Jussi Reijonen - Les Paul - © Jaakko Huikari 2023.jpg

THREE SECONDS | KOLME TOISTA

A TRANSCULTURAL SUITE IN 5 MOVEMENTS

The music is unlike anything in memory;
it doesn’t simply alternate worldly assortments of styles
but rather creates a new, genre-less, form.

Three Seconds | Kolme Toista is spellbinding from beginning to end,
and full of virtuoso performances;
it is one of the best recordings of 2022.

★★★★½
— All About Jazz (USA)
Even in our present jazz moment, when the art form is worldwide and vital,
albums that come as complete surprises are relatively rare.

Three Seconds | Kolme Toista is a stunner.

This album is a single, unified, diverse, overwhelming statement.
— JazzTimes (USA)
Best Jazz Albums of 2022
— Glide Magazine (USA)
Best Creative Music Albums of 2022
— All About Jazz (USA)
Best Albums of 2022
— Yahoo! Entertainment Staff Picks
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
— Ilkka-Pohjalainen (Finland)
★★★★★
— Kulttuuritoimitus (Finland)
★★★★
— Il Manifesto (Italy)
 

WITH Three Seconds | Kolme Toista,
COMPOSER, GUITARIST, AND OUD PLAYER JUSSI REIJONEN
PRESENTS his most personal and ambitious work yet.

Bringing together an all-star 9-piece ensemble of musicians from Finland, Jordan/Iraq, Palestine, Turkey, Japan and the United States whose credits include performances/recordings with Herbie Hancock, Roy Haynes, Simon Shaheen, Danilo Pérez, Terence Blanchard, Snarky Puppy and Yo-Yo Ma, composer, guitarist and oud player Jussi Reijonen’s long-awaited new album Three Seconds | Kolme Toista [Challenge Records International, 2022] draws from the deep pool of influences and experiences of a childhood spent in the Middle East and East Africa as well as 13 years in the United States as an adult.

As Reijonen’s expansive new work unpacks, unravels and transcends the interlaced cultural threads within his experience, he builds a sonic world of broad and beautiful proportions, going above and beyond his critically acclaimed debut un | ان.

The dynamic interplay of the Finnish, Jordanian, Tanzanian, Omani, Lebanese and American cultures in which he grew up and lived, the ever-present feeling of being welcomed yet never truly belonging, the longing to understand his own identity within this complex and wondrous multicultural and multilingual context, and the disorienting effect of their transient existence on his familial relationships are expressed, explored and stunningly resolved in Reijonen’s transcendent suite.

There is a deftness and balance to Reijonen’s work
that conveys both the epic and the personal...
a record that is compelling for its restraint
in deploying its myriad musical influences.
— Songlines (UK)

WITH:

JASON PALMER

trumpet, flugelhorn

(Herbie Hancock, Roy Haynes, Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Ravi Coltrane)

BULUT GÜLEN

trombone

(Dianne Reeves, Kurt Elling, Christian Scott)

LAYTH SIDIQ

violin

(Danilo Pérez Global Messengers, Simon Shaheen, Jack DeJohnette, New York Arabic Orchestra)

NASEEM ALATRASH

cello

(Danilo Pérez Global Messengers, Terence Blanchard, Turtle Island Quartet, Simon Shaheen)

UTAR ARTUN

microtonal piano

(Bobby McFerrin, Maria Schneider, David Fiuczynski, Rudresh Mahanthappa)

KYLE MILES

fretless and upright bass

(Marcus Strickland, Terri Lyne Carrington, Meshell Ndegeocello, Patrice Rushen, Greg Osby)

KEITA OGAWA

percussion

(Snarky Puppy, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Bokanté, Yo-Yo Ma, Maria Schneider Orchestra)

VANCIL COOPER

drums

(Queen Latifah, Lalah Hathaway, Kimbra, Hamilton)


jussi reijonen

is an award-winning composer,
fretted/fretless guitarist and Arabic oud player,
researcher AND EDUCATOR. 

Born in Rovaniemi, a small town on the Arctic Circle in Northern Finland, fretted/fretless guitarist and oud player Jussi Reijonen is truly the product of a life lived transcending boundaries.

Having grown up in Finnish Lapland, the Middle East and East Africa, and spending much of his adulthood in the United States, Jussi has lived a life soaking up the sounds, sights, scents and shades of Nordic, Middle Eastern, African and American cultures, all of which are reflected in his creative work as composer and performer.

Along his path, Jussi has worked as bandleader, sideman, composer or arranger with a diverse array of world-renowned artists. He has collaborated with Jack DeJohnette, Pepe de Lucía, Javier Limón, David Fiuczynski, Simon Shaheen, Bassam Saba, Arto Tunçboyacıyan, Dave Weckl, Hüsnu Şenlendirici and the New York Gypsy All-Stars, among others. He has performed extensively at prestigious festivals and venues throughout the United States like Lincoln Center and the Library of Congress, as well as in Finland, Sweden, Latvia, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Germany, France, Canada, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates.

Jussi’s Independent Music Award-nominated debut album un | ان was released to great critical acclaim in early 2013 on his unmusic label. His latest album Three Seconds | Kolme Toista, a long-form suite for a new transcultural 9-piece ensemble, features musicians from Jordan/Iraq, Palestine, Turkey, Japan and the United States and was released worldwide on October 14th, 2022 via Challenge Records International.

Alongside his solo work, he co-leads Sawaari, a quintet exploring the nexus of Indian rhythms, Arabic maqamat, and trance music from North Africa and Southern Italy. He collaborates with Swiss vocalist Gabriela Martina, and is a member of the New York Arabic Orchestra.

Through his work as doctoral researcher and faculty at Sibelius Academy at University of the Arts in Helsinki, Finland, Jussi continues to promote and provoke transcultural dialogue and conversation across boundaries and disciplines beyond mere identity politics.

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ThE NEW ALBUM

NOISE FROM THE OUDSHED