The Five Corners Quintet
Hot
Corner
Ricky-Tick Records
By Eileen Tilson
In the world of music enthusiasts (a.k.a Snobs),
when asked which musicians you would want to have dinner with, major points
would be lost if there was not at least one jazz musician at the table. Jazz
remains a the King of Cool. Although it would be rare to find a music
aficionado actually listening to jazz, one would be hard-pressed not to find a
Duke Ellington selection on their iPod.
So, when you're introduced to Hot Corner, by
Helsinki's The Five Corner's Quintet, your coolness factor would drop
significantly if you let them slip by. Created by DJ/priducer Tuomas Kallio,
one of the founders of Nuspirit Helsinki, the band creatively integrates
danceable beats found in the club culture and mixes them with his postmodern
jazz. Hand picking some of the finest young jazz players in Finland – Timo Lassy
of the U-Street All Stars, drummer Teppo Makynen of the Teddy Rok Seven and
trumpeter Jukka Eskola – what results is 45 minutes of tail wagging tunes,
guaranteed to please all sorts of ears.
The record features several cuts with legendary jazz
vocalist Mark Murphy, who lends his voice to spice up the mellow "Kerouac Days
in Montana" and the darkly romantic "Come and Get Me." With this combination of
players, the album is kept fresh without becoming too abstract. What’s left is a
collection of music that any music snob will be caught dancing to.
