Ruokangas Guitars Weekly Wednesday Live Q&A
LONDON JAZZ NEWS
“Farid al-Atrash’s playing – and singing – has something magical in it. This taqsim highlights all the signatures of his style, but what I’ve always been the most attracted to is the unique accenting and elasticity in his rhythmic phrasing. He is probably the original reason I’ve personally always been more partial to the Arabic schools of oud playing than Turkish or Armenian, for instance – as deep and beautiful as they both also are in their own right.”
–Interview with London Jazz News, August 18 2022
Uusi Rovaniemi
“Juureni… ovat monessa maaperässä. Olen nk. kolmannen kulttuurin kasvatti, eli ihminen, joka on syntynyt yhdessä kulttuuriympäristössä, kasvanut toisessa/toisissa, ja tämän seurauksena muodostanut uuden ”kolmannen kulttuurin”. Koen yhtä aikaa olevani kotonani missä tahansa, mutta en oikein missään.”
–Interview with Uusi Rovaniemi / Lapin Kansa, Feruary 27 2019
the BOSTON GLOBE
“Guitarist/oudist Reijonen’s meditative sounds echo his cultural influences.”
–Interview with Jeremy D. Goodwin
All About Jazz
“Jussi Reijonen is an exceptional musician. On his debut recording as a leader, Un (Self Produced, 2012), the Finnish guitarist/oudist has succeeded in crystallizing a spectrum of influences, sounds and textures into a highly personal, sensual mosaic that blurs the distinction between jazz, Middle Eastern traditional music, West African music, and even Finnish folk elements.“
–Interview with Eyal Hareuveni
Jazz Inside New YorK
riffi
“Could Jussi Reijonen have what it takes to become a future cosmopolite of music? Time will tell, but his debut album ‘Un’ forecasts a bright future.”
“Olisiko Jussi Reijosessa ainesta tulevaksi musiikin kosmopoliitiksi? Aika näyttää, mutta ainakin debyyttilevy ‘Un’ lupaa hyvää tulevaisuutta ajatellen.”
–Interview with Timo Östman
“‘…you have such a beautiful accent when you speak. Why do I not hear that when you play guitar?’ That just stopped me … my whole outlook changed – what was my accent? Where was I from? What is my own handwriting in sound? It sparked an entire re-evaluation of myself on many levels, not only musically.”
–Interview with Eric Nemeyer
Helsingin Sanomat
“Music, too, is a dialect, a way to communicate where I am from.”
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“Musiikkikin on murre, tapa sanoa mistä mie oon kotoisin.”
– Interview with Sonja Saarikoski
Lapin Kansa
“I closed my eyes as the familiar tune [“Naima”] from a jazz legend [John Coltrane] played and opened them later to make room for tears. The music that Reijonen had composed as a sonic picture of his Lappish roots was so beautiful that I felt as if it had cleansed me. All the pettiness, jealousy and bitterness that had gathered in me peeled away, and what was left was only the human being I would like to be. They were tears of joy, that flowed hot onto my cheeks without cramps of any kind. I suppose it was a spiritual experience, although I have never experienced anything spiritual in the religious sense.“
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“Suljin silmäni jazzlegendan [John Coltrane] tutun kappaleen [“Naima”] soidessa ja avasin ne myöhemmin tehdäkseni tilaa kyynelille. Reijosen Lapin-juuriensa äänikuvaksi säveltämä musiikki oli niin kaunista, että minusta tuntui, kuin se olisi puhdistanut minut. Kaikki se pikkusieluisuus, kateus ja katkeruus, joka minuun oli kertynyt, karisi pois ja jäljelle jäi vain ihminen, jollainen haluaisin olla. Ne olivat onnen kyyneleitä, jotka soljuivat kuumina poskille vailla minkäänlaisia kramppeja. Se oli kai hengellinen kokemus, vaikken mitään uskonnoista ponnistavaa hengellistä ole ikinä kokenutkaan.“
–Concert review by Jouni Kantola