Nordic Bop - Pekka Pylkkanen and Eric Ineke

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NORDIC BOP

“I am very happy that after all these years we finally have this album finished! We had a great time recording the music (and even now, when working on finalizing it). I'm looking forward to playing with you all again, hopefully in the very near future! I will let Eric tell the story of this album....”

- Pekka Pylkkanen

In 1962, thanks to the efforts of producers Bob Prince and George Avakian, baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan and alto saxophonist Paul Desmond recorded an album entitled Two of a Mind for RCA Victor.

The title came to mind [pun intended] with the arrival from drummer Eric Ineke of the Nordic Bop [Challenge CR73542] CD which he recently recorded in Finland with saxophonist Pekka Pylkkanen. On it, Eric and Pekka are joined by pianist Mikael Jacobsson and bassist Heikko Remmel.

“Two of a Mind” is a germane phrase to describe the relationship between Eric and me, not only because we both play drums, but also because we have a deep and abiding interest in the music generally characterized as Bebop. 

Perhaps a more accurate description of the style of Jazz we share a passion for might be straight-ahead Jazz which is supported by a no-nonsense, always swinging, driving beat.

It’s the music we both grew up listening to and it has influenced the way we approach playing drums.  And I daresay, besides his talent as a drummer, it’s another reason why Eric is in such great demand both as a teacher and as a player throughout Europe with younger musicians who want to experience playing Jazz with this kind of time feel.

The heart of it from a drumming perspective is setting down or, if you will, laying down a groove on the ride cymbal which is heavily accented by the hi-hat and creating a driving swing behind the soloist. The emphasis here is accompaniment and not playing a parallel solo behind the horn soloist by keeping up a constant barrage of rhythmic figures all over the drum kit [think Tony Williams and Elvin Jones; not stated in a disrespectful manner].

The straight-ahead time feel can be punctuated with occasionally sticking on the snare drum and/or with bass drum accents, but the point of it all is backing up and supporting the soloist and, where necessary, adding color to the sound of the music with percussion effects.

Having learned his craft by studying the masters such as Kenny Clarke, Max Roach, Art Blakey and Philly Joe Jones, Eric has gone on to become the living embodiment of this approach to Jazz drumming and is constantly in demand in his native Holland throughout Europe as a practitioner of this form of the Jazz drummer’s art.

Since Eric knows I have a predisposition to his preferences he is generous in sharing with me recordings on which he performs that feature like-minded musicians.

Which brings me to Pekka Pylkkanen and Nordic Bop. It arrived a couple of weeks ago and has been on my CD player ever since.

The idea for the recording, the tracks which comprise it and the background of the composers are all spelled out in Eric’s insert notes which are shared below.

But before directing your attention to them, I thought I would share my impressions of the music and the musicians that make up this very fine album.

What initially struck me upon hearing Pekka for the first time is the full searing tone he gets on alto saxophone and the marvelous facility he has that enables him to really get around the instrument. Wails, moans, and cries are all part of his expressive presentation - it’s a sound that is at once rich and penetrating - it reaches you with its fullness.

It’s interesting that the CD should open with alto saxophonist Gigi Gryce’s Nica's Tempo because in some ways Pekka’s orientation on the instrument brings to mind Gigi’s: both are hard-driving, no-nonsense players with a legacy on the instrument that is straight out of Charlie Parker.

And just when you thought you had a handle of Pekka’s approach, he pulls out his soprano sax and completely surprises you with a totally different orientation characterized by a big, wide sound, a hint of a vibrato, and complex harmonics from Coltrane but yet somehow sounding original to him because of the way he puts them together. This all comes forth so beautifully in Pekka's treatment of the Bill Evans classic waltz, Very Early. One could almost wish that his soprano sax interpretation of Denny Zeitlin’s Quiet Now were also on the recording.

And speaking of accompaniment, for one so young, pianist Mikael Jacobsson does a superior job of supporting the soloist with minimal chordal intrusions. During his own solos he rides the rhythm section, leaving lots of space allowing the piano to resonate. His intervallic approach enables him to play more modern sounding improvisations over traditional bebop lines.

Bassist Heikko Remmel is a rock; you never have to “look” for the time, all you have to do is listen to him and there it is encased in a big, booming bass sound. Eric’s unobtrusive style of playing allows the bass to really come through on this recording and it “locks in” nicely to generate a wonderfully “alive” time feel by the rhythm section.

And then, of course, there is Eric holding it all together and pushing things forward in his unrelenting but always tasteful manner. His drums sound wonderful, full of the snap and crackle very reminiscent of the great Roy Haynes and cymbals with pronounced stick clicks that create the propulsive swing that is so characteristic of his drumming.

Everything about this recording merits your attention from the interesting selection of tunes, the intense, yet well-paced improvisations, and the classic, straightforward sense of swing that encapsulates the music and provides it with an energetic drive.

More about the players and the music are contained in the following insert notes by Eric.

“When Pekka Pylkkanen invited me in 2017 to play a couple of concerts with him in Finland and Estonia, I immediately responded with an enthusiastic YES!! Having played together before, I knew the music would be great and swinging! On piano, we had the pleasure of having the wonderful and hard-swinging piano player Mikael Jakobsson from Finland and the young and very talented bass player Heikko Remmel from Tallinn, Estonia.

Pekka got the idea of putting together a repertoire of tunes written by some of the great Jazz legends I played with during my earlier career. During the concerts, we all felt that it worked out really well and that we should at least put some of the repertoire in the can for the right moment to release it on CD.

Well, that moment came five years later. Recorded in this beautiful studio of the Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts in Helsinki; a real straight-ahead swinging Jazz album finally saw the light. I have a close connection with at least five of the tunes, because I toured in the past with their composers.

'Amsterdam after Dark' is written by the legendary tenor saxophonist George Coleman. I had the pleasure of playing with him for a week in 1974, together with Rob Agerbeek and Rob Langereis, and it was an incredible experience: George was at the top of his game every night. Luckily one of the concerts was recorded and got released years later, on the Blue Jack Label.

'Luminescence' brought me back to the eminent professor of Bop, Mr. Barry Harris. For more than 15 years I backed him up when he came to teach (always for a week) at the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague. One of those concerts was recorded and also released on CD. I have great memories of working with him when we played for a week in St Petersburg in Russia during the White Nights Festival in 2007. Playing with Barry was a true education in Bebop!

'Left Alone' was written by pianist Mai Waldron whom I played with at a festival in Belgium in the nineties with the Ben van den Dungen/Jarmo Hoogendijk Quintet. This very quiet man and profound musician, combined with this furious Hard Bop quintet was an unforgettable experience.

'Montmarte', written by the great Dexter Gordon, brings back to me one of the best experiences of my whole career. In 1972 I got a call from promoter Wim Wigt to go on an almost 3 months tour with this legendary giant together with the Rein de Graaff Trio. I was 25 years old and it was at that moment that I entered the University of Hard Bop!

'Signal' is a very hip and modern-sounding tune written by the legendary and impeccable guitar player Jimmy Raney. He recorded that tune in 1951 with Stan Getz at Storyville in Boston. That recording became a landmark and is still one of my all-time favorite albums! I was thrilled when I received a request from the producer Gerry Teekens in 1977 to play a radio concert in Lausanne with Jimmy and his son Doug Raney. They were on tour, and Jimmy had a serious argument with his drummer back then, whom Jimmy ended up firing, so I was in. 

From the first note we played at the soundcheck, Jimmy gave me a look and smiled at me, and after the concert he told me he really liked my playing very much. That led me to do all his tours in Europe for the 3 consecutive years, as well as the first recording for Criss Cross Records in 1981 (called 'Raney 81’) with his son Doug and the great Danish bass player Jesper Lundgaard. All those great moments with these legendary giants are with me all the time, and I am very happy and thankful that Pekka took this initiative to get this wonderful project together!

Enjoy!”

Eric Ineke