normally into such mellow records but this does break out at times("Thinking Of You In The Moonshine") with electric guitar and depth. I didn't like this record after the first listen but this one just kept getting better and better after each spin. I can relate to the Finns when it comes to their climate somewhat living here in Canada although I'm in the southern regions of Ontario where it's not that bad. Still after a couple of weeks of really cold weather with lots of snow recently I can relate. Summer means so much to us northerners. And this is a Summer record that is pleasant and often light like a warm summers day. I just enjoy the sound of this album so much.

Jukka mainly plays acoustic guitar but he adds some tablas, synths and piano and he got a couple of his TASAVALLAN PRESIDENTTI members to help out with flute, sax and bass. The flute might be the most prominent instrument as there's three musicians playing it. Two trombone players too and soprano sax along with two drummers as no one musician other than Jukka plays on more than three of the six tracks. Classy but warm music that again has really stolen my heart surprisingly.

Finnish guitarist Jukka Tolonen takes another turn as band leader, rendering here more of his folk-tinged ideas into beautiful prog-pop songs.

1. "Wedding Song" (4:50) more beautiful anachronistic folk-tinged music from Jukka (like "Mountains" and "Wanderland" from his 1971 debut solo album). (9.5/10)

2. "A Warm Trip With Taija" (8:45) borrowing a bit from The ZOMBIES "She's Not There" in the way of guitar chord progression and poppy hippie feel, Jukka sets free his buddies Pekka Poyry and Erik Danholm on flutes as well as bassist extraordinaire Heikki Virtanen and bongo-percussionist Reino Laine. It's as if Blood, Sweat & Tears were merged with German prog folk band EDEN! (18.875/20)

3. "Impressions of India" (5:27) funny how Jukka's impressions of India start out with some Andalusian-sounding classical Spanish guitar! Having the tabla-sounding Moroccan clay hand drum enter in the second minute helps give it a little more Indian, but the Flamenco guitar and Western flute melodies don't help. He's trying to reach Indian melodies but just keeps missing. Still, the performances are all excellent. And one simply can't fault a young idealist for trying! (8.875/10)

4. "Thinking Of You In The Moonshine" (6:28) this dude is such a romantic! How can one not love him?! Though this song drags a bit like a New Orleans funeral march, the prominent presence of the trombone almost gives this a chamber-classical feel. In the fourth minute everybody seems to drop out, leaving only guitar and then a Damon Albarn-like hand drum pattern which is quickly joined by a variety of jazz-rock instruments, including the wah-wah guitar, electric bass, trombone and flutes, and full drum kit. Jukka delivers a Mark Knopfler-caliber guitar solo over this ensemble to fill out and finish the song. (8.875/10)

5. "Summer Games" (5:25) bass, drums, piano, and percussion are joined by flute and alto sax and, later, trombone, giving this bossa nova-like song a Burt Bacharach sound and feel. In the second half of the second minute, Paroni Paakkunainen gets the first true solo, on his flute, which is then followed by Jukka on the piano, Pekka Poyry's alto sax, more piano (or is it a Moog?), before trombone and horn section return us to that Burt Bacharach world--all the while Jukka's acoustic and electric guitars contribute to the rhythm tracks below. Very upbeat and cheery song. Me like! (But then, I'm a sucker for anything Burt Bacharach-like.) (9.3333/10)

6. "See You (Missing My Crazy Baby)" (3:36) another beautiful Prog Folk tune that could accompany many a wedding party. (9/10)

Total Time: 34:31

I have to admit to being quite surprised at how little flash and flare Jukka exposes us to on this album that comes from his guitar. I think he is content to let his compositions speak for his talent and skill rather than his virtuosic guitar skills. I like this dude! At the same time, this is not an album that I could ever deign a Jazz-Rock Fusion album; it's more Prog Folk, World music, or Crossover prog to my ears and mind.

Is there something about Finnish technology or economy that prohibits their music artists from pressing anything on vinyl that is longer than 17-minutes per side? Just wondering (as so many early rock, jazz, and prog albums I review that come from Finnish record companies seem to have that brevity in common).

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of Crossover or Pop-Folk-oriented Prog; definitely an album of finely crafted and beautiful and soothing music (though by no means what I'd consider "Smooth Jazz").