Tonight at noon
(FIN)
modern jazz focusing on Charles Mingus
A mouth-watering treat for all the Mingus fans out there! This quintet was born some three years ago for the sheer love of Mingus. Having collectively arranged the material, they play their favourite compositions by the modern jazz giant, bass player, pianist and composer. You’ll hear tracks like Jump Monk, Pithecanthropus Erectus, Fables of Faubus, Duke Ellington’s Sound of Love and Good Bye Pork Pie Hat, but they might throw in a couple of original compositions in the same vein.
Band leader is the self-taught drummer Andre Sumelius, who has grown up and played a lot in America as well as Finland. He has worked with people, like Jerry Gonzalez, Jorge Rossy, Dayna Stephens and Seamus Blake, plus many Spanish musicians, when he lived in Barcelona. His former band Lift released one album, Kaira. It won the Emma prize for “the Best Jazz Album of 2002”. At the moment Andre is recording his new compositions with a quartet.
Tonight At Noon features some of the best jazz players in Finland. The catch is that while Mingus was a bassist, here the bass duties are handled by organist Mikko Helevä.