Lakecia Benjamin
New York alto saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin charged right out of the gate with her “warmup tune” Trane – which was even more hair-raising than the version on last year’s Grammy-shortlisted Phoenix Reimagined live album. She’s on a tour named after the live album, and repeated much of it, even beginning her set with the same introduction, word-for-word. Still, this show never felt rote or routine.
Her taut quartet only included one holdover from the star-studded live album, bassist Elias Bailey, with John Chin taking over ably on keyboards. Young drummer Dorian Phelps, who joined the band a few months ago, was an explosive ball of barely controlled energy, dropping down to delicate brushwork or dubby interludes as needed.
He and Benjamin raced through a breakneck duet on her skewed, nearly unrecognisable My Favorite Things and locked in with the rhythm section for high-speed electric funk on Patrice Rushen’s mid-70s Jubilation, followed by a couple of unaccompanied sax bravure.
Between all the fun, Janelle Monae-style dancing and (tiresomely repeated) shouts of “Make some noise, I can’t hear you” there were serious pieces like Amerikkan Skin. Her rapped intro quoted Kendrick Lamar’s “We gon’ be alright” – but the ensuing lyrics about police brutality made it clear that’s not necessarily true for all Americans.
The encore was back to cheerier stuff, with Chin’s funky organ teasing Green Onions before moving onto Higher Ground by Stevie Wonder, whom Benjamin has toured with. Eventually Bailey and Chin slipped offstage, with Phelps single-handedly carrying on the tune with just his drums. He didn’t miss a beat as Benjamin briefly segued into Isn’t She Lovely, and then they were gone, leaving us exhausted and exhilarated.
Mäensivu – Berliner – McCabe – Wiening
Another American alto took the stage the following night, LA sax player Nicole McCabe, as part of an ad hoc group put together for a European tour by New York/Helsinki bassist Kaisa Mäensivu.
As bass players often do, Mäensivu kept the lowest profile of the four but kept things moving with subtle nods and eye contact. She also contributed several compositions, rearranged without the piano and guitar that dominate her own band, Kaisa’s Machine. That hornless quintet also features LA vibraphonist Sasha Berliner, the second main soloist of this very democratic quartet, and a former McCabe bandmate.
All four contributed tunes, some of them new, unrecorded ones like Berliner’s Planchette, all melodic melancholy, backed by just cymbals and bass. Another fresh one was McCabe’s Hues, which she described as an experiment in fitting rhythmic pieces together. It started with a long solo from German drummer Mareike Wiening. Her playing throughout was astounding and never showy, proving there was no weak link in this chain.
Wiening supplied two solid tunes, including Metropolis Paradise based on her years in New York, where the four women met. McCabe played melodic, romantic saxophone over a drone-like, nearly ambient mesh of vibraphone notes.
Berliner switched between rhythm and solo roles, her vibes at times resonating like Tibetan singing bowls. As on her new album Fantôme, her solos have incredible focus and flow, sweeping the rest of the band – and the audience – along for the ride. The same was true for McCabe, an engaging saxophonist with a wide palette of effects, voices and emotions, from a whisper to a scream, adding power when needed.
Mäensivu’s tunes included Midnight Sun, a head-nodding midsummer dance that she recently released as a single with Kaisa’s Machine. Now Berliner took on a more central role, dialoguing with Mäensivu’s supple solos. The bassist delved into super-deep basement sounds as her closing ballad Shadow Mind took us into loungey David Lynch/Angelo Badalamenti territory and then into the night.
Kannaste4
Following those two high-energy bands on subsequent evenings were sets by 50-ish statesmen of Finnish jazz, both presenting new bands.
Taking the stage after Benjamin, Helsinki tenorman Jussi Kannaste had a tough act to follow with his debut as a band leader. Kannaste is no newcomer though. He’s the head of the jazz department at Helsinki’s prestigious Sibelius Academy, and has played in dozens of groups, including four others at previous April Jazz editions.
His understated tenor often gets overshadowed in other groups, but this show, like the new album Out Of Self And Into Others (We Jazz), provided a chance to focus on his range of expression as an improviser and composer.
Kannaste was backed by local trumpeter Tomi Nikku and drummer Joonas Riippa, plus Swedish bassist Petter Eldh, who played a ponderous, muscular solo The Bridge, based on Billy Strayhorn’s Chelsea Bridge. Nikku kept to a supporting role as the leader’s beautiful warm tone swelled over Riippa’s brushwork.
The somewhat stiff, hymn-like theme of Ups And Downs gave way to an intimate sax solo, leading into a sensitive conversation with Nikku’s trumpet. Meanwhile the rhythm section carried on another subtle, subdued dialogue in the background before Kannaste led them all back to the churchy theme.
The set closed satisfyingly with Horace Silver’s Peace, but not before some overlong spoken segments that made this feel like an academic lesson, in contrast to Benjamin’s blazing take on contemporary history.
Teemu Viinikainen Electrick
Kaleidoscopic drummer Riippa was back the next night with guitarist Teemu Viinikainen, introducing a new plugged-in trio. One of the country’s finest jazz guitarists, he’s gradually returning to louder music after a three-year hiatus due to tinnitus, which he says is now bearable thanks to outdoor winter swimming and moving out of Helsinki.
Viinikainen was clearly in enthusiastic form, introducing a set of new tunes, some of which he admitted he hadn’t even rehearsed with the band. Still, Riippa and bass guitarist Oliver Karttunen (a Sibelius Academy student) stuck with him through some twists in the road. Viinikainen carried it all with his elegant, classic-sounding style with hints of Jim Hall’s singing warmth and Chet Atkins’ laidback country, as well the blues (of course) on Starting Blues, which hinted at Our Love Is Here To Stay. These rough drafts were pure jazz improv, diamonds in the rough.
Helsinki-Cotonou Ensemble feat. Nasibo
The festival went out with sizzle on Saturday night in the Leppävaara neighbourhood, where the nine-man Helsinki-Cotonou Ensemble performed with Zimbabwean guest vocalist Nasibo. This quirky big band is led by Finnish guitarist Janne Halonen and Beninese vocalist, percussion and saxophonist Noël Saïzonou. They met in 2009 at a Finnish cultural centre in the West African country and formed the band two years later with drummer Juha Räsäsen and bassist Sampo Riskilä. The four still power this mighty live band 14 years, six albums and several world tours later. Up front with Saïzonou is fellow percussionist, vocalist and dancer Kasheshi Makena from Tanzania.
Adding jazz pizzazz are trumpeter Mikko Pettinen and saxophonist Joakim Berghäll – who’ve both played with Viinikainen and Kannaste – plus wide-ranging keyboardist Joonas Kasurinen. It’s an odd mix of styles, from Afrobeat, highlife and other West African rhythms, samba and funk to jazz fusion, rock, even a nod to prog and Steely Dan. Yet it all works, most of the time anyway.
On Djigbo, Saïzonou channelled Fela Kuti’s sax and exhortations, while Pettinen delivered a ferocious trumpet solo over Halonen’s 70s blaxploitation-soundtrack guitar, on other tunes switching to a trilling, uptempo riffing like Congolese soukous legend Diblo Dibala.
Saïzonou is a charismatic frontman, dancer, drummer and horn player, but guest Nasibo is on a whole different level as a singer. Her majestic pipes place her in the direction of African queens such as Miriam Makeba and Angelique Kidjo, accompanying herself on an amplified mbira. Here’s hoping she records with the group – and maybe returns next spring when the Helsinki region’s oldest jazz festival celebrates its 40th anniversary.
April Jazz, Espoo, Finland, 22-26 April 2025. apriljazz.fi/en/program
