Sunday, April 6, 2014

"Album of The Year 2013" by "The New York City Jazz Record"- Liberty Ship´s "Approaching"

Press Release 04/04/2014 
 
 
 
Esa Pietilä Productions & Eclipse Music are proud to present the news of Liberty Ship´s nomination for the "Album of the Year 2013" by The New York City Jazz Record
 
 
    Eclipse Music, FIN
 

   Liberty Ship:
    
     Esa Pietilä - saxophone
   
    Aki Rissanen - piano
 
 
 
    Olavi Louhivuori - drums
 
 
 
    Antti Lötjönen - bass
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Four Strong Voices of Finnish Jazz 
 
 
Liberty Ship, formed in 2012, navigates the deep waters of free jazz and
 
improvised music in constant pursuit of liberated self-expression. Acclaimed
 
saxophonist and composer Esa Pietilä (www.esapietila.com) leads this all-star
 
quartet of accomplished Finnish jazz musicians, pushing each musician to the
 
boundaries of their creative ability. Liberty Ship is without a doubt one of the
 
most exciting and adventurous projects to emerge from the booming Finnish
 
jazz scene.
 
 
 
Liberty Ship glides gracefully out of the mist on gently rolling waves, combining
 
the adventurous spirit and improvisation of free jazz to influences from
 
contemporary art music outside of jazz and a Nordic cool sensibility. Their
 
music is adventurous, mysterious, creative and unpredictable as the sea, but the
 
crew of Liberty Ship always stays together as a cohesive unit with a single
 
course and a unified vision, the prow firmly pointed toward the edge of the map
 
to uncharted waters. In addition to Pietilä, Liberty Ship consists of pianist Aki
 
Rissanen (www.akirissanen.com), bassist Antti Lötjönen and drummer Olavi
 
 
 
 
Visionary composer and improviser Esa Pietilä (b.1964) is the captain of Liberty
 
Ship. His original style is firmly rooted in the avant-garde and free jazz
 
traditions. From solo saxophone to small combos to large orchestras, Pietilä has
 
a long and varied history of composing for and performing with many of the top
 
names in modern European creative jazz.
 
 
 
 Pianist Aki Rissanen (b.1980) has built a reputation as one of the most
 
"forward-thinking" and creative pianists of his generation in Finland. Rissanen
 
has worked with some of the top names like Barry Guy, Mats Gustafsson, Daniel
 
Humair and Robin Verheyen in modern creative jazz. Rissanen combines a
 
classical training with a love of improvisation and contemporary jazz. In Liberty
 
Ship his distinctive style lives up to its full potential.
 
 
 
Antti Lötjönen (b.1980) has established himself as one of the cornerstones and
 
most in-demand bass players of Helsinki’s burgeoning 21st century jazz scene.
 
Playing in key groups like Sun Trio and Verneri Pohjola Quartet and with
 
countless major figures in the contemporary Finnish jazz scene like Alexi
 
Tuomarila and Kalevi Louhivuori has made Lötjönen a recognized figure both in
 
Finland and internationally.
 
 
 
Drummer Olavi Louhivuori (b.1981) has brought his creativity to a number of
 
high-profile projects all around Europe. He has played and recorded with
 
internationally acclaimed artists like Polish Tomasz Stańko, Italian Claudio
 
Filippini, British Dave Stapleton, Marilyn Crispell from USA and Norwegian
 
Mats Eilertsen.
 
 
 
The groups first self-titled recording Liberty Ship will be released on November
 
1st on Eclipse Music http://www.eclipse-music.net. “Approaching” is available
 
on CD and as a digital download. The CD version comes with an additional
 
second disc of purely improvised material.
 
 
 
The album showcases the remarkable quartets collective vision and the
 
supplementary improvised material is strong evidence that there is true
 
chemistry between the musicians. Pietilä’s vision of melodic free jazz elevates
 
his younger companions to new creative heights.
 
 
 
For more information visit http://esapietila.com/groups/liberty-ship
 
 
 
Contact:
 
 
Additional information and interviews: production@esapietila.com
 
 
 
& Eclipse Music: ylinen.tapio@gmail.com
 
 
 
Review and promotional copies of “Approaching”: ylinen.tapio@gmail.com
 
 
 
Bookings:
 
 
Hanna-Leena Ehn
 
 
Esa Pietilä Productions
Muurikuja 1 B 41 00580 Helsinki
Finland