The Finnish instrumental prog fusion group led by bassist Tatu Back have released their second album in 2023. But first things first, here's my view on the debut. The composing credits (not given trackwise) are shared by Back, guitarist Markus Venehsalo and drummer Jaakko Pöyhönen. The line-up consists also of Harri Taittonen on Hammond & other keyboards and Marko Salmela on percussion. Two tracks (3, 4) feature slide guitar of Jarkka Rissanen who's not featured on the second album. Those tracks are the most blues-rock oriented, 'Lonkat' containing also funk flavour highlighted by a delicious bass solo.

The nearly 10-minute opening title track (= The journey with all its phases) is among the highlights. The grandiose melodies and thoughtful dynamics in the composition justifies comparisons to classic Fusion artists such as PEKKA POHJOLA or JEFF BECK. The band sound is organic and rich. 'Kevään viimeinen pimeä yö' (= The last dark night of spring) is a slow-tempo piece with a shady, nocturnal atmosphere.

The flat hand-clap intro of 'Sylvi' is luckily followed by strong ensemble playing although the electric guitar stays pretty much in the lead role like it does theoughout the album. Keyboards are left with smaller space to shine. The sixth brief track is practically just an outro, audibly unseparated. Again without a pause starts 'Syvissä' (= In deep) that has a dub/reggae rhythm and sneaks like a thief in a dark alley.

The final piece brings the excellent bass playing to the fore but in the expence of melodic substance, reminding me of Jaco Pastorius' solo works. Technically this is a strong debut but a little unfocused and uneven what comes to compositions.

THE WATERCOLORS is a Finnish act playing compositions of its leader Janne Saarinen, whose instruments are oboe and cor anglais, both very rarely heard in jazz. On this second album he's accompanied by vibraphones, double bass and drums -- like on the debut --, plus violin, viola and cello as later additions to the line-up. I'm not familiar with the first album, but at least La Grande Odyssee is a charming work of purely acoustic Third Stream Jazz combining chamber music and jazz aesthetics in perfect harmony.

The seven pieces of this 42-minute album are between four+ and eight+ minutes in length. 'Aurora (the Dawn)' is perhaps my favourite as it has such "cantabile" melodies. The whole combo sounds inspired. 'Headwaters' is a bit more angular and less flowing as a composition but not without jazzy spirit which is best guaranteed by the vibes.

'Dance of the Cranes' features pizzicato of strings as a basis. The piece is thoughtful and playful simultaeously, as if the wind and string instruments were having a philosophical conversation which is paused by a lighthearted solo for vibes. On the slow and introspective 'Wildflowers' the spotlight lingers on the string trio, and later on the double bass when the others play fewer and fewer notes. Beautiful minimalism.

Another melodic highlight is 'Atlantis' where the vibes nicely increase the jazziness. 'Evening Star' is very delicate in its serenely slow tempo.

This album's music is organic, free-flowing, elegant, sophisticated and intimate. I believe the classically oriented music lovers would easily connect with it even without having strong ties to jazz. The drums are played moderately enough not to break the pastoral-like chamber feel. And vice versa, the jazzheads even without a strong classical orientation may be charmed by the seldom heard and yet the most harmonic combination of the two worlds.

Violin has a peculiar status in my music taste. While I enjoy classical music in general, I'm not fond at all of violin as a solo instrument, and especially the fast, virtuotic solo violin pieces by e.g. Paganini *really* annoy me. But taken to the context of progressive rock or jazz fusion, I tend to enjoy violin very much. I appreciate the music of the legendary fusion violinists Jean-Luc Ponty and Jerry Goodman, the alumni of Mahavishnu Orchestra, so it feels very natural that I enjoy this debut album of the young Finnish, classically trained violinist and composer SAMPO HIUKKANEN (b. 1987).

The mentioned artists offer a good comparison to Bow Code in which violin is accompanied by keyboards, bass and drums. The quartet plays wonderfully together as a tight unit. Nobody is left in a shadow. The biggest star is understandably Hiukkanen's lovely-sounding violin, but the music completely avoids the sour taste of indulgent showing off of one's technical capacity. It is music with a mature substance.

The two-minute 'Introduction' instantly sets the album's fascinating tone and sonic beauty in which the participation of each musician is essential. 'Forest Life' is gorgeous, too. Anssi Tirkkonen's drum work could be compared to Manu Katché, and Sauli Hämäläinen's synthesizers bring a fresh, spatial and at times a mysterious level to the overall sound while the violin is by and large responsible of the terrific, soaring melodies.

The third track 'Gaze' (starting delicately in a way that draws attention to Oskari Siirtola's cool bass) features the sensual vocals and lyrics of Veronika "Veni" Szász. The smooth song -- containing a lengthy instrumental part led by violin -- is a delightful addition to an otherwise instrumental album.

The heavy, r&b reminding beat in 'Heavy Cream' makes the track my least fave of the eight, but on the other hand it expands the album's spectre of moods. 'I' starts with multi-levelled violins in a chamber music style and suddenly turns into something edgier and, in a way, shamanistic or tribal, featuring sharp pizzicato parts and human voice. 'Whales' is a more conventional fusion piece where the violin does both clear melodies and complex, improv-sounding soloing. The repetitive end section perhaps overstays its welcome a bit.

At this point the album craves for ballad-like serenity, and my wish is fulfilled by the melancholic, slow-tempo 'Aviate'. 'Abuh-Ending' has an exciting, other-worldly atmosphere reminiscent of 'Introduction' which neatly ties up the album.

If you enjoy synths added to jazz fusion and violin-playing fusion artists such as Jean-Luc Ponty, you are warmly recommended to check out this album.

PEELA is a Finnish group led by guitarist and composer Johannes Granroth. Their debut album Layers was released in 2018, and since that the line-up has radically changed. On this second full-length album, Granroth and the [female] singing keyboardist Maja Mannila are the only remaining members if you exclude the other saxophonist Sami Leponiemi playing as a guest on five tracks. The core sextet is further joined by a trumpetist on one piece plus an upright bass player on two tracks.

The number of tracks on this nearly 73-minute album is exactly twice as big as on the debut. 14 pieces can be challenging for a single listening session, especially within the Fusion genre, but the music grooves so light-heartedly and happily that one doesn't become exhausted. Peela's funk and soul flavoured music is vivant, outgoing, playful and uplifting, and sophisticated enough not to become tiresome. It functions well also as background music.

It's a benefit for the lengthy whole that there are a few vocal songs amidst the majority of instrumentals (of which some do contain nice wordless singing from Maja). 'Liar' is a funky song with a lively groove. Maja's voice has a suitable hint of r&b. On 'Cross the Line' and the final track 'Let the Music Lead the Way' Granroth is the lead vocalist. The airy and melodic latter piece is among the highlights with its smooth vocal harmonies.

Since most of the pieces are fairly lively and funk-flavoured, the serene 'Silver Lining' is a special delight finished with enjoyable solos for electric bass and trumpet.

The leaflet features the three lyrics and tells how the album was recorded partly live as the whole group, partly one instrument at a time. And the album title's word play: it's either "Not bad", or "Note bath" in Swedish. The group name itself derives from the Swedish verb 'spela', to play. The happy playing together is at the heart of this band's ideology, and the listener is warmly invited into that joyfulness.

Founded in 2001, ASTRO CAN CARAVAN is a Finnish collective using large line-ups on their gigs and albums. Their personal instrumental music could be described as psychedelic, ethnically coloured, occasionally avant-garde oriented Big Band Fusion. I'd like to cite the respected Finnish music journalist Pekka Laine from his review on some ACC album, freely translated: "The caravan that wildly operates in an area loosely bordered by funk, imaginary ethnicity, astral noise and free sound waves succeeds to create an unbelievable bazaar atmosphere. Sometimes with an intensity of a snake charmer, sometimes speaking strange things from a mystic's mouth, and every now and then heading into complete lunacy."

It is possible -- I admit I'm not so deeply into this band -- that this new album is easier to absorb than the earlier ones, rather easy to like if you're into both brass-heaviness and psychedelia. At least the frenziest freak-out moments are kept at bay. Let's have a look at the five pieces here.

The tight 5-minute opener 'Astral Projection' was composed by trumpetist Eero Savela, and it has a strong sense of vintage psychedelic jazz-rock. Saxophonist Pauli Lyytinen's 'Solifer 72' (8:38) has a bit calmer tempo and a hypnotic rhythm pattern evoking images of a camel caravan wandering across a desert. I like the way the reeds are soloing in turns, especially Otto Eskelinen's flute.

Eskelinen's composition 'Se kohiseva koski' (6:57) starts slowly and carefully with a bunch of wind instruments gradually growing bigger, bass playing peacefully on the background, until on the third minute the band gets wilder with a Klezmer/Balkan spirit. Balkan ingredients have always been hard for me to digest, but amidst the repetitive and brassy riff-orientation one can also spot interesting participations of various instruments.

Another Eskelinen tune 'Mustavuoren kuiskaus' is the album's most elegant track. Again there's a steady, groovy rhythm pattern and the players take their moments at front. During the album Emil Luukkonen's keyboards tend to be slightly buried under the multitude of wind instruments, but here the electric piano is crucial in creating a 70's-like jazz-rock atmosphere.

The 12-minute, more epic piece 'Amen Ra' (the third one composed by Otto Eskelinen) proceeds with a "where do we go from here?" kind of free-form jamming where only Janne Mathlin's metallic, sharp percussion keeps repeating its steady pattern til the end. if the track's first half has rather a confused atmosphere, the ensemble playing becomes more unified as the piece progresses in a hypnotic manner. The several wind solos are nicely woven into the overall sound where Arttu Hasu's bass sticks out deliciously (almost like in The Police's 'Demolition Man'). The 1974-78 era JADE WARRIOR comes to my mind for the hypnotic feel. Yeah, this tune is my fave, and the grand finale reminiscent of the one in Ravel's 'Bolero' is a fascinating way to finish it.

Apart from the third track's Balkan ingredients I can enjoy this album pretty well, in the right mood.