Bright Kari Ikonen Trio

• 1 Bapmgwala 06:25
• 2 Ambivalsante 07:31
• 3 The Testament Of My Heart 06:04
• 4 Plumbum 06:41
• 5 Giant Steps 04:10
• 6 I Fall In Love Too Easily 05:32
• 7 Trance Oriental 05:20
• 8 Pacific 06:09
• Total Runtime 47:52

Info for Bright

Mystische Harmonien, swin­gende Rhythmen, markante Melodien. Das finnische Kari Ikonen Trio bringt sich auf „Bright“ mit lebensfrohen Klängen ins Spiel.

Ein Album, das durch seine Klangschönheit, seine Harmoniefülle und seine perfekte Improvisationskunst besticht, hat das finnische Kari Ikonen Trio mit 'Bright' vorgelegt. Das Dream- Line-up, bestehend aus Kari Ikonen (Piano), Ara Yaralyan (Bass) und Markku Ounaskari (Drums), spielt sich mit unglaublicher Leichtigkeit, spritzigem Drive und traumhaft perfekten Zusammenwirken in die Top-Riege der Jazz Piano Trios. Ein Dream-Team, das Ikonens Eigenkompostionen, Jazz-Standards wie Coltranes 'Giant Steps' und den wunderschönen armenischen Song 'The Testament of My Heart' klangstark aufbereitet. 'Bright' ist ein Werk voll überschäumender Lebensfreude.

'Mit seiner aus jeder Note berstenden Lust aufs Zusammenspiel, durch eine besondere Klangschönheit und Harmoniefülle (...) erzeugt ein Album wie 'Bright' schon vom ersten Ton an Aufmerksamkeit.' (Jazzthing)

'Bright bietet alles, was ein gutes Jazzalbum benötigt. Gute Kompositionen, gut arrangiert und im Kari Ikonen Trio Musiker, die dies auf höchstem technischen Niveau in Musik umsetzten und den Hörer sofort gefangen nehmen. Große Kunst!' (Ingo Andruschkewitsch, www.musikansich.de)

Kari Ikonen, piano
Ara Yaralyan, bass
Markku Ounaskari, drums

Recorded 7 and 8 November 2012 at Studio Emile, Music Center, Helsinki by Miikka Huttunen
Mixed 26 November 2012 at Studio Epidemin, Gothenburg by Johannes Lundberg
Mastered by Hans-Jörg Maucksch at Pauler Acoustics, Germany
Produced by Kari Ikonen

Kari Ikonen
born 1973, Korpilahti, Finland is a pianist and composer. After having studied piano for four years (1989-1993) in Jyväskylä Institute of Music, Kari Ikonen continued his studies in 1994 in piano and later in composition at the Jazz Music Department of Sibelius Academy, with such teachers as Jarmo Savolainen, Jukkis Uotila, Anders Jormin, Mike Gibbs, Sonny Heinilä and Olli Kortekangas. He also spent a semester of 1996 in Rotterdam Conservatory, where he studied with Rob van Kreevelt. He got his master's degree from Sibelius Academy in 2001.

He has performed with many different groups and musicians, for example Karikko (as a leader), Mr. Fonebone, Quartet Coyote, Ahava, Gnomus, Ingrid Jensen, Henry Lowther, Eero Koivistoinen, Jukkis Uotila, Sonny Heinilä etc. With these artists he has performed at many domestic and international festivals, including Pori Jazz, April Jazz, ITA Festival, Boulder, Colorado and Appleby Jazz Festival, England.

His compositions have been played by various small and large ensembles, such as UMO Jazz Orchestra (Finnish Radio Big Band), which has premiered several his compositions, including "Unia" (1997), "Nosreglo" (1998) and "Luoto" (2000). The last-mentioned won the first prize in the Jazz Orchestra category of the Jazz Composers Alliance/Julius Hemphill Composition Awards in USA, 2000 (he was also among the finalists in Small Group category). Another victory came in August 2002, when Ikonen's composition "Peikkola" (2002) won the first prize in "Scrivere in Jazz" competition in Sardegna, Italy.

He has also worked as a teacher (jazz piano, ensemble, solfege) in Jyväskylä Institute of Music 1993-94, Jyväskylä University music education program 1993 and Sibelius Academy Jazz Music Department since 1998.

Booklet for Bright