How Long Is Now?

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
After the album 'My Working Class Hero,' dedicated to John Lennon and 'Tears for Esbjörn,' a homage to the influential Swedish pianist, 'How Long Is Now?' puts the spotlight fairly and squarely back on to the Finnish pianist, composer and life-force Iiro Rantala. This new trio album with Peter Erskine (drums) and Lars Danielsson (bass) constitutes a many-faceted summing-up of a happy and resoundingly creative phase of Rantala s life. Rantala s compositional horizons are mostly what defines 'How Long Is Now?', but he also has a conscious intention to take a jazz trio in a specific direction: 'The basic concept,' he says, 'is to avoid the basic concept of the jazz piano trio and to make it more groovy, with simple melodies.' Seven of the thirteen compositions here are by Rantala himself, three tracks by the other players in the trio, and three more are by others who, in their different ways, have helped to construct Rantala s appealing musical personality - Jimi Hendrix, Kenny Barron and Johann Sebastian Bach.

REVIEW
'An infectious, tuneful and swinging trio album.Strong tunes, beautifully and cheerfully played. It s that simple.' 4 STARS --The Times