String Tease

JPP

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 13, 1998)
• Original Release Date: October 13, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Northside Records
• ASIN: B00000DCW9
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #316,619 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
JPP has been spearheading the Finnish folk revival for over a decade, fusing traditional tunes and the unavoidable Finn penchant for tango to create a new and unique art form, one that has given them one of the most recognizable sounds in Scandinavia. Using bass, harmonium (pump organ), and a gang of ace fiddlers, they come to this new album full of new ideas, tight and innovative compositions, and a spirit that will refuse the listener any complacency. They roar into the opening track, "Hale Bopp," with a semiclassical verve, taking fiddler Mauno Järvelä and harmonium player Timo Alakotila's composition and making it into a stark skyscape. They play beautiful waltzes, lively polkas, and some jazzy originals, each with sparkling accuracy and cleverly arranged spirit. String Tease not only features the usual contingent of three to five fiddles, but also adds the JPP String Orchestra on a number of cuts for a rich full-chamber sound. This record also marks a departure for the band, as they collaborate with the Swedish folk-pop band Väsen on a few tracks, adding guitar, nyckelharpa, and percussion to their usual string sound in some great new tunes. This is the best record the band has made to date and a major accomplishment for the Finnish new folk scene. --Louis Gibson

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bravo!, May 2, 2002

By	Nick Nalepa (Greenville, SC, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am not sure if JPP is playing in a classical style bordering on folk ensemble or the reverse, but this is excellent music. JPP is Finnish, and their compositions merge Scandanavian, Karelia Russian and Traditional Celtic influences into a unique style all of their own. But this is no typical set of pseudo-celtic fiddle tunes. JPP makes use of the full range of string instruments available and builds complex and strong chord progressions of the kind one associates with climatic moments of classical symphony. Yet as this musical compilation rises and descends through a very dynamic range the individual pieces remain in their essence just fast-paced, folk-fiddle tunes. Amazing stuff. In my 270+ CD collection, JPP String Tease is easily in the top ten.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Altan in steroids, March 11, 2000

By	DAVID E MIRO (San Juan, Puerto Rico) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

My experience with JPP started when I heard "McLean's Dream" over the "World Beat" channel at discjockey.com. My jaw dropped to the floor: I've heard fiddle groups, good ones, mainly from the Celtic countries, Galicia, etc., but not something like this. This is literally a "wall of fiddles" with a bit better sense of harmony and counterpoint (up to 14 fiddles whn they go onstage!). I then got the CD, and am now a fan. If you want a slightly better variety of music than the average Northern European traditional music group, listen to this. You'll be pleased. (BTW, if you want beautiful singing, you may try Clannad, Capercaille, Enya, and the rest -that you won't find here...)

5.0 out of 5 stars FANTASTIC!, May 11, 1999

By A Customer

This recording is amazing... lilting tunes, tight sounds, not to be missed.