THE MUSIC - REFLECTIONS

Serenity utilizes a free form but still has a clear foundation in bebop, as is often the case with Juhani Aaltonen´s ballads. Both here and in concerts, it has been used to set the stage for the music to follow.

Selflessness is a composition by the late John Coltrane. The composition comes from Coltrane´s last period and was first recorded in October 1965 as part of the same session that produced "Kulu Se Mama" (Impulse). Juhani Aaltonen included this composition in honor of John Coltrane and in recognition of the impact Coltrane has had on him as a musician. In this regard, Aaltonen has said that the spirit of Coltrane is present in his music even if his musical vocabulary and style of playing are quite different.

The Navigator is a suite composed by Andrew Cyrille and first introduced on Cyrille´s album by the same name on Soul Note in 1983. The opening passage by the flute and bass captures the feeling of crosscurrents in the water and then the voyage begins.

Still Small Voice is a composition by Juhani Aaltonen for alto flute. The music is intended to establish an open communication among the performers. Aaltonen himself says that, through the alto flute, he seeks to express his inner voice on this slow-moving, contemplative tune. The composition originates from a fragment of an improvisation by Aaltonen on one of his recordings of religious music.

Effervescence is full of the energy implied by its title. The tune is reminiscent of the free improvisations included on "Prana" (Leo Records), the first recorded collaboration of Aaltonen and Workman that also featured Edward Vesala on drums.

Reflections is a composition by Juhani Aaltonen that is based on his improvisation on the flute that used old Gregorian church music as its reference point. That improvisation was performed by Aaltonen, with guitarist Ilkka Niemeläinen, in a Russian orthodox church at the Kajaani Jazz Festival in the early 1990s. Aaltonen was intrigued by a sequence in the improvisation and put it down on notepaper but returned to the music only after ten years as a basis for this composition. A live version of this composition was included on the roughly contemporaneous recording by the Juhani Aaltonen Trio (Mother Tongue, TUM CD 002)

Supplications is a hymn-like theme by Juhani Aaltonen that can also be taken as a prayer for awakening. This composition reflects the preaching quality that sometimes comes to the forefront in Aaltonen´s music. The version included on this CD was recorded live at the Chamber Music Hall of the Finlandia House in Helsinki.