Scandinavian genius Toivo Kärki mirrors Weather Report

Here is a genius, Mr. Toivo Kärki, a completely unknown composer from the north, the European country of Finland. On his latest CD, "A Lark in the Snowstorm", fifteen songs are telling about down-to-earth activities in Life, the sad and happy stories. This is my cup of tea. But there's even more. It's immensely diverse, from three vocalists with a variety of timbres to orchestras from regular strings to jazz big band. There are even synthesizers incorporated on a few songs.

Finland is unfortunately not on the daily news, at least not on the same scale as Great Britain, France, Italy, Belgium and the United States. I feel slightly embarrassed to say I had to look up where Finland is located, and reading its history. But it is worthwhile. Earning its independence less than one hundred years ago, makes it a very young independent nation for Europe. The country is known for its great classical composer, Jean Sibelius, but here is someone, a splendid Toivo Kärki, who has beautifully adopted rhythm, a dancing groove, adventurous approach to harmony and still a natural affinity for the natural folk-tale singing of his country. All songs are in his language, but fortunately the titles are translated to English.

There is funk, swing, ballads and traditional string quartet here. But if that sounds like a compiled collection, I can assure, it is not. It is rather moods which shift from one world to another, all held together by the melancholic sounding basic structure. If any influences could be mentioned, it could be Russian 20th century composers, Shostakovich mostly, and the American fusion group Weather Report. But in this combination, there is nothing else that sounds like this. Can't say enough how much a recommendation to the rest of the world is in place, and I've heard the music of the south, the north, the Arabic, Indian, Rock'n Roll, jazz, European, you name it. Get A Lark in the Snowstorm, and in spite of that slightly scary title, you'll have a really warm experience.