Iro Haarla Sextet

(FIN)
contemporary jazz

If the Iro Haarla Quintet’s recent Northbound album sounds very Scandinavian, having three Norwegians playing on it, her acoustic sextet sounds thoroughly Finnish, and a bit more edgy,

since all the players are now Finns. This is a world premier: Haarla’s all original, often quite rhythmic material has not yet been recorded or performed anywhere. Emotional and lyrical are the key

words here.

In her acoustic sextet Iro concentrates on piano and Taiwanese string instrument chen, though she also plays harp, electric piano and synthesizers in other settings. She came to limelight in the late

great Edward Vesala’s mighty Sound & Fury and has later led her own projects that vary from solo piano to duos and larger ensembles, like the more electric tentet Loco Motife, whose co-leader is

bass man Uffe Krokfors. He holds the bottom end also in the sextet. As a pianist Haarla mentions Paul Bley, Thelonious Monk and Bill Evans as her favourites, but over all her greatest musical

inspirator is Mother Nature with her endlessly diverse energy.