Finnish saxophonist Timo Lassy may not be a familiar name to American jazz fans yet, but if there is any justice, that will change with the release of this debut album. Lassy is part of the turn-of-the-millennium group of truly fantastic jazz musicians from Europe in general and Finland in particular, who have embraced both the "mainstream" hard bop and soul-jazz traditions as well as the more sophisticated aspect of club culture (sans hip-hop or house music) and come up with a new palette of colors and textures to draw from. The Soul Jazz of Timo Lassy is his full-length debut, and it's a stunner. The album was issued in June of 2007 in Europe and Japan on the mighty independent Ricky Tick imprint, while in the States it was issued in cooperation with the excellent ObliqSound imprint that also released African guitarist Lionel Loueke's American debut. Lassy is a member of the Five Corners Quintet, the U-Street All Stars (who record for Blue Note in Europe; stateside listeners get...never mind), and the Teddy Rok Seven (and a member of Jimi Tenor's live band). In general, he is a leading light on the vibrant Helsinki jazz scene. Lassy has a big-boned earthy sound on the tenor and baritone saxophones and funky big sound on the flute. Comparisons in the liner notes to this set cite Willis Jackson and Pharoah Sanders, but that's misleading in a sense, because there are so many players that Lassy has been influenced by in creating his own utterly complete voice on the horns. The band includes the best and the brightest of the Finnish jazz lights, including fellow Fiver Corners members trumpeter Jukka Eskola and bassist Antti Lötjönen. Other players include the great Teppo (Teddy Rok) Mäkynen on drums, vibes, and percussion, and the Greek transplant to Finland George Kontrafouris on piano.

1		Early Move
2		Live at the Timber Yard
3		The Call
4		Universal Four
5		Weldon
6		Sweet Spot
7		Love Moan
8		African Rumble

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