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Jukkis Uotila: Hunters and Gatherers
(DoubleTime Records DTRCD-170)
Compositions: The Gatherers (Savolainen), (My) Child at play (Liebman), “O” (Anders Jormin), Blues (Anders Jormin), Wayne (Uotila), Steeplechase (Parker / arr.Liebman), Tranquility (Uotila), The Hunters (Savolainen)
PERSONNEL:
Dave Liebman - soprano & tenor sax
Jarmo Savolainen - piano
Anders Jormin - bass,
Jukkis Uotila - drums
Recorded in at YLE, Helsinki, Finland May 26, 1997
Hunters and Gatherers
"This recording makes me very proud! Especially since I had a long break between recordings in my own name, I felt lucky to get together with musicians that I share common artistic goals with. This time around, I also felt natural to have all of us write music for the recording as the varied musical backgrounds of all us four would bring an interesting combination of compositions to work with. The material ranges from the free-flowing tunes from Anders Jormin's pen to the more traditional approach of Dave Liebman's with my more melodic and Jarmo's harmonically abstract tunes falling somewhere in between."
Jukkis Uotila
the colleagues have to say about the CD:
Right from the first track you will hear that special "Nordic" sound, especially in the rhythm section. Some might all this and similar tracks "free jazz " since it's not always centered around a steady pulse or regulated chord cycles. Whatever the name, it moves along at an exciting pace, never falling in to an expected outcome- always grooving with constant interaction.
I first met Jukkis Uotila in the early 1980s when he came to New York and I recorded with him performing his own music. At that time, as a young drummer from Finland, he was very exotic and on top of that Jukkis is a great pianist and composer. Since then he's been busy playing with the bands of Randy Brecker, Toots Thielemans and Mike Stern to name a few, and has a recent U.S release out with Jerry Bergonzi ("Fast Company " / Blue Jackel BJAC 5022-2).
I've been very impressed and we have continued our relationship through the years. Swedish born Anders Jormin is one of that special breed of Scandinavian bassists well known to the jazz community as the top of the line. The sound he gets, the fills he executes, his soloing ability in and out of the chord changes is amazing. For me (and drummer Billy Hart to name one other musician), he is one of the world's greatest bassists. Finally, Jarmo Savolainen is a pianist who has absorbed the modern tradition of Corea and Beirach, but mixes it with his own special free flowing melodic style and wonderful compositions.
David Liebman
The common denominator for all the musicians involved in this recording is the Sibelius-Academy in Helsinki, Finland, where I took over the jazz department in 1986 and since 1994 have held the position of the Professor of jazz music.
Dave Liebman had already played on my first release as a leader, "Introspection", in 1984 and when I started as the head of the jazz department, it was only natural to invite him to come and teach now and then.
To make the most of Dave's visits, I put together a group featuring two other musicians tightly involved with the school, our visiting professor bassist Anders Jormin, who is also known for his association with Charles Lloyd and our harmony teacher Jarmo Savolainen, one of Finland's top pianists for many years.
The occasion that made this recording possible was the the Academy's first honorary doctorate ceremony where we were able to honor Dave for his contributions as a player and educator. We also did a few concerts, went into the studio and here are the results! Very seldom have I experienced such sense of common artistic goals with four individuals as witnessed here. We decided to share the music with you and thanks to the sensitive ears of Jamey D. Aebersold, here it is!
Jukkis Uotila
About the record label
The U.S. based DoubleTime Records has released over 70 CDs in the last ten years by various artists such as John Abercrombie, Dave Liebman, Jerry Bergonzi, Hal Galper, Kenny Werner and Andy LaVerne. The releases are distributed all over the world: the U.S, Australia, Europe and Japan.