Iiro Rantala Good Stuff

Vienna, Rome, Seoul... Iiro Rantala and Ulf Wakenius are musicians who travel the world, always on tour as leaders of their own projects. Each track of the album captures the mood of a different city. Rantala: “Every place is lifted by its music and is therefore unique. We've hunted down these specific sounds.”

Vienna, Rome, Seoul... Iiro Rantala and Ulf Wakenius are musicians who travel the world, always on tour as leaders of their own projects. So it was something of a fluke that this duo was able to come into existence at all. The idea first emerged in October 2015, when Rantala and Wakenius stopped off at the Philharmonie in Berlin. Siggi Loch, curator of the “Jazz at Berlin Philharmonic” concert series, had brought them together on stage for the “Tears for Esbjörn” concert. “We were part of a larger ensemble on that occasion”, Rantala remembers, “but it was clear to both of us straight away that we would want to form a duo.” This has to be seen as a  very smart move, given the rarity of the piano-guitar duo in jazz – a fine exception being that of Brad Mehldau with Pat Metheny.Thereafter, whenever gaps could be found in both of thei...

Line up:

iiro rantala / piano
ulf wakenius / guitar

Recording Information:

Produced by Siggi Loch
Recorded by Nanni Johansson at the ACT Art Collection Berlin, May 30 & 31, 2017
Mixed and mastered by Klaus Scheuermann
Iiro Rantala played on the “Alfred Brendel” Steinway D-524780, tuned by Thomas Hübsch
Cover art by Jiri Geller, Kaos on Geller, 2015 used with the kind permission of the artist

Track List:

1. Vienna ( ulf wakenius)03:32
2. Carmen ( georges bizet / arr. by iiro rantala)04:07
3. Helsinki ( iiro rantala)04:13
4. Palma ( iiro rantala)03:44
5. Seoul ( iiro rantala)03:19
6. Nessun dorma ( giacomo puccini / arr. by iiro rantala & ulf wakenius)03:38
7. Sir duke ( stevie wonder / arr. by iiro rantala & ulf wakenius)03:48
8. Berlin ( ulf wakenius)03:16
9. What a wonderful world ( george david weiss & bob thiele / arr. by iiro rantala & ulf wakenius)03:49
10. Rome ( ulf wakenius)04:33
11. Giant steps ( john coltrane / arr. by iiro rantala)03:44
12. Love the stuff / ain´t no mountain high enough ( stuff / nickolas ashford & valerie simpson)02:46