Welcome to Rainbows in the Dark! This is a new series where we take the odd moment to indulge in our non-metal listening interests and share our thoughts with you. Could be new stuff, could be old stuff, but it’ll always be something out of the ordinary. Or at least, out of our ordinary. So that being said, let’s broaden our horizons a bit and get into it, shall we?

When you think of traditional jazz you might think of New Orleans. Or if you’re more into Parker’s bebop of the mid 1940’s or Horace Silver’s hardbop of roughly 1954-1965, you might think of Harlem. A place that you don’t often think about is Finland. Sure, Europe, Canada, Scandinavia and even Africa had hosted annual jazz festivals but historically, there haven’t been as many artists of significance hailing from these regions. (In each case, it was mostly American artists being brought over to perform their craft.) Well, that’s all changed.

On February 27, Svart Records—yes, a metal label—released the Eero Koivistoinen Quartet’s new album, Hati Hati. The Keith Jarrett influences are obvious not only from pianist Alexi Tuomarila, but also in the writing and arranging of Finland native Eero Koivistoinen. The comparison’s only hammered home further when the quartet covers Bob Dylan’s “Times They Are A-Changing,” as Jarrett himself covered Dylan’s “My Back Pages” on his 1968 release, Somewhere Before.

Other tracks like “Moz” reveal Koivistoinen’s time spent working with musicians in Africa.  The Afro-Cuban rhythms reveal a heightened cultural awareness and borrow lightly from Horace Silver’s work on the 1964 release Song for My Father. Koivistoinen’s saxophone work is modular but remarkably clean for the format, and his ability to harmonize over progression shows why he is one of the most revered modern players around.

Despite his extensive work as a sideman, Koivistoinen’s at his best when given the command of a group where he’s able to arrange his compositions as he sees fit.  Hati Hati is a very strong effort from a long-standing, and well-deserving, musician.

-Manny-O-War