Tampere Jazz Happening
Tampere, Finland
October 29-November 1, 2009

A two-hour drive northwest from Finland's capital of Helsinki and situated between breathtaking views of lakes Näsij�rvi and Pyhäjärvi (two of the near 190,000 in this modestly titled "Land of a Thousand Lakes") is the quaint city of Tampere which provides an ideal setting for its annual Tampere Jazz Happening (TJH). With three venues in close proximity, a basic stone's throw from one another (Tullikamarin Kulttuurikeskus, the historic Old Customs House seating 1,000; Tulliklubi's mostly standing room only, club atmosphere with a capacity closer to though not over 400 and Telakka, a more traditional sit-down jazz venue and the smallest of the three), Executive Director Minnakaisa Kuivalainen and Producer/Program Director Juha Matti Kauppinen have continued a well-established tradition with its deserving reputation as one of Europe's strongest jazz festivals now in its 28th year.

With an expectedly strong Finnish representation (Raoul Bjorkenheim, Juhani Aaltonen, Mikko Innanen's Innkvisitio), this year also involved a wide swath of countries: Cuba (Roberto Fonseca), England (Portico Quartet), Turkey (Taksim Trio), Sweden (Martin Küchen), India (Trilok Gurtu's exemplary global ensemble of musicians from Germany, Spain, Italy and Reunion Island near Mozambique) and the US (Mike Reed, Trio M, Dave Douglas, Dr. Lonnie Smith).

The festival rather unceremoniously started with a film screening of the "The Lost String" (2006) documentary on guitarist Marc Ribot. Though unusually programmed as the official opening event to the four-day TJH, for this visiting Manhattan-ite the movie nicely offered plenty of sights and sounds of Ribot and New York City, particularly comforting with the unfortunate news that day of the Yankees first game loss in the World Series (we know how that series wound up in the end, thank goodness!).

"Sold Out" signs before concerts were commonplace and a good sign considering the global economy. Finnish musicians took advantage of the full houses by shining that much brighter under the spotlight though accompanied by extreme (admittedly overboard on more than one occasion) smoke and light shows, particularly effective at Tulliklubi. Grunge-like in persona, music and name, local favorites Black Motor (with drummer/spokesperson/nominal leader Simo Laihonen, saxophonist Sami Sippola and bassist Ville Rauhala) immediately followed the Ribot screening on opening night, and they impressively engineered high-energy, rhythmically driving improvisations with the thick-toned trumpet of guest Verneri Pohjola whose deceiving comfort didn't let on to this being only his second performance with the band. Laihonen inserted a Milford Graves and Hamid Drake-like polyrhythmic display underneath the two-horn frontline—Sippola at times Kidd Jordan and Albert Ayler-esque in his speaking in tongue extremes while Pohjola revealed Kenny Dorham, Clifford Brown and Kenny Wheeler to be solid influences, making for interesting harmonies between the extremes to say the least.

The following night's late set - tenor and baritone saxophonist Timo Lassy's CD release concert (Round Two on Ricky-Tick) brought an appealing form of jazz to the dance floor. The Finnish saxman can play with the smoothness of a Hank Crawford or Houston Person, but a gruffness particularly on baritone that conveniently draws attention away from the common rhythmic monotony that had frantic fans bouncing and grooving to the foundation laid down by percussionist Abdissa "Mamba" Assefa and drummer Teppo Mäkynen (the latter a band mate of Lassy's also in the highly acclaimed Helsinki-based Five Corners Quintet).

Telakka played host exclusively to Finnish ensembles. Guitarist Raoul Bjorkenheim, who just returned to Finland after seven years in New York, has been a festival mainstay, performing in the inaugural year (1982) and at least 10 others since. His co-led quartet with organist/vocalist Jukka Gustavson (also with acoustic and electric bassist Ulf Krokfors and drummer Mika Kallio) unabashedly injected a level of edgy intensity into the group's already evident Tony Williams Lifetime-influenced aesthetic. Bjorkenheim's style, with a soaring abandon reminiscent of both Jimi Hendrix and, appropriately enough, John McLaughlin (another third of the onetime Lifetime), complemented Gustavson's Larry Young-inspired, jazz rock playing and obvious influence. Their cover of "Once I Loved" (recorded by Lifetime on Turn It Over), Gustavson intriguingly Jackie Paris-esque in tone, was part of a medley that melded perfectly with John Coltrane's "Resolution" (part two of the iconic four-part A Love Supreme). In addition they performed original and memorable renditions of Carla Bley's "Vashkar," the blues vehicle "Sweet Little Angel" and as an encore a Bjorkenheim-fronted dismantling of Coltrane's "Big Nick."

The guitarist's highly anticipated power trio reunion with bassist William Parker and barefoot drummer Hamid Drake (their DMG @ The Stone, Vol.2 being one of 2008's more memorable CD releases) two evenings later had the audience buzzing at the Old Customs Hall. Said Parker to Bjorkenheim during soundcheck, "I wanna see sparks coming out of your Marshall cabinet!" (this was basically the extent of the pre-set dialogue as to what would be played) Of the two pieces, the first was an hour-long improvisation that rarely relented, even through a technical difficulty—evidently Bjorkenheim's cable loosened from its socket, perhaps that "spark" Parker referred to?!—that forced the guitarist to bypass his pedal board. The switch, and then switch back after he realized the issue, served as a 'movement' in a 'suite' that never lost an ounce of momentum. In another seamless 'movement,' the guitarist showed off the bowing of his low E string, a technique he's developed and mastered from playing the Moroccan monochord rabab fiddle instrument. The second much shorter piece (at just over 5 minutes) found Parker on the Armenian zurna (related to the shawm, an oboe predecessor) with Bjorkenheim inserting a short metal piece under his strings, an effect closely resembling more an electric kora choir than guitar. It must be said with this group, cliche as it may be - their music continues to prove itself beyond category, the utmost of complements.

Another Finnish mainstay making multiple appearances was veteran tenor saxophonist/flutist Juhani Aaltonen, playing in a slight variation of Nordic Trinity (drummer Mikka Kallio in place of Klaus Suonsaari), and in a duo for the ages with drummer Reiska Laine. Though their association goes back 40 years, they had only played off and on in larger contexts, never as a pair. In descending lapse of time, they ascended from the opening 25-minute spontaneously improvised piece to a near-15 minute rendition of "Lush Life" which has arguably never been given such a tumultuous, yet voluptuous and emotional reading. The pair then closed with a 5-minute improvisation, showcasing overblown harmonics along with a rhythmic ferocity of give and take that left listeners in astonishment. These two valiantly continue and unquestionably add to a tradition that some may argue was originated in the studio with Coltrane and Rashied Ali's 1967 Interstellar Space duos.

At Old Customs Hall, Mikko Innanen's Innkvisitio - featuring three multi- reedmen: the leader (soprano/baritone/alto), Fredrik Ljungkvist (tenor/clarinet) and Daniel Erdmann (tenor/baritone) with pianist/keyboardist Seppo Kantonen and drummer Joonas Rippa—offered an endless amount of color combinations and possibilities (including the quintet's double baritone and tenor frontline). Complex, perhaps over-written, original compositions (including two Yusef Lateef dedications) seemed to handcuff the hornmen into seemingly an over-reliance of sheet music, rare being the opportunity to veer off into looser, uncharted territory. However, stellar solos were played by each the hornmen, and the intricate arrangements accentuated the colorful harmonies of the group's unique instrumentation.

The two non-reedmen from the above-mentioned group also played as an organ-drum duo (calling themselves Kahden Miehen Galaxy—or "Two Men Galaxy") at Telakka simultaneous with the first snowfall of the season. Rippa ripped into one break after another, even leaving organist Kantonen unaccompanied on several occasions. The set was dominated by mostly the organist's compositions, too, such as "Matti Palasi Mervin Luo" (featuring segmented improvisations that weaved around an omnipresent spacey theme commonly utilized as a springboard), "Manhir J.R." (venturing from the more characteristic organ grooves, and instead featuring more an experimental side akin to MMW, with Rippa's feathery brushwork an undercurrent for the organist's tapestry of soft but effective effects), "Jazz 123" (with opening and closing Monk "Pannonica" references) and "Lost in Fjords" (its inherent and intentional redundancy seductively trance-inducing).

Of the four US bands, three played Old Customs Hall and had strong showings. The exploratory Trio M - Myra Melford (piano), Mark Dresser (bass) and Matt Wilson (drums)—performing now four years from their first live gig together and in midst of a European tour—continues to turn out one mesmerizing set after another, revealing their deep empathy while equally balancing composition with improvisation. Each member is readily equipped to do anything at any given moment, from soloing to laying out to changing tempo, the three moving as one, always. Their performances—music primarily from their 2007 debut Big Picture (Cryptogramophone) including two dedications: the bassist's "For Bradford" (composed for friend and previous employer cornetist Bobby Bradford) and the drummer's "Naïve Art" (for mentor Paul Motian)—enthralled the sold-out audience with nary a dull moment, marking a definite apex in this year's programming (or any programming for that matter that incorporates this group).

Drummer Mike Reed, in his first-ever visit to Finland, brought his People, Places & Things band (with Tim Haldeman-tenor, Greg Ward-alto, Jason Roebke-bass), playing mostly swinging '50s-'60s period Chicago- themed dedications, each hovering around a respectable six minutes including "Status Quo" (from the group's Proliferation but found originally on another interlocking saxophone occasion, the classic John Gilmore/Clifford Jordan Blowing in from Chicago session) and Sun Ra's "Saturn" (featuring Reed at his most colorful while maintaining a wrist-busting tempo). On "Is It," the leader worked demanding swing rhythms around his solid right-hand ride cymbal. Solos here, as was common through most pieces, moved from tenor to alto, each saxman allowed to play as in or out, together or separate, as they pleased and— unlike Innanen's ensemble—without sheet music to anchor their flights of fancy.

Dave Douglas' acoustic quintet (with saxophonist Donny McCaslin, pianist Uri Caine, bassist Matt Penman and drummer Clarence Penn) performed original compositions such as the trumpeter's "Rain on My Parade" encore dedication to Misha Mengelberg with its inherent "On The Sunny Side of the Street" feel good vibe and a false ending that fooled half the crowd into premature applause (something Misha would have taken enjoyment in).

And Dr. Lonnie Smith's exquisite blues- and groove-drenched late-night organ trio set (with guitarist Jonathan Kreisberg and the drummer graced with blurring mechanical wrists - Jamire Williams) brought the roof down, energizing an ecstatic Tulliklubi crowd with renditions of "Backtrack," Eddie Harris' "Freedom Jazz Dance," "Willow Weep For Me" and the Beatles' "Come Together," unquestionably a festival highlight. It was mid-set, as a matter of fact, this correspondent suddenly realized the significance of the complementing extravagant (if not over the top) aforementioned smoke and light stage shows, and only locals or those initiated would make the following connection. The day before my departure I was taken to experience my first-ever true Finnish sauna, including a dip in one of the literally freezing lakes right after withstanding 8- 10 minutes of sheer sauna heat (repeat 3-5 times depending on your endurance and will power!). If you can imagine the steam that rises from your (mind and) body when traveling between the two extremes, you're now getting a good idea of what I've observed and am speaking of!

The Finns sure know how to appreciate good music, and—speaking from personal experience - Tampere saunas on and off the stage are a great place to start.

Photo Credit
Photos by Laurence Donohue-Greene (except Juhani Aaltonen/Reiska Laine by Maarit Kytöharju)

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