Three Seconds | Kolme Toista Jussi Reijonen

• 1Three Seconds | Kolme Toista: I. The Veil07:19
• 2Three Seconds | Kolme Toista: II. Transient08:21
• 3Three Seconds | Kolme Toista: III. The Weaver, Every so Often Shifting the Sands Beneath Her08:32
• 4Three Seconds | Kolme Toista: IV. Verso07:37
• 5Three Seconds | Kolme Toista: V. Median10:39
• Total Runtime42:28

Info for Three Seconds | Kolme Toista

On Three Seconds | Kolme Toista, his epic new transcultural suite, Finnish guitarist, oud player and composer Jussi Reijonen returns with his most personal and ambitious work yet.

Featuring an all-star 9-piece ensemble of musicians from Jordan/Iraq, Palestine, Turkey, Japan and the United States (whose credits include performances/recordings with Herbie Hancock and Roy Haynes to Simon Shaheen, Snarky Puppy and Yo-Yo Ma), the album 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. The expansive new work goes above and beyond his critically acclaimed debut un (2013).

As Reijonen unpacks, unravels and transcends the interlaced cultural threads within his experience, he builds a sonic world of broad and beautiful proportions. 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.

Through its 42-minute, 5-movement span, Three Seconds | Kolme Toista reveals an artist seeking a new musical syntax that challenges cultural binaries while promoting transcultural dialogue and conversation beyond mere identity politics.

Jussi Reijonen, fretless and fretted electric guitars, classical guitar, oud
Jason Palmer, trumpet, flugelhorn
Bulut Gulen, trombone
Layth Sidiq, violin
Naseem Alatrash, cello
Utar Artun, piano
Kyle Miles, acoustic and fretless bass
Keita Ogawa, percussion
Vancil Cooper, drums

Jussi Reijonen
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 and Lebanon.

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 will be 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, is a member of the New York Arabic Orchestra, and continues his work as an educator in the US and Europe.

Through his work as an educator and doctoral researcher, Jussi continues to promote and provoke transcultural dialogue and conversation across boundaries and disciplines beyond mere identity politics.

This album contains no booklet.