Martti Vesala Soundpost Quintet - Stars Aligned

Finnish Trumpet player Martti Vesala clearly loves the jazz of the '60s and '70s - his music is melodic without being too easy, funky and yet relaxed, filled to the brim with gripping grooves and ripping solos. Little wonder, then, that legendary jazz publication Downbeat recently compared him to Miles Davis. And yet, thanks to Vesala's drive, passion and virtuosity 'Stars Aligned' feels perfectly contemporary. The instantly recognisable production of the album, somewhere between vintage and entirely contemporary sound design, was sculpted by star producer Miikka Huttunen, highly respected for a string of successful Finnish releases from pop to jazz. Astoundingly, all eight minutely detailed arrangements of 'Stars Aligned' were taped in a mere three days: The title track with its emotionally ambivalent Leitmotiv and utopian harmonies; experimental study Murky Green; and, last but not least, beat-driven pieces like Driving Force or A Murder of Crows, which, with their casually swinging bass-and-drum-loops, are reminiscent of David Holme's classic soundtrack for blockbuster Ocean's Eleven.