Edward Vesala
I'm Here
*Limited edition of 500 copies* Drummer and composer Edward Vesala, the most internationally renowned jazz musician from Finland, was very keen on percussion instruments. Oddly enough, this broad and enduring interest is hardly evident on his albums.Whether playing on his own albums or contributing to other musicians’ work, Vesala played a standard drum kit most of the time. He hardly used external percussionists on his own albums either. And most of all: his music was almost never percussive, a…
Nana
Drummer Edward Vesala was an early Finnish pioneer of avant garde jazz, and he managed to release this lovely LP that has to be considered the first proper Finnish free jazz album in 1970. The Vesala trio was supposed to be a quartet, but trumpetist Mike Koskinen fell ill, and the remaining exploratory trio (Vesala, saxophonist Juhani Aaltonen and bassist Arild Andersen) recorded the album in a short, fiery session. The album Nana is an absolute rarity as well as an absolute beauty. As with many…
Ode to Marilyn
Black vinyl, 500 copies. This collection of experimental recordings was originally released on Scandia, one of Finland’s largest labels, which shows how open the mood of the mid-seventies was for new things, even in large-scale record companies. Ode to Marilyn, based on a group of recordings from 1973, is a sophisticated gem of experimental music. The recording sessions resulted in the material on the album, which is a coherent and balanced package and is a combination of avant-garde, improvisat…
Jazz Liisa 17
In January 1973 an impromptu supergroup took over the airwaves on the Jazz Liisa series. Saxophonist Juhani Aaltonen, pianist Esa Helasvuo, join bassist Teppo Hauta-Aho and drummer Edward Vesala in a special one-of-a-kind show of contemporary, revolutionary jazz.
Jazz Liisa 18
The final part of the Jazz Liisa series sees the extraordinary cult percussion artist Edward Vesala lead a 9-piece ensemble. Recorded in 1974, shortly before the recording of his legendary Nan Madol album, this is a rare chance to hear Vesala live on air during his early creative period.
Nykysuomalaista - Contemporary Finnish
It seems bizarre that this LP’s original copy was pressed in such low numbers in 1969 that it has become an unusually expensive and wanted collector’s item that hasn’t been repressed on vinyl (and never released on CD) until now. Soulset were, after all, in the late 1960s one of the most popular pop groups in Finland. Their recorded legacy is relatively short, and when this split LP was released, Soulset were already about to call it a day. Here Soulset perform five fine cuts of jazzy Fenno-soul…
More Arctic Hysteria / Son of Arctic Hysteria
...The later years of early Finnish avant-garde. Another incredible volume, following the inspiration and eye-opening 2001 CD Arktinen hysteria -- Suomi-avantgarden Wsipuutarhureita. Perfectly packaged document of more utterly obscure electronic mayhem and theatrical intoxication, presented as near-high-art. Now covered are the 1970s and 1980s. 34 artists. Featuring a lavishly illustrated leaflet of 20 pages. Compiled by Jukka Lindfors. Featuring Jimi Tenor, Läjä Äijälä and early Mika Vainio (Pa…