There’s a serenity and an abstract cleansing, an otherness yet also a sense of repose on Iro Haarla’s latest album Kolibri released on Monday, the Finnish composer, pianist and harpist joined for the first time on record by her all-Finnish sextet of trumpeter Verneri Pohjola, the Tomasz Stańko of his generation, trombonist Jari Hongisto, saxophonist/flautist Kari Heinilä, bassist Ulf Krokfors, and drummer Markku Ounaskari. Unusually Haarla in addition to piano plays chen, a Taiwanese folk instrument, a bit like a koto, on two of the seven pieces. In the notes of the TUM records release Haarla comments: “I try to awaken the most fundamental emotions in the listeners – almost as if issuing a challenge to them to give ever more love to each other and to help each other in receiving it.” Inspired by the natural world with several titles inspired by animals, birds on ‘Nightjar’, the title track ‘Kolibri’ being the Finnish word for the hummingbird, and ‘Legend of Cranes’; bears on ‘Spirit Bear’; other tracks are ‘Procession’, ‘Sad But True’, and an orchestrated version of the solo piano piece ‘Vesper’ dedicated to Haarla’s father composed for a video work of her artist brother’s.   

The Iro Haarla sextet with Haarla on chen Photo: Maarit Kytöharju