THE MUSIC - SUDDEN HAPPINESS

Good Company has a 16-bar melody that starts in the key of E and ends in the key of Db but, in spite of all that, it is basically a blues. The improvised part starts out as a rather well-mannered discussion between John Tchicai on the tenor and Mikko Innanen on the alto but, when Nicolai Munch-Hansen and Stefan Pasborg join in, the going gets a little tougher.

Netop is a collective improvisation, starting with Tchicai´s tenor solo and followed by Innanen on the soprano. Pasborg´s drum solo eventually leads everybody into "Sci-Fi Hotel".

Sci-Fi Hotel comes from way back. It was composed by Innanen in 1995 in a dark and melancholy mood, yet it turned out to be something quite the opposite. Sometime ago, the original title was stolen by someone. Hence, the tune was re-named Sci-Fi Hotel as a dedication to the most peculiar hotel that the group stayed in during the tour that resulted in this recording. On this selection, Innanen plays the alto.

Berber is loosely inspired by some North African music that Innanen was listening to at the time of its composition. The melody is first played as an alto/tenor duet in free tempo. When the bass and drums start a 12/8 groove, the melody is played again, still rubato. Tchicai plays the first solo on the tenor and Innanen plays the second on the soprano.

Medley from Samson and Delilah uses music that Victor Young (1900-1956) composed for Cecil B. DeMille´s spectacular 1949 Hollywood movie "Samson & Delilah". This version employs two themes from the original score. The two melodies are tied together with a bass solo by Munch-Hansen followed by some minimalistic collective improvisation: the cunning Delilah using her charms in seducing the brave and pure-hearted Samson away from the beautiful Semandar, his wife-to-come, promised to him as a reward for killing a lion bare-handedly. Innanen plays the baritone.

Second Night (I was happy...The street was dark) is based on a poem by Grecory Corso (1930-2001) called "Second Night in N.Y.C. after 3 Years". The poem is recited by Tchicai towards the end of the performance, which features Innanen on the alto. It is a tribute to all the past, present and future efforts to combine improvised music with poems. Long live poetry and jazz!

From the Countryside (Maalta olet sinä tullut) was composed by Innanen right before the tour in the beginning of 2002. Technically speaking, it comprises collective, contrapunctal variations on a one-motif modal theme. The modes are F melodic minor and A aeolian. The mood is beyond explanation as is the title. Innanen plays the soprano.

Appear is a composition by the late, great South-African bassist Johnny Dyani (1945-1986). Tchicai introduced the tune to Triot during the sound-check for their concert at Jazzhus Dexter in Odense. In this version, bass and drums create a happily swinging calypso beat under a dixie-tinged collective improvisation by the two saxophones, with Innanen on the alto.

Undercurrent (Veden pinnan alla) is based on a rather dark and serious-minded poem that Innanen wrote in 1995. The melody, based on the feeling and the rhythm of the text, was written a year later. Since then, eight years have passed, and the melody still lingers on, while the poem is inevitably doomed to fall into oblivion. Tchicai is heard on the bass clarinet and Innanen on the baritone.