ILMILIEKKI QUARTET: MARCH
OF THE ALPHA MALES (TUM CD 005)
ICO 8:06/ Anchor Song 4:17/ Old May Become New 7:43/ Answer Kalho,
Answer 8:30/ Monastery 2:54/ March of the Alpha Males 5:07/ Melankolinaa
6:33/ Blue Jyväskylä 10:14/ The Tourist 5:30/ What Reason Could
I Give 5:51
Total playing time 64:45
Verneri Pohjola, trumpet and melodica Tuomo Prättälä, piano Antti
Lötjönen, bass Olavi Louhivuori, drums with Jaska Lukkarinen, percussion
(ICO; Old May Become New; Answer Kalho, Answer; March of the Alpha
Males and Blue Jyväskylä)
March of the Alpha Males is the first recording of Ilmiliekki Quartet.
Although founded only in the beginning of 2002, it has already been
named as the Young Artist of the Year 2004 by Finland Festivals.
The ensemble also won the Young Nordic Jazz Comets competition in
summer 2002. The music on this record reflects the foundation around
which the group was originally established: strong, beautiful melodies
and impressionistically open improvisation breaking conventions
while simultaneously embracing a broad variety of musical influences.
The repertoire of this group comprises first and foremost the members’
own compositions, but also of tunes borrowed from versatile influences
ranging from the masters of free jazz, such as Ornette Coleman and
Kenny Wheeler, to the artistically more challenging representatives
of today’s rock music, such as Björk and Radiohead.
March of the Alpha Males was recorded in June 2003 at Kallio-Kuninkala
in Järvenpää, Finland with Miikka Huttunen as the recording engineer.
The recording was mixed by Miikka Huttunen at Mute Studio in Helsinki,
Finland and mastered by Henrik Otto Donner at DER in Tammisaari,
Finland.
March of the Alpha Males is a candidate for the Emma Award granted
by the Finnish National Group of the International Federation of
Phonographic Industry to the best Finnish jazz recording in 2003.