Jukka Eskola Orquesta Bossa

"The "Orquesta Bossa" project started actually with a live gig in January 2012 when I had a

chance to produce a concert for a line up with a quintet plus a string quartet. The material was

jazz and bossa standards, nothing unusual. The sound of the combo got stuck in my mind, I

just loved the traditional bossa sound of the rhythm section, combined with the front line horns

and the string quartet adding a little bit more modern angle to it. So I decided to make more of

the project and compose some original tunes and make an album. I was lucky to get my good

friend, drummer Teppo Mäkynen involved in the project as a co-writer and producer. He has

such wide knowledge in all kinds of music, and being a bossa nova enthusiastic, he was the

one and only guy I could think of for this project. So we made tunes that we thought would be,

in a way traditional Bossa nova, but at the same time having some Scandinavian angle to it.

We were not trying to sound like authentic brazilians, but just making music that we think

sounds great by using the traditional bossa nova sound as our guideline. The atmosphere is

actually quite modal.

I also asked a very talented arranger, Jussi Lampela, to help with the string arrangements

which really play a big part on the album and the live band.

The musicians on the album are the cream of Finnish jazz players, and classical players when

it comes to the strings. The recording sessions were made in a very traditional way, all 9

musicians playing 100% live takes in the same small space. We used old 50's and 60's tube

microphones and recorded on an analog 8-track tape recorder.

The tracks on the album:

"Bolly Beat" is a great opening for the album. A very positive and light tune that just grooves

from the beginning to the end. Also the first tune we recorded in the sessions.

"And the Days Passed By" is one of my favourite tunes on the album. It has a beautiful melody

and there is a certain fragileness involved.

"Tensions" is one of the more darker tunes on the album. But still releasing the suspense when

going to the bridge.

"Chester-le-Street" is a bit funky Bossa tune beginning with a beautiful string introduction that

goes to a "partido alto"- groove inspired by the drummer Jaska Lukkarinen. And ending to a

nice 7/4-vamp with a flute solo.

"Martha's moment" is a nice bluesy bossa that kind of defines the lightness of the album for

me. The title is inspired by my youngest daughter Martta and her funny ways.

"From the Hot Afternoon" is a cover song composed by Milton Nascimento for the great sax

player Paul Desmond. I have always loved Desmond's album named after this track from the

late 1960's. That album has in a way been an inspiration for me with the sound of "Orquesta

Bossa" and also my previous album "Walkover".

"Wien" is originally a song by the Finnish singer Ville Leinonen. I have always loved the song

and when the original version was released some 10 years ago, I knew that I wanted to make a

version of it some day. There is something magical in this version beautifully sung by Chihiro.

"Siam Square" is a song with a little oriental twist again moving back to a nice bossa flow on

the bridge.

"Ricky-Tick" is a fast samba starting with trumpet and drums only and then going to a very

melodic theme. The title of the song comes from Ricky-Tick Records which had a great impact

on mine and many of my fellow musician's career.

I could not consider myself an expert of bossa nova music but as many jazz musicians, I have

played a lot of the bossa standards during my career. With this new album I feel that in a way I

have found a new approach to the music. What I love in bossa nova is the lightness and

positive feeling. For a jazz musician it is also in a way a challenging environment to improvise

as you can not rely on the rhythm section reacting as much as in a small jazz band

environment. The soloist must carry the solo all by himself in a more melodic approach, in a

way just floating on the surface of the music rather than diving deep like in creative jazz music

normally.

This album is not about presenting Jukka Eskola as a virtuoso trumpet soloist but it's more an

album about good music, melodies and atmosphere."

Jukka Eskola