PEKKA POHJOLA — Harakka Bialoipokku / B the Magpie

Jazz music community with review and forums

PEKKA POHJOLA - Harakka Bialoipokku / B the Magpie cover
3.95 | 16 ratings | 3 reviews
Buy this album from MMA partners

Album · 1974

Tracklist

1. Alku (2:11)
2. Ensimmäinen aamu (5:31)
3. Huono sää / Se tanssii... (6:49)
4. ...ja näkee unta (4:36)
5. Hereilläkin uni jatkuu (5:41)
6. Sekoilu seestyy (4:17)
7. Elämä jatkuu (7:47)

Total Time: 36:54

Line-up/Musicians

Pekka Pohjola - baixo, piano
Coste Apetrea - guitar (6)
Eero Koivistoinen - sax
Bertil Löfgren - trumpete (2-5)
Paroni Paakkunainen - sax
Tomi Parkkonen - drums, percussion
Pekka Pöyry - sax

About this release

Love Records – LRLP 71 (Finland)

Reissued in UK by Virgin in 1975 as "B the Magpie"

Recorded at Marcus Music, Stockholm (SWE), October 1974

Thanks to snobb for the updates

Buy PEKKA POHJOLA - HARAKKA BIALOIPOKKU / B THE MAGPIE music

More places to buy jazz & PEKKA POHJOLA music

PEKKA POHJOLA HARAKKA BIALOIPOKKU / B THE MAGPIE reviews

Specialists/collaborators reviews

No PEKKA POHJOLAHARAKKA BIALOIPOKKU / B THE MAGPIE reviews posted by specialists/experts yet.

Members reviews

FunkFreak75
Finnish composer and bassist extraordinaire's second coming out party--only this one is much more serious (more like a work party) as the young maestro works out some equations roaming around inside his head.

1. "Alku ~ The beginning" (2:10) solo piano using modal chord progression like a John Coltrane or Magma song. (4.375/5)

2. "Ensimmäinen aamu ~ The first morning" (5:35) bright, cheerful j-r fusion of a proggy inclination--quite a little of a Weather Report feel. Where does Pekka find these great drummers? (I like that he gives them great sound.) The motif established in the second minute has a processional feeling to it--like a jazzed-up classical piece. The next run through the full motif everybody goes more jazz, blurring the "lines" of the original motif quite a bit, but then they all come back together for a tight recapitulation of the original processional. The fourth time through it's the horns (and Pekka's hi-rpm bass) who elevate the song into Zappa Land. So precise and tight! The last time through the band is more relaxed, the notes a little more subdued, yet it sounds so Zappa-like! Excellent composition! (9/10)

3. "Huono sää / Se tanssii... ~ Bad weather / Bialoipokku dances" (6:55) reflective piano-based song--in fact, an étude. The exploration of low end possibilities is the total focus throughout the first two minutes with the horns doing as much work as the piano and bass. It's not until the 2:20s that the melody finally reaches mid- and upper ranges. Another song that could almost be classified under the Zeuhl sub. Even when the music bursts into happy-county fair mode at 4:45 could it still be befitting a Magma or Present song--especially when it soon shifts again into a faster gear. (13.25/15)

4. "...ja näkee unta ~ Bialoipokku's war dream" (4:35) poppy Arthur-like Burt Bacharach music. Very bouncy with a very syncopated bass-and-piano led melody line over very steady rhythm section. Horns jump on board the melody providing volume and accents to the bass-and-piano lines while the drumming moves in and out of military snare work. Interesting and very mathematic. J.S. Bach would love this one, I'm sure. (8.875/10)

5. "Hereilläkin uni jatkuu ~ Bialoipokku's war" (4:42) piano turns CHCAGO! More mathematical jazz-rock of particular interest to those who love complex whole-group arrangements of music that is primarily intent on exploring odd time signatures. A big switch around 3:25 leads into a different-sounding yet-still-CHICAGO-like passage with bass and soprano sax performing the most attention-grabbing duties. Impressive if not as enjoyable or memorable as one would like. (8.875/10)

6. "Sekoilu seestyy ~ The madness subsides" (4:18) rich Fender Rhodes sounding as if it came out of a Smooth pseudo-Jazz pop album like Art Garfunkle or Stephen Bishop. Rich rolling electric piano play matched by melodic bass play beneath supports Coste Apetrea's fine Jan Akkerman-like electric guitar play over the top. Again there is more of an étude feeling to this one--even after 2:55 when it becomes a lone electric bass solo there seems to be some kind of mathematical problem being worked out in Pekka's mind. (8.875/10)

7. "Elämä jatkuu ~ Life goes on" (6:42) a kind of laid-back swing--like the theme for the end of a long day--where Pekka is still working his heart out while the tenor and alto saxes are the only ones that are allowed to loosen up a bit. (8.875/10)

Total Time: 34:57

Compositionally this album is amazing: Pekka is really stretching his wings. Performatively-speaking it's top notch all around--from everyone though the standards are never so high as those Pekka places on himself. But there is less room for playful improvisation within these very tightly written and disciplined songs. Even the melodic--and especially the harmonic--sensibilities are impressive and often quite catchy and enjoyable--it's just that the album has much more of a cerebral feel to it. Hopefully Pekka will have a patch in the future where everybody can just have fun.

B/four stars; an excellent album of artistic "problem solving" of the Jazz-Rock Fusion kind, one that is only lacking a bit in the fun and memorable melody departments.
Warthur
Pekka Pohjola's second solo album sees him growing beyond the influence of Frank Zappa and exerting his own intriguing vision of fusion. The Zappa influence is still there, but on this album Pohjola also shows an ability to slow things down and adopt a more sombre and melancholic mood here, a majestic and uplifting air there. This greater versatility helps distinguish the album from its predecessor and establishes a unique atmosphere which sets it apart from other efforts in the fusion genre, as well as Pohjola's work in Wigwam. Fans of Pohjola's first album will be well advised to check this one out and witness his growth as an artist.
Sean Trane
The pattern of his first album is repeated on his second effort (I don't know if this album was recorded after he left Wigwam or not , however) that got released in the UK as the Magpie. This is to say that the first side is very classicaly oriented much like a sort of chamber rock developped by some RIO artist much later in the 70's (not far away from Univers Zero) but again no clear musical direction appears here. Again , I have a preference for the second more energetic and jazzy side presenting again more of Pohjola's superb bass guitar play as well good brass playing sometimes captivating.

Pohjola's first two album came out as a 2 on 1 cd , unfortunately not doing justice to the artwork but might be an interesting offer, because both albums separately would take too much needed shelf space on the general proghead's collection.

Ratings only

  • JMLaFontaine
  • lunarston
  • Mssr_Renard
  • stefanbedna
  • Jack Revelino
  • Anster
  • Fant0mas
  • Lynx33
  • Dr Dopo
  • progshine
  • BrainStillLife
  • Diego Bezerra
  • toitoi2

Write/edit review

You must be logged in to write or edit review

JMA TOP 5 Jazz ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
A Love Supreme Post Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
Kind of Blue Cool Jazz
MILES DAVIS
Buy this album from our partners
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady Progressive Big Band
CHARLES MINGUS
Buy this album from our partners
Blue Train Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
My Favorite Things Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners

New Jazz Artists

New Jazz Releases

Alberto Nemo, Claudio Milano (with borda), Niccolò Clemente : Frattura, Comparsa, Dissolvenza Jazz Related Improv/Composition
CLAUDIO MILANO (NICHELODEON)
Buy this album from MMA partners
Shapes of Silence (live) World Fusion
ALEPH QUINTET
Buy this album from MMA partners
Horizons Held Close Jazz Related Improv/Composition
TRANCE MAP (EVAN PARKER AND MATTHEW WRIGHT)
Buy this album from MMA partners
Puttin' On the Ritz Classic (1920s) Jazz
THE NEW WONDERS
Buy this album from MMA partners
異響同塵~Different echoes in the same dust~ Jazz Related Improv/Composition
TOSHI TSUCHITORI 土取利行
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Jazz Online Videos

Puttin' On The Ritz
THE NEW WONDERS
js· 12 hours ago
Wet Weather Wet
THE WRONG OBJECT
js· 1 day ago
Michael Kiwanuka - Lowdown (parts i and ii)
MICHAEL KIWANUKA
js· 1 day ago
Notbad
PEELA
js· 2 days ago
More videos

New JMA Jazz Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Jazz News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us