Bullhorn Verneri Pohjola & Johan Lindström

• 1Another Day05:53
• 2Girls of Costa Rica09:01
• 3He Sleeps, I Keep Watch05:33
• 4Bullhorn07:28
• 5In La Borie06:22
• 6This One Is For You02:28
• 7Nanomachines06:36
• 8Ouroboros06:29
• 9Cold Blooded05:16
• 10The End Is Nigh07:44
• Total Runtime01:02:50

Info for Bullhorn

Bullhorn is the new album by Finnish trumpeter/composer, Verneri Pohjola, his third as leader. Based in Helsinki, the thirty-six year old has been in the international spotlight for the past few years and is acknowledged as a jazz star in the making. His distinctive tone, with its deeply affecting purity and lyricism, and highly melodic improvising is embedded in self-penned compositions marked by memorable and imaginative themes that steer clear of any hackneyed notion of ‘Nordic’ jazz.

Bullhorn is a key album in Pohjola’s career, marking the shift from a rising start to an artist of real substance with a powerful, unique sound and a sense of deepening maturity and clarity of vision. Bullhorn is the album that finally realises Verneri’s enormous creative potential.

Featuring his long term associates and friends: pianist Aki Rissanen, bassist Antti Lötjönen and drummer Teppo Mäkynen, Bullhorn undertakes a panoramic overview of Verneri’s wide-ranging, evocative yet energetic approach to music-making, anchored in his strong, personal sound. As Pohjola explains: ‘It has the intimate sounds and lyricism in improvised passages that I love, but also the rough energy and emphasis on the compositions – everything I want to express in my music’.

In addition, Pohjola has set out on Bullhorn to capture the joy and spontaneity that occur in performance between these four like-minded individuals; the vital element of music making and ‘jazz’ that makes each performance a unique and personal statement.

A truly progressive artist with a firm understanding of popular culture providing the foundation of his art, Verneri Pohjola is on the brink of becoming one of the most exciting and original musicians of his generation. In fact, he’s almost ready to blow his own bullhorn.

“This album takes its place among the truly finest albums of recent times.” (Jazzwise)

“This is a beautifully executed, and quietly surprise-packed set” (The Guardian)

“While Pohjola’s 2011 album, Aurora, on the ACT label was a bit of a favourite of mine, this feels a lot more focussed and an even bigger step up in the jazz league.” (The Jazz Breakfast)

Verneri Pohjola, trumpet
Aki Rissanen, piano
Antti Lötjönen, bass
Teppo Mäkynen, drums
Additional musicians:
Jussi Kannaste, tenor saxophone
Ilmari Pohjola, trombone
Iida Laibe, cello

Recorded and mixed by Mikko Raita at Petrax Studios, Hollola, Finland between 26th and 28th August 2014
Mixed by Mikko Raita at Studio Kekkonen, Helsinki, Finland between 29th September and 1st October 2014
Mastered by Svante Forsbäck at Chartmakers West, Espoo, Finland on 13th October 2014

Verneri Pohjola
The thirty six year-old trumpeter and composer from Helsinki, Finland has been in the international spotlight for the past few years, and is acknowledged as a jazz star in the making. Having released his two previous albums on the German ACT label to huge critical acclaim, including a five star review from The Guardian, he’s now set to fulfil his enormous creative potential.

Son of the virtuoso bass guitarist Pekka Pohjola, Verneri first came to prominence as leader of Ilmiliekki Quartet, a band that won numerous accolades including the prestigious Teosto Award for original composition. Pohjola soon emerged as a rising star on the Finnish scene, picking up the coveted gong for Musician of the Year at the 2004 Pori Jazz Festival.

As is the case with many great horn players, Pohjola has a distinctive tone, which has a deeply affecting purity and lyricism. His highly melodic improvising is matched by personal compositions marked by memorable and imaginative themes that steer clear of any hackneyed notion of ‘Nordic jazz.’A truly progressive artist with a firm grip on popular culture, Verneri Pohjola is ready to confirm that he is one of the most exciting and original artists of his generation.

This album contains no booklet.