Bullhorn

Bullhorn is the new album by Finnish trumpeter/composer, Verneri Pohjola, his third as leader. Based in Helsinki, the thirty-six year old has been in the international spotlight for the past few years and is acknowledged as a jazz star in the making. His distinctive tone, with its deeply affecting purity and lyricism, and highly melodic improvising is embedded in self-penned compositions marked by memorable and imaginative themes that steer clear of any hackneyed notion of Nordic jazz. Bullhorn is a key album in Pohjolas career, marking the shift from a rising start to an artist of real substance with a powerful, unique sound and a sense of deepening maturity and clarity of vision. Bullhorn is the album that finally realises Verneris enormous creative potential. Featuring his long term associates and friends: pianist Aki Rissanen, bassist Antti Ltjnen and drummer Teppo Mkynen, Bullhorn undertakes a panoramic overview of Verneris wide-ranging, evocative yet energetic approach to music-making, anchored in his strong, personal sound. As Pohjola explains: "It has the intimate sounds and lyricism in improvised passages that I love, but also the rough energy and emphasis on the compositions - everything I want to express in my music".