Tag Archives: Aki Rissanen

Mixtape #151

01 September 2023


Hailing from Kuopio, Finland, Aki Rissanen is one of the most talented and creative artists of his generation. An accomplished pianist, composer and keyboardist, his solo and trio albums have earned him global recognition, along with membership and collaborations with various bands and projects. Originally classically trained, he cultivated his passion for jazz and improvised music later studying in Paris, Cologne and New York. Rissanen rightfully brings his technical abilities and sensibilities to the fore on the recently released Hyperreal, a powerful, beautiful and engaging album filled with virtuosity. We’re stoked to have him put together this month’s sublime mixtape, encapsulating the influences at play in his own music.

  1. Art Tatum – Taboo [Clef Records]
  2. Atomic – Boom Boom [Jazzland Recordings]
  3. Arve Henriksen – Bird’s-Eye View [Rune Grammofon]
  4. Bill Evans Trio – Gloria’s Step (Take 2) [Riverside Records]
  5. Serge Gainsbourg – Requiem pour un con [Philips]
  6. Artemis Quartet – Prestissimo (Ligeti’s String Quartet n.1) [Westdeutscher Rundfunk / Ars Musici]
  7. Ahmad Jamal – But Not For me [Parrot]
  8. Louis Sclavis – Maputo [Premonition Records]
  9. Brad Mehldau Trio – Knives Out [Nonesuch]
  10. Alfons & Aloys Kontarsky – Bewegung (Ligeti’s 3 pieces for 2 pianos)
  11. Miles Davis – Directions (Live at Filmore West) [Rock Melon Music LTD]
  12. Bill Frisell & Fred Hersch – It Might As Well Be Spring [Nonesuch]
  13. A Camp – The Crowning [Reveal Records / Nettwerk]

Aki Rissanen set to release new album, Hyperreal, in July

30 June 2023

Photot: Jori Huhtala

There’s a new album on the way from Finnish pianist and composer Aki Rissanen arriving in July. Entitled Hyperreal, the album saw Rissanen enlist drummer Robert Ikiz and long term collaborator, trumpeter Verneri Pohjola. Thematically the album explores ideas of change, of being aware, of renewal and letting go, as Rissanen explains:

“There’s a change to something new and yet unknown. With the rapid transformation of reality to the AI generated virtual reality or hyperreality, we have to be aware and adapt to these things and distinguish between what is real and unreal”.

Hyperreal will see the light of day on July 14th through Edition Records and we can already hear the sublime first single, ‘Quantum Ballad’. The track is offered with an accompanying video made by Ville Hyvönen.

Aki Rissanen’s new album Art in Motion out next month

29 August 2019

Finnish pianist Aki Rissanen is set to release a new album with his long-lasting trio featuring bassist Antti Lötjönen and drummer Teppo Mäkynen. Entitled Art in Motion, the upcoming album takes its name from a word play with the initials of Aki Rissanen Trio and “the influence of art music from the European repertoire”, as Rissanen explains in the liner notes. On the word motion, he explains they are “a rhythmically intense band inspired by the aesthetics of electronic dance music”, adding that they, “as jazz musicians, are in constant motion because our form of art doesn’t ever stand still!”.

Following the release of ‘Aeropeans’, Rissanen has shared a second single from the record called ‘Cantus Arcticus, Melancholy’, an orchestral composition written by Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara. Listen to both singles below and grab the album when it´s out on September 13th through Edition Records.