Jukka Eskola (2005)

When you pick up a copy of Finnish trumpeter Jukka Eskola’s debut album, the first thing that catches the eye is the stylish artwork. Ricky-Tick has brought back the classic minimalist Blue Note–flavoured artwork, which used to be the visual style of the “golden era” of jazz in the 1950’s and 60’s. This release follows the chosen path remarkably well, even though it is actually released by Free Agent Records rather than Ricky-Tick, which in turn released Eskola’s first 12” earlier this year. It is a delight to discover that the actual music lives up to the standards set by the great artwork.

Many listeners probably know Eskola from his work with Nuspirit Helsinki, The Five Corners Quintet, and Teddy Rok Seven. Thus, great expectations had already been built up before his debut release. It is interesting to note that the line-up on Eskola’s debut is almost identical to that of The Five Corner Quintet’s “official” live setting. Here, Jukkis Uotila takes Mikael Jakobsson’s place on piano – otherwise the cast remains the same. That doesn’t imply an identical sound, of course, particularly when considering that Tuomas Kallio is the musical mastermind behind the FCQ studio sound, whereas Eskola’s album is produced by Teppo “Teddy Rok” Mäkynen. Eskola and Mäkynen also share the composing credits and, needless to say, Teddy Rok occupies the drummer’s seat as well.

It is clear that Eskola’s playing is influenced by Freddie Hubbard. This is also self-proclaimed by Eskola himself. He states Hubbard’s ‘Little Sunflower’ as an influence to one of the album’s highlights, ‘Buttercup’. Educated listeners will also pick up the reference to Roy Ayers’ ‘Everybody Loves the Sunshine’ on ‘Timber Up’. Another highlight right there, by the way. When talking about standout tracks on the album, the Teddy Rok-composed ‘1974’ was the tune that first caught my ear early on, and the appeal hasn’t worn out. That’s good news for all the vinyl junkies out there: it can be found on the flipside of the highly recommended ‘Buttercup’ 12”. Eskola’s full-length, on the other hand, has only been released on CD thus far.

To sum up, Eskola’s debut is definitely promising. It includes a handful of excellent tracks and displays a bunch of young top-class musicians on the rise. The only problem is that the album somewhat fails to maintain the intensity of the best tracks all the way through. However, this is still a release worth getting into. That goes especially for all those interested in the new wave of Finnish jazz and the vital Helsinki scene in particular. (Review courtesy of beyondjazz.net)