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Highlights include;…a subtle acoustic performance by Esa Pietilä group. The quintet was very nice. Young, very well educated musicians with a modern and personal touch and also with an attitude of not fearing to take musical risks when needed…
Tenor saxophonist Esa Pietilä´s case is the advanced modal sound that Miles Davis explored with his classic1960´s quintet. But even more; Pietilä and crew do more than mimic second’-hand sounds; they use them to fashion a spookily attractive soundscape. You know where they’re coming from, but that doesn’t mean you’re not interested in where they’re heading. Pietilä has a smooth, smoky tone on tenor and a tart bite on soprano. On both horns he spins out lines that grow directly from the compositions.On “Before Moon”, and “After Moon” he and Bergcrantz exchange phrases and seem to be engaging in a contest to see who can play sweeter. As a composer he’s willing to let his compositions evolve rather than rushing them in to the solo stage. He’s assisted in this by everyone on hand. Given the sense of Miles’ ghost wafting through these proceedings, the brass man on hand better have something interesting to say. No worries here. Bergcrantz fills those shoes admirably. His blowing’s tough and lyrical with a gorgeous softball tone, burning or sighing as the music requires, and the knack for the right effect. Pianist Pessi Levanto is a fluid, cogent pianist who knows how to weave a tasty lick throughout a solo. The rhythm section of Anttila and drummer Markku Ounaskari lays down shifting patterns of color and time absolutely in tune with the compositions. This is one fine session !
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