Description
Uusi Jazzi Klubi means “New Jazz Club,” which is somewhat ironic considering these musicians have been around the block for quite a while. This is, after all, their second album together.
These sessions date back two years. It was the spring of 2024, and after the initial success of the first UJK album, drummer extraordinaire and prime mover Aleksi Tanhuala called and said he wanted to record another Uusi Jazzi Klubi album with the usual suspects at Jazzaggression’s own Pelto Studio. He had also brought Markus Holkko onboard, and the group was ready to record.
The lineup featured Ilkka Uksila on vibes, Markus Kankkonen on electric bass and effects, Joona Hulmi on piano, rhodes, melodica, and flute, Aleksi Tanhuala on drums, and Markus Holkko on alto saxophone, flute, and Korg Mini S. With Fredrik Lavik as technician, we managed to capture around ten hours of tape. There was no pre-written material — the tape would roll, and the band would begin improvising.
Everyone came away from the weekend energized. The atmosphere had been fantastic, and the band was thrilled with the musical ideas and performances that had been captured. Then came the considerable task of editing and shaping the material into a coherent album. After the initial process of selecting the strongest moments — “we can use this” and “that section works” — the recordings were gradually refined into the six tracks presented here, divided into DAY 1 and DAY 2. You can bag it as Avant-garde music but there is definitely pulse, rhythm and groove here, the album offers a great variety as a whole, moving from meditative modal ambience to groovier uptempo passages and mystical, exotic moods. We dig it and you probably will too, check the audio clip below.
The artwork reflects the green tones of the studio, while each energy point symbolizes an individual member of the band, all functioning together as a whole.
The sleeves are flip-over style, and each copy is hand-numbered from 1 to 350.
