Composer and pianist Juha Kujanpää releases his first solo album as a composer. The album "Tales and Travels" combines two sides of Kujanpää's musicianship, acoustic Nordic folk and electric rock/jazz music, resulting in a special, distinctive musical world. "Tales and travels" is instrumental music with a large ensemble and a strong "Finnish" sound. It combines beautiful violin melodies with aggressive fuzz guitars, sounds of Finnish forests and the nights of July.
Besides Kujanpää, who plays piano, reed organ and keyboards, the core line-up of the album consists of some well-established Finnish folk players and electric rock/jazz musicians: Tommi Asplund, Esko Järvelä and Kukka Lehto (violins), Timo Kämäräinen (guitar), Tero Tuovinen (bass) and Jussi Miettola (drums).
Juha Kujanpää (b.1974) is a versatile composer and musician who operates masterfully in the no-man's land between folk music and jazz. Kujanpää's music has been released lately on Kirjava lintu: Unilintu (2012), Isis-trio: The Legend of Birth (2011) and Karuna: Hyvää matkaa/Bon Voyage (2010).
01 - Matkamusiikki - Tales and Travels
02 - Kivenpyörittäjä - Boulder Dash
03 - Suomenmaa - Samba da Finlandia
04 - Hääpolska - Wedding Polska
05 - Arkipäivän ylistys - Ode to Everyday
06 - Different Polska
07 - Islannin vesi - Iceland Water
08 - Kaukametsä - Far Forest
09 - Heinäkuun yöt - Nights of July
10 - Kaukametsä - Far Forest (reprise)
Esko Järvelä (violin)
Juha Kujanpää (piano, keyboards, composer)
Jussi Miettola (drums)
Kukka Lehto (violin)
Tero Tuovinen (bass)
Timo Kämäräinen (guitar)
Tommi Asplund (violin)
