IIRO RANTALA — Iiro Rantala & Ulf Wakenius : Good Stuff (review)

IIRO RANTALA — Iiro Rantala & Ulf Wakenius : Good Stuff album cover Album · 2017 · Post-Fusion Contemporary Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
Matti P
Finnish pianist and composer IIRO RANTALA (b. 1970) has made an impressive discography, and in addition he has written music for several films and stage productions, especially ones made for childern. In the 90's he became known as the frontman of Trio Töykeät. The albums released under his name include both solo performances and collaborations with all kinds of musicians and ensembles. Good Stuff is an acoustic duo collaboration with the Swedish guitarist Ulf Wakenius (b. 1958), whose recording career started in 1983. Each of them has individually composed pieces named after cities, while half of the 12 tracks are arrangements of various kinds of evergreens.

'Vienna' is a happy opening piece in a fast tempo. 'Carmen' is Rantala's slow-tempo take on Bizet's opera aria, very enjoyable in its serenity. Equally beautiful and personal is the duo's arrangement of the famous 'Nessun Dorma' aria of Puccini. Playful 'Helsinki', romantically laid-back 'Palma' and angular 'Seoul' are Rantala's compositions. The rest of the city pieces are moody 'Berlin' and dramatic 'Rome' by Wakenius. It was a nice idea to be inspired by cities, as the listener can add his/her own images and ideas of them.

'What a Wonderful World' is best known as a Louis Armstrong song. The duo's version is elegant and, in the improvisatory jazz tradition, often running away from the lovely original melody. Then there's Stevie Wonder's 'Sir Duke', the soul classic 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough' and John Coltrane's 'Giant Steps'.

I think this album has a good balance between original compositions of Rantala and Wakenius and arrangements of well-known pieces from both opera world and popular music. Wakenius isn't so familiar to me, but anyone familiar with Iiro Rantala recognizes his personal style. Perhaps a little more emotional and melody-centred approach would have pleased me more on some tracks, and some electricity would have been interesting as well, so my rating is between the two existing ratings here, 3½ stars.
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