NJET NJET 9 — Toivo (review)

NJET NJET 9 — Toivo album cover Album · 2024 · Nu Jazz Buy this album from MMA partners
4.5/5 ·
Matti P
Nu jazz is a subgenre I haven't much explored yet, even though it really seems to please me. In short it's jazz with electronic music ingredients, a step further from its cousin 'acid jazz'. Amusingly named Njet Njet 9 is a Finnish instrumental group founded in 2015 and led by keyboardist-composer Ville Kyttälä. Toivo (=Hope) is their fourth album released a few months ago. I haven't listened to the previous albums, because in fact I just found the band by shuffling through the JMA database. I won't let that bother me, I'm only glad to introdude them here. Great stuff!

Toivo has seven tracks mostly around 5-6 minute length, which feels exactly suitable for the compositions; there's enough space to weave fascinating and hypnotically flowing soundscapes with a feel of progression, and at the same time things are kept compact enough not to lose focus or freshness. 'Pöllö' (=Owl) is an excellent opener. The atmosphere is at first very soft and nocturnal, but the playing gets more intense in an awesome way. Kyttälä's otherworldly synths offer the coolest details, harmonically accompanied by richly nuanced woodwinds. Markus Pajakkala, also remembered as the frontman of UTOPIANISTI, has beautiful flute parts here.

'Maa' (=Earth/Country) is also pretty dynamic and contains important contributions from bass clarinet and bass trombone. The band's overall sound is deliciously juicy. The summery jazz groove and the [space/progressive] rock aspect are in a happy harmony, and that's naturally also due to the gifted rhythm section and guitarist Veikki Virkajärvi.

The fourth piece 'Pieni pilvi' (=Little cloud) is a dreamy slow-tempo tune that brings me -- guided by the title, of course -- associations to the Gil Evans /Sting interpretation of the Jimi Hendrix ballad, whether it's deliberate or not. It doesn't citate the song anyhow but the mood is a bit similar. The longest track 'The Messenger' (8:17) takes a couple of minutes to start properly. The length is used for both deepening the hypnotic beat and bringing variety in the arrangement. The album closes with the romantically peaceful title track.

A very enjoyable, detailed and dynamic nu jazz album indeed. A pity that this time the band didn't invite any guest vocalists as they occasionally have done, but the whole surely works well as an all-instrumental album, too. Warmly recommended.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Jazz Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

JMA TOP 5 Jazz ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
A Love Supreme Post Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
Kind of Blue Cool Jazz
MILES DAVIS
Buy this album from our partners
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady Progressive Big Band
CHARLES MINGUS
Buy this album from our partners
Blue Train Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
My Favorite Things Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners

New Jazz Artists

New Jazz Releases

Natsuki Tamura-Satoko Fujii-Ramon Lopez : Yama Kawa Umi Avant-Garde Jazz
NATSUKI TAMURA / SATOKO FUJII
Buy this album from MMA partners
Horns Locked Hard Bop
NICK HEMPTON
Buy this album from MMA partners
Solstice Post-Fusion Contemporary
PAOLO RUSSO
Buy this album from MMA partners
Why Not? Eclectic Fusion
ZAKK JONES
Buy this album from MMA partners
DJabe and Steve Hackett : Freya - Arctic Jam Fusion
DJABE
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Jazz Online Videos

Akiko Yano & Hiromi - Kawarushi (Official Audio)
HIROMI
js· 1 day ago
All I Want For Christmas Is You
DAVID HAZELTINE
js· 1 day ago
Chicken
QUATUOR EBÈNE
js· 2 days ago
Det er en egen lomme
THE LEIF
js· 2 days ago
Generosity (feat. Rick DiMuzio, Dor Herskovits & Andrew Schiller)
BERT SEAGER
js· 2 days ago
More videos

New JMA Jazz Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Jazz News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed