SOLAR WINDS
“This is the Coltrane of the Impulse! Records, the mystic who traveled on interstellar highways to inspire Björkenheim and associates, a powerful, precise and conceptual inspiration that creates music full of energy, life and even hope.” - Petri Silas
Raoul Björkenheim: electric guitar
Emanuele Parrini: violin
Jori Huhtala: contrabass
Tiziano Tononi: drums, percussion, gong
Björkenheim pays tribute to his musical hero and paragon John Coltrane, with a CD comprising five covers and two originals. Solar Winds shines with passion, warmth, and energy in its purest form, in an innovative and unusual guitar/violin/bass and drums quartet.
The Italian musicians demonstrate experience of the highest caliber, sharing a history of playing in legendary bands such as the Italian Instabile Orchestra and Nexus. Emanuele Parrini is one of Italy's top jazz/impro violinists, having collaborated in the past with Tony Scott, Cecil Taylor, Amiri Baraka, John Tchicai, Anthony Braxton, William Parker, Butch Morris, Marc Ribot and Cameron Brown, while Tiziano Tononi's collaborators include Pierre Favre, Tiziana Ghiglioni, Maggie Nicols, Barre Phillips, Dewey Redman, Giancarlo Schiaffini, and Gianluigi Trovesi.
Jori Huhtala, who joined the band in 2021, has been collaborating for ten years with Björkenheim in the quartet eCsTaSy, a heady free band. Huhtala is a much in demand bassist, performing and recording with Finland's top artists as well as legendary international jazz artists David Liebman, Billy Hart, Tim Hagans and Tim Ries.
This visionary music sees Björkenheim delivering his own sheets of sound with layers of highly electric fretwork reminiscent of the best guitar jazz and rock, looking at the past and the future simultaneously. The musicians supporting him in this project literally send his guitar and the music into space.