A really heady live performance from Guru Guru – and a great reminder of how much revolutionary music was being created at the start of the 70s with just the familiar elements of guitar, bass, and drums! With an instrumental lineup that small, you'd think the whole thing would sound very lean – especially away from any added tricks or prog processing in the studio – yet the music is tremendously fierce throughout – on these massive long tracks that are driven by the drums of Mani Neumeir, bass of Uli Trepte, and guitar of Ax Genrich – often with such instrumental power, lyrics aren't needed at all! And if you ever thought prog was about noodling, not hard rocking, this set will definitely change your mind – thanks to the tracks "Stone In", "Bo Diddley", and "Der LSD Marsch". CD

No sonic labyrinth here – just a great set of hard-blown grooves from saxophonist Eero Koivistoinen! The session's a well-focused effort that has Eero working in quartet formation with acoustic piano, bass, and drums – blowing beautiful tones and colors with a slightly angular approach – but always keeping things straight ahead, and working in a deeply expressive mode that mixes some of the slight freedoms of the post-Coltrane generation with sharper lines of players like John Klemmer or Eric Kloss. At times, Eero's work on soprano and sopranino remind us of the recordings by Earl & Carl Grubbs on Muse during the 70s – especially on tracks that pick up a bit of a modal pulse, and stretch out with soaring grace. Titles include "Stress", "Honky Tonky", "Arabeski", "Spring Song", and "Labyrinth". 2CD set features lots of bonus tracks – the bassy breaking "Meat & Potatoes", in two versions, plus eight more alternate takes from the sessions! CD

The rare fourth album from Finnish reed legend Eero Koivistoinen – his first on a proper jazz label, but still a pretty darn obscure set overall! Although only 25 at the time, Eero's already showing a real maturity in both his solo structures, and his overall conception of his music – sounds that have a sophistication that shows his strong musical education as a youth, but which also open up to all these freewheeling modes that mark Koivistoinen as a player at the forefront of changes taking place on the Finnish scene! There's a few fusion touches here and there – great electric piano from Eero Ojanen, and guitar from Lance Gunderson – but balanced nicely with the bold acoustic currents from Eero on tenor and soprano sax, and work from Tappi Luuppola on trumpet, Juhani Aalto on trombone, and Pekky Poyry on alto. The groove is a more jazz-based take on territory that would soon show up on the Love Records label, but graced throughout by Eero's wonderful phrasing – on titles that include "Bye Bye/Hello", "The Original Sin", "Both & And", "Summersea", and "Sinner". LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible collection of modern jazz from Finland – a set that brings together four different releases, all originally issued only as on vinyl as 7" single EPs! First up is an early set from saxophonist Eero Koivistoinen – very freewheeling material that's in a 60s modern legacy that might include Sonny Rollins and Ornette Coleman, but which has a very different spirit – thanks to the sharp tone that Eero gets on alto sax, and the use of cellos on one cut, and congas on another! The core trio features Pekka Sarmanto on bass and Edward Vesala on drums – and titles include "Jappa", "OK Song", and "Spanish Lady & Lovable Miss P". Next is material from a larger group, led by pianist Pentti Hietanen, who also plays a bit of pocket trumpet – in a lineup that includes Stanley Lindroos on tenor, Ilkaa Karumo on alto, Kaj Backlund on trumpet, Teppo Hauto Aho on bass, and Esko Rosnell on drums. The piano-less group has some great horn interplay – on two long titles, "XYX" and "Irwin". The next release features work from both Eero Koivistoinen and Pekka Poyry on alto saxes – each on one track with their own groups, then coming together on a long track at the end! Other musicians include Eero Ojanen on piano, Pekka Sarmanto on bass, and Reino Laine on drums – on the titles "Scamp", "Interruptus", and "Lorna". The last release is probably the most unusual – titled Posotusta Pimputusta Pompotusta – as it features a number of recitations from Tommi Parko, who also sings, and plays guitar and pian – sometimes with sound effects – before later opening the door for contributions from other artists, including Mike Koskinen on trumpet, Philip Donner on piano and recorder, Kalle Lae on guitar, and Pekka Tanskanen on percussion. The tracks are short on this last fourth of the collection – a mixture of jazz and other experimental modes. LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible collection of modern jazz from Finland – a set that brings together four different releases, all originally issued only as on vinyl as 7" single EPs! First up is an early set from saxophonist Eero Koivistoinen – very freewheeling material that's in a 60s modern legacy that might include Sonny Rollins and Ornette Coleman, but which has a very different spirit – thanks to the sharp tone that Eero gets on alto sax, and the use of cellos on one cut, and congas on another! The core trio features Pekka Sarmanto on bass and Edward Vesala on drums – and titles include "Jappa", "OK Song", and "Spanish Lady & Lovable Miss P". Next is material from a larger group, led by pianist Pentti Hietanen, who also plays a bit of pocket trumpet – in a lineup that includes Stanley Lindroos on tenor, Ilkaa Karumo on alto, Kaj Backlund on trumpet, Teppo Hauto Aho on bass, and Esko Rosnell on drums. The piano-less group has some great horn interplay – on two long titles, "XYX" and "Irwin". The next release features work from both Eero Koivistoinen and Pekka Poyry on alto saxes – each on one track with their own groups, then coming together on a long track at the end! Other musicians include Eero Ojanen on piano, Pekka Sarmanto on bass, and Reino Laine on drums – on the titles "Scamp", "Interruptus", and "Lorna". The last release is probably the most unusual – titled Posotusta Pimputusta Pompotusta – as it features a number of recitations from Tommi Parko, who also sings, and plays guitar and pian – sometimes with sound effects – before later opening the door for contributions from other artists, including Mike Koskinen on trumpet, Philip Donner on piano and recorder, Kalle Lae on guitar, and Pekka Tanskanen on percussion. The tracks are short on this last fourth of the collection – a mixture of jazz and other experimental modes. CD

An amazing little record – really beyond categorization, but if we had to try, we might call it a mix of psychedelic jazz, lyrical moments, and other tripped-out touches! At some level, there's a touch of the late 60s soul jazz modes from the US going on here – the point when reedmen started to electrify their playing with a Varitone. Yet at other times, there's a fiercer approach going on – that cross between rock and fusion that was going down in Germany and Scandinavia – but served up on shorter tunes that almost remind us of some of the best electric funky jazz from the Japanese scene of the early 70s! The result is an incredibly memorable set – as deep as it is groovy – and filled with loads of cool instrumental touches and offbeat production that makes them sound even more amazing. Titles inlcude "Oinas", "Kauris", "Vesimies", "Kalat", "Vaaka", "Leijona", "Space Out", "Jousimies", and "Rapu". LP, Vinyl record album

An international gem from Finnish bassist Pekka Pohjola – maybe no surprise, given that the record also features work from Mike Oldfield and Pierre Moerlin too! The presence of both of those players really gave the record a lot of global circulation back in the day – but the core sound is Pekka's own – very much the spirit of some of the hippest Love Records releases from Finland, and that label's groundbreaking blend of jazz fusion and proggish styles! The blend is very different from German or Italian work of the period – instrumentation that's never overdone, and which also includes Pekka on a variety of keyboards and piano too – next to drums and percussion from Moerlin, guitars from Oldfield, and some occasional vocals from Sally Oldfield – who's on two of the album's six tracks, leaving the rest as instrumental. Titles include "Varjojen Varaslahto", "Mathemaatikon Lentonaytos", "Kadet Suoristavat Veden", "Oivallettu Maktalhty", and "Paantaivuttelun Seuraukset". LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic work from one of the hippest bassists on the Scandinavian scene of the early 70s – and a pretty good pianist as well! Pekka Pohjola works here in a classic Love Records blend of fusion instrumentation and proggish focus – on long tracks that feature no vocals at all, but include some really soaring sounds from Pekka Poyry on soprano sax and flute, Jukka Gustavson on organ, Risto Pensola on clarinet, and Reino Laine on drums – all equally well-trained players in both the worlds of jazz and prog, moving perfectly together here under the leadership of Pohjola! Like some of the best Love material of the time, there's a quality here that's very different than Euro prog from more southern scenes – maybe more jazz overall, but also with a flavor that's completely its own. Titles include "Nipistys", "Armoton Idylli", "Metsonpelia", and "Wirtojen Kiharat". LP, Vinyl record album

Never-issued music from this legendary group – recorded by Finnish radio near the start of their career, and making for a fantastic addition to their classic catalog! Tasavallan Presidentti are even more full-on and jamming than on record – still with some of the shorter songs and heavier vocals from Frank Robson, who was with them at their start – but already soaring with guitar from Jukka Tolonen, and work on alto, soprano, and flute from the great Pekka Poyry – who'd later go on to make some great records on his own! The approach is less fusiony and more rocking than the group in the mid 70s – and the set lists here feature a nice array of unusual material. Titles include "Impressions Of India", "Gigolo", "Deep Thinker", "Whirlwind Nightmare", "Going Back", "Ain't Ya Coming Home Babe", "Tis Me Tis You", and "Driving Through". LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe the crowning achievement for legendary Finnish prog group Tasavallan Presidentti – a set that really has things coming together in ways that would separate the group apart from the rest – in a record that's almost all composed by Jukka Tolonen, the legendary guitarist in the group! The tunes have maybe even more of an instrumental focus than before – although new singer Eero Raittinen gets his share of space on the set – and reedman Pekka Poyry is really on fire on a variety of saxes and flute, chopping out these amazing lines that effortlessly blend jazz fusion and prog rock energy. Titles include "Lounge", "Lambertland", "Dance", "The Bargain", "Last Quarters", and "Celebration Of The Saved Nine". CD features the bonus tracks from a single – "Sisaltani Portin Loysin" and "Selva Nakija". CD

A tribute to Marilyn Monroe, but one that's way different than you might expect – as the music here is highly electronic, and often quite dark – served up in a mix of experimental and jazz-based modes by a very unusual Finnish group from the early 70s! The quintet features drummer Edward Vesala on percussion – with Antero Honkanen on electronics and more percussion, Teppo Hauta-aho on bass, Mikael Helasvuo on flute, and Jarmo Sermila on trumpet and organ – all instruments used in very unconventional ways, on songs that might well have sent the original Marilyn screaming from the room! Things are outside, but also quite thoughtful too – a nice mix of electric and acoustic elements used to evoke very moody, modern moments – on titles that include "Painajaisia/Nightmares", "Nuku Itku/A Doll's Cry", "Heraaminen/Awakening", "Lohdutus/Consolation", "Keskiyo/Midnight", and "Myytti Itkee Jalleen/The Myth Is Weeping Again". CD

Finland's been giving us some great funk and soul sounds in recent years, but that legacy stretches back much longer than we might have guessed – to a point that includes all these groovy disco and electronic dance tracks from the 80s! The set's a follow-up to the Satan In Love compilation, which charted similar territory – but this one moves more into a world that's influenced by some of the electro pop modes that were coming out of the UK in the early 80s, with maybe a touch of the European disco of the decade before – especially in the style of some of the female singers here, who could just as easily have been working with Munich Machine, or some of the other German and Italian groups. Lyrics are mostly in Finnish, but the keyboards, drum machines, and basslines are universal – on titles that include "Jossakin Jos Halaut" by Eini, "Jupiter" by Jori Sivonen, "Big & Beautiful" by Visual, "Night Is Like Magic" by Biba, "Hi Jacker" by Buffalo Soldier, "Sormus" by Clifters, "Grandmaster Klaus" by Mad Lindell, "Nuori Inka" by Jarmo Juhani, "Robotin USA" by Vaarallinen Mutanti, "Cold War On The Rocks" by Step On The Other Side, and "Tahdenlento" by Mika Sundqvist. CD

A cool collection of clubby cuts from the Finnish scene – maybe not the biggest hotbed of disco sounds at the end of the 70s, but a nation that's certainly given us some great funk in recent years! Turns out, the funky Finnish legacy goes way back to the 70s – where some of the groups on this collection were tuning out well-crafted cuts that are often arguably a lot warmer than most Euro disco – maybe inspired in part by the strong Finnish fusion scene of a few years before, and turned out here with lots of jazzy elements next to the vocals and familiar grooves. If you dig underground club and rare disco, you'll find plenty to love here – even if some of the cuts are a bit offbeat – and titles include "Discofiilis" by Ernos, "Flying High" by Dance, "Ota" by Pirtta, "Raju Yo Stomp" by Karma, "Queen Of The Night" by Nisa Soraya, "Dancing In The Night" by Caron, "Dance For Your Life" by Bjorninen Band, and "Walking Under Moonlight" by Solar. CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

The rare fourth album from Finnish reed legend Eero Koivistoinen – his first on a proper jazz label, but still a pretty darn obscure set overall! Although only 25 at the time, Eero's already showing a real maturity in both his solo structures, and his overall conception of his music – sounds that have a sophistication that shows his strong musical education as a youth, but which also open up to all these freewheeling modes that mark Koivistoinen as a player at the forefront of changes taking place on the Finnish scene! There's a few fusion touches here and there – great electric piano from Eero Ojanen, and guitar from Lance Gunderson – but balanced nicely with the bold acoustic currents from Eero on tenor and soprano sax, and work from Tappi Luuppola on trumpet, Juhani Aalto on trombone, and Pekky Poyry on alto. The groove is a more jazz-based take on territory that would soon show up on the Love Records label, but graced throughout by Eero's wonderful phrasing – on titles that include "Bye Bye/Hello", "The Original Sin", "Both & And", "Summersea", and "Sinner". CD

A really unusual setting for reedman Sonny Simmons – a set that's quite different than his spiritual avant classics, as it has him working with the rockish trio Moksha Samnyasin! Yet the sound is still quite spiritual, too – as the tracks are long, open, and extremely evocative – each with very poetic titles, and a sound that mixes the brooding electric bass of Thomas Bellier with lighter lines on sitar from Michel Kristof – creating a balance that's perfect for the exploratory notes that Simmons brings to the music on Cor Anglais and alto sax! Drummer Sebastien Bismuth can play with a heavy sound at times – kicking in dark energy that unites him with the bass – but our favorite moments are when he's more laidback, and working more with percussion and electronics, and letting Simmons dominate the lead more strongly. Titles include "Help Them Through This World", "We Are Entering The Place Of That", "When It Comes I Don't Fight It", and "I Put It In A Dark Area Where I Can't Remember No More". CD

Never-issued music from this legendary group – recorded by Finnish radio near the start of their career, and making for a fantastic addition to their classic catalog! Tasavallan Presidentti are even more full-on and jamming than on record – still with some of the shorter songs and heavier vocals from Frank Robson, who was with them at their start – but already soaring with guitar from Jukka Tolonen, and work on alto, soprano, and flute from the great Pekka Poyry – who'd later go on to make some great records on his own! The approach is less fusiony and more rocking than the group in the mid 70s – and the set lists here feature a nice array of unusual material. Titles include "Impressions Of India", "Gigolo", "Deep Thinker", "Whirlwind Nightmare", "Going Back", "Ain't Ya Coming Home Babe", "Tis Me Tis You", and "Driving Through". CD

You may not be able to pronounce the name of Tasavallan Presidentti easily – but man, they're one heck of a group – a key combo from the Finnish scene of the 70s, and one that effortlessly blends together jazz and rock modes, but with a sound that's very different than most other music of its type at the time! At the core, these guys are tremendous musicians – a lineup with the great Jukka Tolonen on guitars and keyboards, and Pekka Poyry on saxes and flute – both players whose dexterity is balanced nicely by some rhythms that move between funky passages and more freewheeling moments – all topped with great vocals from Eero Raittinen, who's got this fluid way of moving with the groove! Titles include "Confusing The Issue", "How To Start A Day", "Piece Of Mind", "Jelly", and "Caught From The Air". CD

You may not be able to pronounce the name of Tasavallan Presidentti easily – but man, they're one heck of a group – a key combo from the Finnish scene of the 70s, and one that effortlessly blends together jazz and rock modes, but with a sound that's very different than most other music of its type at the time! At the core, these guys are tremendous musicians – a lineup with the great Jukka Tolonen on guitars and keyboards, and Pekka Poyry on saxes and flute – both players whose dexterity is balanced nicely by some rhythms that move between funky passages and more freewheeling moments – all topped with great vocals from Eero Raittinen, who's got this fluid way of moving with the groove! Titles include "Confusing The Issue", "How To Start A Day", "Piece Of Mind", "Jelly", and "Caught From The Air". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful CD from Swedish jazz legend Monica Zetterlund – a record that's quite different than most of her earlier work, and done in an style that's part jazz, part folksy, part experimental – showing the changing modes of expression of the cutting edge European jazz vocal scene of the 70s! Tracks have a really great approach – often making good use of percussion to create skittish rhythms that have a slightly loungey feel, but which are also carried off in a style that's far from cheesy. All lyrics are in Swedish, but Monica's presentation of the material is more than compelling enough to make us forget the language difference – and titles include "Vals I Mejram", "Du", "Det Finns Ju Faktiskt Telefon", and "Svartvit Kalypso". CD