The Stance Brothers - Duktus

Finnish drummer/Producer Teppo "Teddy Rok" Mäkynen returns with his alias The Stance Brothers. Lauded by the likes of Kenny Dope and Gilles Peterson, Mäkynen's studio creation has been visible on the 7" format during the recent years. Now, Mäkynen is back with a full LP, the project's first in more than 10 years. Duktus is a treasure-trove for everyone into crunchy jazz funk à la Bob James & CTI, but this is no retro exercise. Teddy Rok moves forward in all directions, constantly bringing new elements into his sound, which is more layered and deep than ever before. At the same time, the crunch & the breaks are there when you need them.

The basic core of The Stance Brothers is to be solo studio vehicle for Teppo Mäkynen to experiment across a varied instrumentation and musical ideas. After the project's celebrated first album (Ricky-Tick Records, 2007), The Stance Brothers took to the stage as well, creating one of the most beloved live outfits of recent history in the Helsinki scene. Now, after more than 10+ years of time spent in releasing one hard-hitting 7" after the other, The Stance Brothers are back, both on the record and live on stage.

Whereas the Stance 7" sides are often dominated by crunchy drums and crystal clear vibraphone melodies, the new album sounds broadens up into a more synth-heavy, "postmodern" realm, taking its space in a form resembling a mixtape. The funk is there, but Mäkynen is sensitive to the fact that an LP is not a 7", and the ideas take their shape accordingly. Guest voices float in and out of the mix, blending in anonymously, true to the low-key spirit of the studio operation.

Inspiration: Roy Ayers, Mizell Brothers, Bobby Hutcherson, Cesar Mariano, Patrice Rushen, George Duke, Madlib's Mind Fusion Mixtapes. 

Tracklist:
1. Duktus
2. Again
3. King Cesar
4. Sao Paolo
5. Deeper Tones
6. Raw Diamond
7. Further East
8. Futuristic Earth
9. Denny's Beauty
10. Dam Reyes
11. Attraction

Antti Lötjönen - Circus/Citadel

Finnish bassist Antti Lötjönen returns in February 2023 with his second Quintet East album on We Jazz Records. With Verneri Pohjola on trumpet, Mikko Innanen and Jussi Kannaste on saxes, and Joonas Riippa on drums, Quintet East is a hard-hitting ensemble of Helsinki scene A-listers. The new release sees the quintet work with Lötjönen’s inspired new music with remarkable spirit, spreading out on a quest for new sounds and ideas, and returning to base with a fresh batch of acoustic creative music, wild to the bone even when sounding completely in control.

Circus/Citadel is essentially a coherent album, rather than a series of loosely connected compositions. There’s plenty of diversity within Lötjönen’s compositions and the band’s dynamics, yet it all flows into one effortlessly, creating a suite of sorts, even outside of the title composition which consists of three parts. During the course of the album, the quintet often gets together in smaller formations: in trios and duos of different combinations of the players. The music breathes and maintains its energy at all times, leaving plenty of headroom for the all-out quintet “attacks” when needed. It all comes together in a shape that feels unified and cyclical, leaving the listener hungry for repeated listens in order to get deeper into the many layers found within.

Antti Lötjönen says:

“These compositions vary in terms of form and density, with each player having enough room to re-invent and expand on the music within the pieces. I wrote this music over a relatively brief time span. This, I think, is something you can also hear on the album, as the temporal closeness of the ideas brings with it a certain kind of unity. The world we live in sometimes feels like an absurd circus, from which you need to get away from to get new ideas and energy. Everyone needs their citadel, whatever it may be. This pairing of the two words Circus/Citadel is inspired by a poem by the Romanian-born German-language poet Paul Celan (1920–1970).”  

Tracklist:
1. Circus/Citadel, Pt. I (feat. Mikko Innanen, Jussi Kannaste, Verneri Pohjola & Joonas Riippa)
2. Circus/Citadel, Pt. II (feat. Mikko Innanen, Jussi Kannaste, Verneri Pohjola & Joonas Riippa)
3. Circus/Citadel, Pt. III (feat. Mikko Innanen, Jussi Kannaste, Verneri Pohjola & Joonas Riippa)
4. Ode to the Undone (feat. Mikko Innanen, Jussi Kannaste, Verneri Pohjola & Joonas Riippa)
5. Defenestration (feat. Mikko Innanen, Jussi Kannaste, Verneri Pohjola & Joonas Riippa)
6. (for) Better People (feat. Mikko Innanen, Jussi Kannaste, Verneri Pohjola & Joonas Riippa)
7. It Goes On. (feat. Mikko Innanen, Jussi Kannaste, Verneri Pohjola & Joonas Riippa)

Valtteri Laurell Nonet - Tigers Are Better Looking

Composer Valtteri Laurell Pöyhönen presents his Nonet formation of We Jazz Records. Their debut album "Tigers Are Better Looking" is released 3 Feb and the ensemble features internationally renowned Finnish clarinetist Antti Sarpila, plus a strong cast of Helsinki-based musicians from several of the top Finnish groups.

Based on the writings of British-Caribbean author Jean Rhys (1890–1979), the 6-track album is a melancholy, intimate chamber jazz creation. Laurell's music swings, yet he doesn't stop there, but moves further to paint an original, richly-toned sonic image with the highly potent Nonet.

Laurell states Gerry Mulligan, Miles Davis's "Water Babies" and Charles Mingus among the key musical influences of his compositions on this album. Through Rhys's text, Laurell finds a special sense of detachment and melancholy evident in his new material. Laurell's music swings, yet he doesn't stop there, but moves further to paint an original, richly-toned sonic image with the highly potent Nonet. Antti Sarpila's masterful clarinet provides the icing on the cake, floating high above the clouds of sound.

Tracklist:
1. Tigers Are Better Looking
3. Wide Sargasso Sea
4. Let Them Call It Jazz
5. Till September Petronella
6. Temps Perdi