Kuára - Psalms and Folk Songs

Markku Ounaskari drums
Samuli Mikkonen piano
Per Jørgensen trumpet, voice

Recorded May 2009

Finnish percussionist Markku Ounaskari made a strong impression on producer Manfred Eicher during the recording of Sinikka Langeland’s “Starflowers” album and was invited to present his own project, and it is a fascinating one, with source material including Russian psalms and folk songs from displaced Finnish peoples (Karelians, Udmurtians, Vepsäns) – all approached from improvisational perspectives. It feels like a voyage over unfamiliar terrain, or as Markku says, “like a journey through the night”. The disc is an ECM debut for up and coming pianist Samuli Mikkonen, and a welcome return for Norwegian trumpeter-singer Per Jørgensen, familiar from ECM discs with Michael Mantler, Jon Balke and Miki N’Doye.