Jukka Eskola - trumpet
Timo Lassy - sax / flute
Mikael Jakobsson - piano
Antti Lötjönen - bass
Teppo Mäkynen - drums
Tuomas Kallio - commander in chief
Sounds Like
HOT CORNER ALBUM GETS TWO EMMA AWARDS (THE FINNISH "GRAMMYS") AT THE FINNISH RECORDING INDUSTRY AWARDS 2009
Jazz Album of The Year and Critics' Choice award
01 Hot Rod
02 Kerouac Days in Montana (ft. Mark Murphy)
03 Skinny Dipping
04 Rich in Time (ft. Okou)
05 Midnight in Trieste
06 Come and Get Me (ft. Mark Murphy)
07 Interlope II
08 Waltz Up
09 Easy Diggin'
10 Shake It
11 Habib's Habit
The Five Corners Quintet - Live @ Kuudes Linja, Helsinki 31.01.2009
The Five Corners Quintet - Lighthouse Live @ BitefArtCafe 30.10.2007
The Five Corners Quintet - Shake It Live @ Tavastia, Helsinki 19.12.2008
The Five Corners Quintet - NYC's Jazz @ Lincoln Center
The Five Corners Quintet - Skinny Dipping Live
The Five Corners Quintet - Drum solo @ Roskilde Festival 2006
The Five Corners Quintet - Live @ Jazz Cafe, London
The Five Corners Quintet - Live @ AQUARIUS, Zagreb, 20.11.2008
In 2005, The Five Corners Quintet from Helsinki took the international dancefloor jazz scene by a storm. “Chasin’ the Jazz Gone By”, their debut for Ricky-Tick Records, a label that was initially conceived of as a vehicle for releasing the very first TFCQ vinyl single, proved out to be both an artistic and a commercial success story. For once and for all, the album proved that it is possible to look back while moving forward. The touch of producer-composer Tuomas Kallio was true to the golden era of modern jazz, and his vision in updating form rather than feeling resulted in music that is truly “postmodern jazz”, if there ever was some.
Three years, some 50 000 sold records, and 100+ international gigs later, The Five Corners Quintet are set to return with their sophomore effort. The album, due to be released in Europe on 14 November 2008, is entitled “Hot Corner”, and everything about it indicates that the scene-leading Finnish ensemble isn’t going to settle for re-doing their debut album. Rarther, theirs will be the task of taking 21st Century dancefloor jazz into another level.
Some things remain, of course. The sports axiom about not changing a winning team reigns true here, with a guest appearance by jazz vocalist par excellance, Mr. Mark Murphy, who also lent his golden voice to three tracks on the debut. This time around, however, it should come as no big suprise that a bunch of Finns manage to lure a living jazz legend to take part in their production, for TFCQ face high expectations when it comes to their return in recorded form.
The enormously successful live band consisting of Teppo Mäkynen (drums/bandleader), Timo Lassy (sax), Jukka Eskola (trumpet), Mikael Jakobsson (piano), and Antti Lötjönen (double bass), also remains. On “Hot Corner”, however, the band takes a larger role in comparison to the first album. Tuomas Kallio is the “commander-in-chief” once again, but there’s a stronger sense of community also in the studio.
The new sound of TFCQ could be described as leaning towards the “Hot” of the album title more than the cool of their previously recorded work. Here, the impact of the live band is evident. Kallio’s compositions also move away from standard jazz into fresh new territories, where even the occasional flirt with genres such as rockabilly is to be expected. The EP preceding the album release already showed marks of the band “rocking” rather than “swinging”, and those directions are further explored on the upcoming album.
One thing is certain: The Five Corners Quintet have a knack at searching and finding new directions instead of following paths trampeled by others. Of this, their new album “Hot Corner” is an ample piece of evidence.
The new album "Hot Corner" (Ricky-Tick, RTCD09/RT027) was released on November 14 2008!
THE JAZZ MAGAZINE IN HOLLAND VOTED HOT CORNER NUMBER 1 IN THEIR JAZZNOTJAZZ LISTING!!!
“Without dumbing down or selling out they have moved jazz out of the dark ages by delivering on Kallio's original idea of grooving jazz played in the classic modernist spirit and underpinned with contemporary club rhythms.” Stuart Nicholson, The Observer
The Observer / Stuart Nicholson review
BBC Music Magazine
The Financial Times
The Observer 21.12.2008 Hidden Gems of 2008: Acts that slipped below the radar last year
The Five Corners Quintet Hot Corner album release and tour in Japan a HUGE success
The six sold out Billboard shows (in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka) plus over 10 000 sold CDs in just two weeks shows just how well Japan has been treating The Five Corners Quintet as of late. Thanks so much for the massive support!!!
