Timo Lassy & Teppo Mäkynen - Timo Lassy & Teppo Mäkynen (2019)

Helsinki duo Timo Lassy & Teppo Mäkynen present strong body of work on their new album which updates the sound of an acoustic sax+drums combo in a highly inspiring way. Lassy plays sax, Mäkynen plays drums and handles production duties. Consisting of 13 focused tracks each clocking in at around three minutes, the album's sound ranges from spiritual-tinged free playing all the way to delicious 4/4 groove hard-hitters, showcasing producer "Teddy Rok" Mäkynen's love for electronic music. That being said, the sound here is that of an acoustic jazz band, placed left of the timeline and thinking ahead of what this instrumentation could achieve. The overall sound is warm and inviting, with the various delicious details inspiring repeated listening.

"Timo Lassy & Teppo Mäkynen" is their first album as a duo, but actually crowns years of collaboration between them - The Five Corners Quintet, Teddy Rok Seven, Jo Stance, Timo Lassy Band: the two friends have been playing together and experimented different forms of collaboration for more than a decade now.

As far as the term "award-winning" goes, here we have two of the latest "Finnish jazz album of the year" winners joining forces and doing what they do best. Both Lassy and Mäkynen are tried and tested stars of the vibrant Finnish jazz scene, and artists who have time and again proven to be highly inventive when moving forward. The new LP "Timo Lassy & Teppo Mäkynen" adds a significant new chapter onto their collaboration, and presents a new formation which will surely be a force to be reckoned with on the live circuit.