Kokko Quartet: Broken Dream record release concert

Kokko Quartet: Broken Dream

Kokko Quartet is a jazz band founded in Helsinki in 2010, which has performed not only in Finland but also in Australia, Germany and the Czech Republic. From the very beginning, it was clear that the band’s music could not be pigeonholed, it flows lightly across musical genre boundaries. The name of the band contains a reference to Kalevala poetry, where Kokko means a giant eagle. There are also many references to Nordic lyricism in the band’s music, the melodies have both airiness and depth. However, inspiration and influences have come from Indian and Arabic music as well as Cuban rhythms.

The interest in free expression and jazz as well as world music unites the band members. The band has released two albums, Orient Express (Eclipse Music 2016) and Like a River (2013), which have received positive attention in both Finnish and international media.

Kokko Quartet includes following musicians:
Kaisa Siirala: Saxophones and Flutes
Johanna Pitkänen: piano
Timo Tuppurainen: double bass
Risto Takala: drums

Kokko Quartet’s third album Broken Dream was released on March 10, 2022. Jazzyhtye Kokko Quartet’s third album relies on the mental landscape of saxophonist-composer Kaisa Siirala. The compositions capture a moment’s condensing vibes, such as the opening track Moon Over Mysore creates an image of quiet wind-blown coconut palm leaves that occasionally reveal a shining pale full moon. On the other hand, the songs combine the past and the present; The ever-flowing river of the tune Tigri has seen the evolution and recession of mankind. Wars have stained its water red with blood, but numerous love stories have also originated on its shores. The song, composed by pianist Johanna Pitkänen and named after the cryptographic device Enigma, presents musical puzzles, which it also tries to solve itself.

Broken Dream album highlights the musical traditions that inspired Siirala, the North Indian Hindustani and South Indian Carnatic traditions, as well as Arabic music. The concepts of Indian music – ragas, talas and lehras are intertwined in the composer’s own imagination. The album’s title track, Broken Dream, features material from Ethiopian music and refers to Jim Jarmusch’s film Broken Flowers, which also features Ethiopian music. Broken Dream, which consists of nine original compositions, continues the style characteristic of Kokko Quartet to break the musical boundaries with the power of creativity, now even more intensely than before. Visiting musicians Ilkka Arola, trumpet & grand piano, Lotta Heiskanen, violin, Ali Haithem, ud-lute and Ricardo Padilla, percussion, also bring Middle Eastern tones and their own addition to the microtonal world of music.

Home page of Kokko Quartet

Photos: Sakari Puhakka

The concert is supported by City of Helsinki, Svenska Kulturfonden and The Finnish Music Foundation.