Aki Rissanen Aleatoric

Aki Rissanen: piano
Robin Verheyen: saxophones
Markku Ounaskari: drums

The albums of the Aleatoric trio released by Eclipse Music are the music of the moment. The albums were recorded improvising, relying on the first takes. This is what the band’s name refers to: music that is created through controlled randomness.

The albums Aleatoric and Songs For Solstice, which rely on the magic of a moment, present pianist Aki Rissanen’s Finnish-Belgian trio, which includes saxophonist Robin Verheyen and drummer Markku Ounaskari.

However, the described principle of making a disc is not new, on the contrary. Most of the greatest classics in the history of jazz music were recorded quickly, in a day or two, and they capture almost like a photograph some magical moment in the development of that band or musician. Aleatoric is a perfect example of this. It is new, fresh, but fundamentally and method of doing is deep in the jazz tradition.

Pianist Aki Rissanen, who is very influential in France today, is one of the most interesting mid-generation jazz musicians in domestic jazz. Along with his own praised solo and group projects (four albums with Aki Rissanen Trio and a solo piano album for the British Edition Records, Emma award for the best album 2017), he is known for collaborations with e.g. with Dave Liebman, Verneri Pohjola, Rick Margitza, Mikko Hassisen, Lauri Porra and the UMO Jazz Orchestra.

Rissanen’s long-time collaborator, saxophonist Robin Verheyen, also represents the modern generation of international jazz musicians. Verheyen, who lives in France, is known around the world as an exceptionally expressive saxophonist and brilliant composer. The Belgian-born musician currently works mainly in Europe and New York, e.g. in Marc Copland’s band. Drummer Markku Ounaskari is one of the most important drummers in European jazz. Recording for the legendary ECM record company, Ounaskari brings depth to the band’s sound brought by extensive experience.

Photo: Piki Lappalainen

Aki’s home page

The concert is supported by City of Helsinki, Svenska Kulturfonden, The Finnish Music Foundation and The Arts Promotion Centre Finland (Taike).