Description
For IKONOSTASIS, Finnish jazz sensation Kari Ikonen has invited his favourite musicians to play compositions that are both experimental and yet strikingly beautiful. The first studio album of this deeply personal project compiles ten of these tracks into an innovative and beguiling work – managing to sound both strangely familiar and yet like nothing you’ve ever heard.
Especially in the duets with Louis Sclavis on (bass-)clarinet, the electronic elements create courageous utopian sound worlds somewhere between the aesthetics of p-funk and the avantgarde. But even in the ‘acoustic’ pieces, including epic fifteen-minute journey “Trinity”, what at first appear to be recognisable harmonies, delicate trumpet melodies and dreamy piano chords are gradually sucked under by slowly turning, sinister currents underneath the surface.
Already with his previous releases Ikonen has not just established himself as one of the leader’s of the Finnish scene, but contributed to putting Finland as a whole firmly on the European jazz map. With IKONOSTASIS, he is now taking an even bigger leap. This is music without any musical barriers or self-imposed restrictions, driven by nothing but the pure pleasure of performance, regardless of the outcome.
