The Most Beautiful Sounds Next to Silence

The Finnish drummer and composer played a  significant yet all to brief part in the history of ECM, an association brought to an halt only by Vesala's sudden and untimely death in 1999, cutting short a career that had much more to offer. This re-issue of Lumi, which must be regarded as one of the albums of the time is therefore most welcome, reminding us once again what a musical force he was, and the legacy that he left behind that is still being assimilated and built on today.

This is the first album in which Vesala introduced his Sound And Fury ensemble, surrounding himself with a core of musicians who were fully understanding of the drummers concept, compositions and how to execute them. Over the playing time of the recording, Vesala has put together a compelling set of compositions that delight in setting up a mood or feeling only to then knock it down in favour of another direction altogether. Such an approach should not work, but rather than demonstrating a schizophrenic mish mash of pieces, each is carefully weighted in terms of content, and duration that one cannot fault the performances or the logic in the overall concept of the music.

Broadly speaking the ensemble is an all acoustic affair, with the exception of Raoul Björkenheim's electric guitar but even this is so cleverly interwoven within the fabric of the Sound And Fury concept as to be wholly successful, providing at times not just the tension but also the release within a composition. Sounding totally at home in a composition as bullish 'Calypso Bulbosa' the guitar vies with the saxophones in some good natured dialogue, and provides great rhythmic support with the bass and tuba on 'Camel Walk'.

The real interest, however is in the pieces where the ensemble works as a whole to create a gently evolving sense of movement on the lightly blowing 'The Wind', a re-working of an early composition that is fascinating from the opening statement to the last. This quiet sense of discovery is also evident on the following composition, 'Frozen Melody' with its beautiful tenor saxophone introduction stating the melody before joined by the rest of the ensemble, and the title track itself with the superb orchestration between brass and woodwind, and Iro Haala's delicate touch at both the piano and harp. The album comes to a conclusion with a track that sums up almost everything that has come before it, with 'Together' that unites this unique ensemble in all its glory.

As a footnote to this extraordinary recording the contribution of Versala's then wife, Iro Haala, should not be underestimated or go unacknowledged. As the drummer was unable to read or write music much of the arrangement and notation of his compositions would have fallen to her. it is therefore to her immense credit that this marvellous music was able to be documented and brought to life in the studio.

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