On it's second release, Kalle Kalima & K-18 continue to present composer and guitarist Kalle Kalima's aural impressions of the world of movies. Whereas their first album (Some Kubricks of Blood, TUM CD 022) included Kalima's compositions inspired by Stanley Kubrick's films, Out to Lynch presents his reflections on some of director David Lynch's key movies, such as Blue Velvet, Eraserhead, Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive, The Elephant Man, Twin Peaks and Wild at Heart. With this recording, Berlin-based Kalle Kalima, who is best known for his work with three different trios (Klima Kalima, Johnny La Marama and Momentum Impakto), his solo project Kalle Kalima Pentasonic and his collaborations with the likes of Marc Ducret, Linda Sharrock, Sirone, Tomasz Stanko, Simon Stockhausen and Jimi Tenor, has created another unique album that is rich in sonic colors and constantly alternating moods.Featured with K-18 are again saxophonist Mikko Innanen, bassist Teppo Hauta-aho and accordionist Veli Kujala, each an acknowledged master of his chosen instrument. The quartet's uncompromising approach to improvisation combines elements from free jazz, modern classical music and even avant-garde rock that prove particularly well suited for these reflections on the world of David Lynch.

And It Happened. The Music of Henrik Otto Donner includes eight compositions by the legendary Finnish composer, arranger and trumpeter Henrik Otto Donner (1939-2013). As Donner passed away shortly before the release of this recording, it also became the last recording of his music with Donner himself deeply involved in the project. Donner's compositions are performed by TUMO, a 33-member orchestra comprised of leading Finnish improvisers that is here in it's second outing following it's first, highly acclaimed recording with composer and trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, Occupy the World (TUM 37). This time, TUMO includes a 12-member string section, led by Donner while the rest of the orchestra was led by Mikko Hassinen. The principal soloist is master saxophonist/flutist Juhani Aaltonen, Donner's alter ego on the tenor saxophone and his collaborator for five decades, who is featured on the tenor saxophone on three extended instrumental compositions as well as on the alto flute and the tenor saxophone on two of the four songs performed by vocalist Johanna Iivanainen. Finally, as the closing track, TUMO alone performs a new arrangement of the first composition by Henrik Otto Donner ever recorded, "For Friends and Relatives", that closes the album just as it closed Donner's first recording in 1965.

TAKE IT WITH ME

(7-CD set) String Quartets Nos. 1-12 focus on Wadada Leo Smith as a composer for strings. Smith began work on his first string quartet in 1965 and has composed string quartets and other works for strings throughout his career. Smith has also featured strings on a number of his other major works, including Ten Freedom Summers in 2011, Occupy The World in 2012 (TUM CD 037-2) and Rosa Parks: Pure Love in 2016/17 (TUM CD 057).String Quartets Nos. 1-12 represent a magnificent addition not only to Smith's own recorded output but also to the literature for modern string quartet music in general. Compositions vary from relatively brief, one-part quartets of highly evocative and at times meditative soundscapes to the groundbreaking "String Quartet No. 11" that fills two discs with it's nine movements. String Quartets Nos. 1-12 were recorded by the RedKoral Quartet. The group was brought together by Smith during his tenure at CalArts and was featured on the recording of Ten Freedom Summers more than a decade ago and again on Rosa Parks: Pure Love as well as on numerous live performances of Smith's string quartets and other works over the past decade. In addition, featured soloists on the recording include harpist Alison Bjorkedal ("String Quartet No. 4"), pianist Anthony Davis ("String Quartet No. 6"), percussionist Lynn Vartan ("String Quartet No. 6"), guitarist Stuart Fox ("String Quartet No. 7") and voice artist Thomas Buckner ("String Quartet No. 8") as well as Wadada Leo Smith himself on trumpet ("String Quartet No. 6" and "String Quartet No. 8").

Bamako is the first recording of the OGJB Quartet, a cooperative group that features four long established leaders in modern improvised music, saxophonist Oliver Lake, cornetist Graham Haynes, bassist Joe Fonda and drummer Barry Altschul. Each is also a c

Da Bang! Was recorded in February 2011 just two months before the master violinist Billy Bang succumbed to cancer. In this final session the Billy Bang Group featured one extended composition by Bang Daydreams, as well as compositions by some of Bang's favorite musicians including Barry Altschul Don Cherry Ornette Coleman Miles Davis and Sonny Rollins. For Da Bang! The Billy Bang Group featured legendary trombonist Dick Griffin as well as Bang's regular accompanists in his final period pianist Andrew Bemkey bassist Hilliard Greene and drummer Newman Taylor-Baker.

The Olavi Trio consists of bassist Teppo Olavi Hauta-aho, trombonist Jari Olavi Hongisto and drummer Niilo Olavi Louhivuori, who share not only the same middle name but also a mutual love for free improvisation. Collectively, they represent Finnish improvisers of the past three generations, with Hauta-aho having already risen to the forefront of the music in the 1960s, Hongisto in the 1980s and Louhivuori in the beginning of the new millennium. Whereas the Olavi Trio's first album (TUM 26) featured some of their best friends, Juhani Aaltonen, Kalle Kalima and Verneri Pohjola, as special guests, their second focuses on what audiences have come to love in their live performances, namely, open and equalitarian trio improvisation. Oh, la Vie! Includes 12 compositions that were either spontaneously improvised in the studio or improvised using as a starting point themes composed by the trio's members. Like the Olavi Trio's first album, this one also closes with a song closely associated with their namesake, singer Olavi Virta, as "Kun Ilta Ehtii" gets a unique interpretation.

Mother Tongue is the first recording of the Juhani Aaltonen Trio, founded in 2001. In addition to saxophonist and flautist Juhani Aaltonen, the trio includes Ulf Krokfors on bass and Tom Nekljudow on drums. For this album, the Juhani Aaltonen Trio was recorded at Helsinki's Kanneltalo during a concert held in the fall of 2002 towards the end of a nine-concert tour. The recording includes free-flowing improvised music principally based on compositions by Juhani Aaltonen. In addition to original compositions, the trio performs it's own version of the evergreen "Nature Boy". Just as it does on it's own original material, the trio puts it's own unique stamp on this standard made immortal by Nat King Cole, which has since become one of the calling cards of Juhani Aaltonen. Mother Tongue received the Emma Award presented to the Best Finnish Jazz Recording of the Year in 2003.

Strings Revisited revives and revamps the sound of Strings, a now-classic recording by Juhani Aaltonen and Otto Donner released in 1976, which is one of the cornerstones of modern Finnish jazz. Strings Revisited was born from the idea of building on the music of the original album in order to create new music. Three compositions from it were recorded in new contemporary arrangements and Henrik Otto Donner created three totally new compositions for saxophone and strings. Only very few recordings in the history of jazz have combined free improvisation with the lush sound of a string ensemble in such a contemporary manner as this recording and it's predecessor. Besides Juhani Aaltonen, Strings Revisited also features jazz legends Reggie Workman on bass and Andrew Cyrille on drums and the Avanti! Chamber Orchestra, a highly acclaimed modern string ensemble here conducted by the composer Henrik Otto Donner.

Stella Nova is the first solo recording by pianist Esa Helasvuo one of the trailblazers in Finnish improvised music in over 20 years. The recording comprises ten delicate improvisations with emphasis very much on ballads. Three are based upon earlier compositions by Helasvuo himself and one on a classic Finnish tango Satumaa, by Unto Mononen whereas the other six were created in the moment at the M2 (YLE) Studio in Helsinki Finland. Esa Helasvuo belongs to the same first generation of Finnish improvising musicians as saxophonists Juhani Aaltonen Eero Koivistoinen and Seppo Paakkunainen bassist Teppo Hauta-aho and drummer Edward Vesala among others with whom he often performed particularly earlier in his career in the late 1960s and the 1970s. Stella Nova also marks the 40th Anniversary of the publication of Helasvuo's first recording as a leader in 1973.

(2-CD set) Conversations presents two Finnish jazz icons, saxophonist Juhani Aaltonen and pianist Heikki Sarmanto, in an extended musical conversation - an open dialogue. It is a collection of 16 improvisations either created spontaneously in the studio or by using Sarmanto's compositions and even two standards as a launching pad - nearly two hours of improvised music altogether. Conversations is not their first duo album but it is without a doubt one of their very best, reflecting nearly five decades of shared musical history and their love for improvisation. CD-1 1. When I Was with You (Heikki Sarmanto)2. So Much Happened. (Juhani Aaltonen and Heikki Sarmanto)3. What We Cannot Imagine (Heikki Sarmanto)4.. It Happened Today (Juhani Aaltonen and Heikki Sarmanto)5. Le Petit Soldat (Heikki Sarmanto)6. Just Like a Dream (Juhani Aaltonen and Heikki Sarmanto)7. You and the Night and the Music (Arthur Schwartz - Howard Dietz)8. Evening Prayer (Heikki Sarmanto)CD-2 1. from Nothing (Heikki Sarmanto)2. No Work Bound Me (Heikki Sarmanto)3. Free Souls (Juhani Aaltonen and Heikki Sarmanto)4. The Sea in the Moonlight (Heikki Sarmanto)5. War Trane (Heikki Sarmanto)6. Peace Talks (Juhani Aaltonen and Heikki Sarmanto)7. Alone Together (Arthur Schwartz - Howard Dietz)8. Evening Haze (Heikki Sarmanto)

BUNUEL DE JOUR

Olavi Trio's Teppo Olavi Hauta-aho (bass), Jari Olavi Hongisto (trombone) and Niilo Olavi Louhivuori (drums) share the same middle name and a mutual love for free improvisation. All three Olavi's are well-respected members of the Finnish improv and jazz scenes. The trio's senior Teppo Hauta-aho has been active since the early 1960's and has been heard in Edward Vesala's, Anthony Braxton's and Cecil Taylor's many ensembles, among others. Trombonist Jari Hongisto paid his dues with Edward Vesala's Sound & Fury and performs with the Iro Haarla Quintet. The youngest of the three, drummer Olavi Louhivuori, first became known through Ilmiliekki Quartet and is currently a member of Tomasz Stanko's quintet and Sun Trio.With the help of guests Verneri Pohjola (trumpet), Juhani Aaltonen (saxophone) and guitarist Kalle Kalima, Olavi Trio is constantly on the search of the holy trinity of the wisdom of improvisation, reaching for the moment and obtaining collegial harmony.

The 3dom Factor is a group made up of drummer Barry Altschul, a veteran of highly influential groups with Paul Bley, Anthony Braxton, Chick Corea and Sam Rivers, among others; saxophonist Jon Irabagon, one of today�s leading young players particularly known as the leader of his own groups and as a member of Mostly Other People Do the Killing; and bassist Joe Fonda, Altschul�s companion in the FAB Trio (TUM 28) with late violinist Billy Bang, a veteran of Anthony Braxton�s groups and a leader or co-leader of many of his own ensembles. After it's first album, The 3dom Factor (TUM 32), the trio has grown together as a true group through frequent performances. As a result, whereas the earlier album featured Altschul's compositions, their second album, Tales of the Unforeseen, focuses on collective improvisation. The new album was recorded in New York City following another Northeastern tour by the trio and was put together by Altschul as a suite of spontaneous improvisations and versions two borrowed compositions very familiar to Altschul from his past, Thelonious Monk's "Ask Me Now" and Annette Peacock's "Miracles".

Some Kubrick's of Blood is the first recording of K-18, an ensemble led by Berlin-based Finnish guitarist Kalle Kalima. Inspired by the work of director Stanley Kubrick, the albums tracks refer to different locations found within the auteur's celebrated films, rather than scenes or films per se. The quartet's personal touch and a remarkable sense of unity create a sonic entity well suited for representing the moody and immensely surprising world of Kubrick. Kalle Kalima electric and acoustic guitars, Mikko Innanen alto, soprano and baritone saxophones, Veli Kujala quarter-tone accordion, Teppo Hauta-aho double bass.