PEKKA POHJOLA GROUP: KÄTKÄVAARAN LOHIKÄÄRME

Part of the fun of listening to Pekka Pohjola is the "What's he going to do next?" factor. And after the grand, orchestrated epic that was VISITATION, he did an abrupt, 180° turn with its follow up.

Here we're presented with Pohjola at his most stripped-down. Bass, piano, guitar, drums and that's it! I think part of the impetus for this album was how well-received Seppo Tyni was on VISITATION. I imagine Pohjola wanted to specifically make an album that featured him. Definitely a wise decision; each of the tracks feature an infectious, intricate bassline from Pohjola and some tasty solos from Seppo. Pekka Tyni on pianos and Ippe Kätkä on drums round out the quartet.

As close as Pohjola has ever come to straight-on fusion, this is nonetheless undeniably everything one would expect from a Pekka Pohjola album. The melodies, chord progressions and, most of all, the bass parts are all unmistakably Pohjola. "Inke ja mä" is one of his finest compositions of all time, a real jewel in his crown.

So, would I recommend starting here? If you're coming from a jazz or jazz-fusion perspective, probably. Otherwise, probably not, as it's a rather atypical PP release. Which is not to say it's bad-quite the contrary, it's EXCELLENT!-but it's Pohjola trying something a little different. And, much to our delight, succeeding.