Invisible Man Jukka Perko with Jarmo Saari & Teemu Viinikainen

• 1 Invisible Man 02:33
• 2 Like Father Like Son 05:34
• 3 Tears in Heaven 03:04
• 4 He Left the Road 05:04
• 5 Pimento 05:25
• 6 Sweet Solitude 03:11
• 7 Nameless Angel 04:07
• 8 Awakening 04:10
• 9 Helmi 04:11
• 10 Open Door 04:18
• 11 Don't Give Up 04:32
• 12 Pavane 04:55
• Total Runtime 51:04

Info for Invisible Man

Außergewöhnlich: Schon die Besetzung lässt aufhorchen: Saxofon, akustische Gitarre und E-Gitarre. Ein solches Trio kennt man bislang nicht. Hört man Jukka Perkos Avara fragt man sich, warum: Denn „Invisible Man“ verblüfft mit einen absolut harmonischen lyrischen Klang und einem dichten Gruppensound, in dem jede Stimme die andere stützt und ergänzt. Elegische Klanglandschaften werden ausgebreitet, immer wieder durchdrungen von schillernden Momentaufnahmen. Die Stimmung ist finnisch-melancholisch, aber stets hoffnungsvoll. Die Musik schöpft ihre Kraft aus der Ruhe. Ihre Bedeutung bewahrheitet sich nicht darin, wie laut sie herausgebrüllt wird.

Jukka Perko zählt zu den führenden Stimmen der finnischen Jazzszene. In seinem Personalstil, der die Kraft des Bebop mit nordischer Melancholie vereint, spiegelt sich die europäische Klassik, amerikanische Jazz-Tradition und finnische Volksmusik wider. Perko spielte mit Stars wie McCoy Tyner, Red Rodney oder Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen und kürzlich im „Kind of Cool“-Ensemble von Wolfgang Haffner. Mit seinem ACT-Debüt „It Takes Two To Tango“ begeisterte er 2014 mit der zweiten Größe des finnischen Jazz, Iiro Rantala. Zu seinem Trio Avara kam Perko halb planvoll, halb per Zufall. Er erinnert sich: „Als mir einmal in einer meiner Bands der Bassist ausfiel, kam ich auf die Idee, es mit Teemu Viinikainen und seiner akustischen Gitarre zu versuchen. Das klappte so gut, dass er blieb. Jarmo Saari kenne ich auch schon seit den Neunzigern. Ich hörte ihn im Duo mit einem anderen E-Gitarristen. Mir gefiel sehr, wie er dafür arrangierte. Mich interessierte, wie er mit einem akustischen Gitarristen klingen würde. Also schlug ich ihm vor, es mal mit Teemu und mir zu versuchen. Schon bei der ersten Probe wusste ich: Das ist es!“

Auf „Invisible Man“ begeistern Perko, Saari und Viinikainen durch das völlig gleichberechtigte Musizieren. Ein klassisches Rollenmodell existiert hier nicht. Die Grenzen zwischen Rhythmus- und Leadinstrument sind aufgehoben. Die Spielidee von Avara gibt ihren Akteuren Handlungsfreiheit und Entfaltungsmöglichkeiten. Abwechselnd bestimmen sie die Richtung der Musik, führen, folgen oder gehen kontrapunktisch ihren eigenen Weg. Für das Entwickeln der Themen sind alle drei substantiell wichtig.

„Wir wollen interessante Geschichten erzählen und dabei einen weiten musikalischen Bogen schlagen“, erzählt Perko. Tatsächlich mutet das Album wie ein großer Spielfilm an. Ein atmosphärischer Road-Movie, in denen charakterstarke Melodien, die Handlung bestimmen. Unterhaltsam, packend, tiefgründig und nachdenklich weckt Avara große Gefühle.

Trotz seiner musikalischen Vielgestalt kann man „Invisible Man“ ein Balladenalbum nennen. Wegen seines Grundtons und seines erzählenden Charakters, aber auch wegen Perkos Haltung: „Meine Idee von Musik hat sich in den vergangenen Jahren verändert und verdichtet. Man könnte sagen, sie ist ,langsamer‘ geworden. In dem Sinne, dass es nicht mehr so um Tempo und Technik geht, viel mehr um Tiefe und Gehalt. Die expressiven und ausladenden Soli, wie sie den Jazz so lange beherrscht haben, interessieren mich nicht mehr so, es geht mir vor allem um das Interplay. Ich möchte, dass alle Musiker ständig beteiligt und nicht zwischendurch einfach nur Zuhörer sind.“ Was ihm und seinen beiden kongenialen Partnern mit „Invisible Man“ so gut gelingt, dass auch der CD-Hörer nicht mehr nur hört. Diese Musik sieht man vor sich

Jukka Perko, Alt- und Sopransaxophon
Jarmo Saari, Elektrische Gitarre
Teemu Viinikainen, Akustikgitarre

Recorded November 19 & 20, 2015 by Klaus Scheuermann at Hansa Studios, Berlin
Mixed and mastered by Klaus Scheuermann
Produced by Siggi Loch

Jukka Perko
Finnish violinist Pekka Kuusisto is one of the most versatile and distinctive musicians working today. Always demonstrating his extraordinary individuality and imagination, Pekka is unusually free and fluid in his approach and has been acclaimed for the spontaneity and freshness in his playing. As Pekka puts it: “I don't play to be different or the same as anyone else, I just play it the way I think it and feel it.” In 1995, Pekka became the first Finn to win the Sibelius Violin Competition. He says of his country: “I’m extremely proud that such a small country produced such a lot of really great music. Wherever I am, playing the Sibelius Concerto, I can see the landscapes of my homeland. It’s a bit like carrying around a small box of soil from your garden.” Pekka became Artist in Residence at the Tapiola Sinfonietta in September 2006, a post he took up along with pianist Olli Mustonen and conductor Stefan Asbury. This season he is also involved in SIB, a new concert series in Hämeenlinna, Finland, choosing both programmes and artists. Despite the first concert only taking place recently, the exciting and diverse programming has already created waves of excitement in the Finnish press.

As Artistic Director of Finland’s Our Festival each summer, Pekka creates his own programme of events. In 2008, the festival welcomed mezzo-soprano Anne-Sofie von Otter and pianist Bengt Forsberg, and also saw the premiere of the ‘Tanabata’ project and the ‘Reddress’ installation by Korean artist Aamu Song. The 2009 festival encouraged listeners to link music from completely different genres and eras, such as Robert Schumann and Joy Division, where Pekka explored the common themes of the tragic figures. Pekka has also recently set up Our Orchestra to strengthen and continue collaborations with musicians who have taken part in his Festival and concert series. Setting Pekka apart from most other violinists of his generation is his desire and ability to improvise; and his love of playing many different styles of music, channelling the same intensity into each genre. He has worked in the past with Finnish electronic jazz group Rinneradio and Norwegian noise duo Fe-Mail, consisting of French horn and vocals, performing electronic music based on improvisation with live sampling. In May 2009 Kraft - Pekka’s Finnish violin and accordion duo with Johanna Juhola - released Max Höjd, their first CD (Texicalli Records). Other unusual projects include a collaboration with the young Austrian multi- percussionist Martin Grubinger where they performed in key venues throughout Germany and Austria, and a recital at New York’s Lincoln Center where Pekka combined Bach’s D minor Partita with electronic improvisation on chorale melodies.

Pekka is increasingly seen directing ensembles from the violin, including the London, Scottish, Irish and Zurich Chamber Orchestras. Last season, he returned to the Australian Chamber Orchestra and was a great hit with critics and audience alike. This season, he directs the Britten Sinfonia in a major tour of the Netherlands and UK, as well as the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, Munich Chamber Orchestra and Camerata Nordica. As a concert soloist, Pekka continues to work with some of the world’s greatest orchestras and conductors, offering some fascinating contemporary repertoire as well as fresh insights into the core works. Last season saw him perform the Peteris Vasks and Magnus Lindberg Violin Concertos with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and at the Casa da Musica in Porto respectively. Highlights of this season include a performance of the Thomas Adès Violin Concerto under the baton of the composer himself, and his role of Resident Artist at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s “Sibelius Festival” in April 2010.

Pekka’s most recent CD release is a selection of works for violin and guitar by Niccolo Paganini on the Ondine label with guitarist Ismo Eskelinen. Other releases include two highly-acclaimed discs of works for violin and piano by Sibelius with Heini Kärkkäinen and a recording of works for violin and orchestra, with the Tapiola Sinfonietta. Pekka also features in 4, a DVD documentary about Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, presenting Winter in the snowscapes of Lapland.

Pekka was recently selected as one of eight individuals in the Konzerthaus Dortmund’s “Junge Wilde” series, which celebrates a new generation of highly gifted, musically-diverse young performers. Pekka gives his first “Junge Wilde” recital of electronic solo improvisations at the Konzerthaus early in 2010.

Pekka Kuusisto plays a Giovanni Baptista Guadagnini violin of 1752 kindly loaned by the Finnish Cultural Foundation.

Jarmo Saari
(b. 1970) is one of the leading Finnish guitarists of his generation. Saari has carried out his musical vision in diverse environments and collaborated as a musician and/or composer with percussion master Trilok Gurtu, sax giant Michael Brecker, prog legend Pekka Pohjola, world famous Tapiola Choir, chartbusting rock band Don Huonot, Finnish treasure Umo Jazz Orchestra, trombone guru Nils Landgren and a cappella phenomena Rajaton, to name a few.

His sonic landscapes and often multi-layered real-time sound processing - created by the electric guitar, human voice or several odd instruments, including theremin and glassharp - are essential on his solo albums and have enriched the sound of many jazz combos, rock groups, chamber ensembles and big bands. He has performed in 25 countries and is featured on over 60 albums.

Saari has also made distinctive studio albums as a dedicated producer for a dozen top artists varying from jazz to tango, pop, rock or electronic music. His highly visual composition style is well documented in his works for cinema, contemporary dance, theatre and television. In 2006 he started collaborating with Tero Saarinen Company on a contemporary dance production called 'Next of Kin' as well as with film director Mika Kaurismäki on 'Sonic mirror' featuring Billy Cobham and film score of 'The house of branching love‘.

Teemu Viinikainen
is one of the top 20 jazz guitarists in the world", says internationally renowned professor, author and critic, Stuart Nicholson.

As a supreme instrumentalist and soulful interpreter, the well-known virtuoso from Helsinki has, over the years, played in a number of top groups. Among others, the ensembles of Jukka Perko, Eero Koivistoinen and Jukkis Uotila have assisted in Viinikainen becoming well known by jazz audiences. Within their ranks, he has risen to become a world-class guitarist. This is evidenced by his cooperation with such major overseas artists as Joe Lovano, Tim Hagans and Randy Brecker.

Viinikainen has also enjoyed wide acclaim in his home country of Finland and has received, for example, the Finnish Jazz Federation’s Yrjo-award and a Sony Jazz Award. In addition, he has also twice been nominated for a Teosto award for his recordings with the Perko-Pyysalo-Viinikainen trio. The most important group at the start of his career was the U-Street All Stars, which rose in popularity during the early 2000s after a victory in Spain’s Getxo jazz group competition. The band also recorded two full-length albums on the prestigious Blue Note label. Viinikainen’s first solo album Tales of Robert Dickson was released in 2005 and has been followed up with a new release entitled Nyt! on which he is accompanied by bassist, Ville Herrala, and drummer, Mika Kallio.

Viinikainen holds a master's degree in music from the jazz department of the Sibelius Academy, where he has also worked as a teacher since 2002. His prowess on the pedagogical side can be seen in his recently published jazz guitar textbook Rytmi elää (The Rhythm Lives).

Booklet for Invisible Man