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  | PARONI PAAKKUNAINEN ~ BARITONE
DRAGON ~ FINLAND ~ Jazz
Recorded: 2001 Released: 2002
This is a beautiful album by Finnish baritone saxophonist Paroni PaakkunainenFind albums by this artist, recorded with Finnish bassist Pekka SarmantoFind albums by this artist, drummer Reino LaineFind albums by this artist and trumpeter Tero SaartiFind albums by this artist and Swedish baritone saxophonist Peter GullinFind albums by this artist, pianist Lars SjostenFind albums by this artist, bassist Filip AugustsonFind albums by this artist and drummer Bosse SoderbergFind albums by this artist. The album presents eleven tracks, seven of which are studio recordings by the Finnish Radio and four are live recordings. Seven of the tracks are original compositions by Paakkunainen, one is by Sjosten and three are by the great late Swedish saxophonist Lars GullinFind albums by this artist and father of Peter Gullin.
Paakkunainen is one of the Godfathers of modern Finnish Jazz and he participated in many groundbreaking Jazz recordings in the 1970s and 1980s. He was also very active on the Finnish Progressive Rock scene. Sadly, his solo recording output is rather limited and this is one of the few examples of his work as a leader.
The music on this album is all Jazz oriented and reflects the excellent level of Scandinavian Jazz, which was already highly developed by the 1960, mostly due to the fact that many American Jazz musicians visited often and played in concert halls and local clubs, which is also widely documented by many recordings made by American Jazz stars in Sweden.
Finnish Jazz developed on a more independent path, always centered on originality and search of new routes to be explored, which in retrospect produced some of the finest early modern European Jazz, including explorations of Free Jazz and Improvised Music.
However, this album is mostly highly melodic mainstream Jazz, which focuses on the excellent compositions by Paakkunainen and the wonderful interplay between these matured and highly experienced musicians.
Overall, this is an excellent opportunity to get exposed to a great Finnish musician, who was usually behind the scenes. Lovers of the baritone saxophone and Scandinavian Jazz should find this album very rewarding.
| | Updated: 29/07/2023Posted: 29/07/2023 | CD 1 Recommend To A Friend |
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