Everything Is It

by Heikki Sarmanto, Heikki Sarmanto Big Band

Overview

In the jazz world of the early '70s, a million doors were being thrown open all at once, with seemingly limitless new possibilities being put into the hands of players and composers, not only in America but all over the globe. Finland was no exception -- even though it's a nation not immediately associated with jazz, it nevertheless had a vital jazz scene, and pianist/composer/bandleader Heikki Sarmanto was one of its most promising young talents at the time. Sarmanto was already a few albums into his recording career when he released Everything Is It in 1972, but this was new territory for him in that it was his first big-band recording. Sarmanto's composing and arranging abilities were truly put to the test on Everything Is It, which is dominated by "Marat," a half-hour-long four-part suite. This ambitious piece moves through a multitude of styles and textures -- Mingus-flavored horn lines, folkish motifs, freewheeling, bop-based improv, a drum solo, you name it, "Marat" has it. The only element of the piece that's bothersome is Taru Valjakka's semi-operatic vocals, which feel a tad strident and anomalous in this context, but they're far from ubiquitous, and don't unduly mar the proceedings. The two shorter pieces that close out the album show Sarmanto's growing mastery of post-bop compositional techniques on a smaller scale, without sacrificing the majesty established by front-loading the record with "Marat." ~ J. Allen

Product Details

Release Date:	10/18/2011
Label:	Porter
UPC:	0656605789514
Rank:	125901

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Heikki Sarmanto   Primary Artist,Piano,Celeste,Soloist,Fender Rhodes,Piano (Grand)
Heikki Sarmanto Big Band   Primary Artist
Eero Koivistoinen   Sax (Sopranino),Sax (Soprano),Sax (Tenor),Soloist,Reeds
Juhani Aaltonen   Flute,Reeds,Soloist
Seppo Paakkunainen   Reeds
Mircea Stan   Trombone
Bertil Loevgren   Soloist,Trumpet,Flugelhorn
Craig Herndon   Drums
Pekka Sarmanto   Bass
Esko Rosnell   Drums
Hannu Saxelin   Reeds
Esa Pethman   Reeds
Seppo Peltola   Trombone
Pentti Lasanen   Reeds
Kaj Backlund   Trumpet
Ossi Runne   Trumpet
Taru Valjakka   Vocals,Featured Artist

Technical Credits

Heikki Sarmanto   Arranger,Composer
Luke Mosling   Reissue Supervisor
Raimo Henriksson   Producer
Adam Baruch   Liner Notes
Matti Louhi   Cover Design
Antti Joki   Engineer
Pete Russell   Poetry
Diana Glass   Composer,Lyricist