Jussi Reijonen

WITH THREE SECONDS | KOLME TOISTA, COMPOSER, GUITARIST, AND OUD PLAYER JUSSI REIJONEN PRESENTS HIS MOST PERSONAL AND AMBITIOUS WORK YET.

Bringing together an all-star 9-piece ensemble of musicians from Finland, Jordan/Iraq, Palestine, Turkey, Japan and the United States whose credits include performances/recordings with Herbie Hancock, Roy Haynes, Simon Shaheen, Danilo Pérez, Terence Blanchard, Snarky Puppy and Yo-Yo Ma, composer, guitarist and oud player Jussi Reijonen’s long-awaited new album Three Seconds | Kolme Toista [Challenge Records International, 2022] draws from the deep pool of influences and experiences of a childhood spent in the Middle East and East Africa as well as 13 years in the United States as an adult.

As Reijonen’s expansive new work unpacks, unravels and transcends the interlaced cultural threads within his experience, he builds a sonic world of broad and beautiful proportions, going above and beyond his critically acclaimed debut un | ان.

The dynamic interplay of the Finnish, Jordanian, Tanzanian, Omani, Lebanese and American cultures in which he grew up and lived, the ever-present feeling of being welcomed yet never truly belonging, the longing to understand his own identity within this complex and wondrous multicultural and multilingual context, and the disorienting effect of their transient existence on his familial relationships are expressed, explored and stunningly resolved in Reijonen’s transcendent suite.

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Born in Rovaniemi, a small town on the Arctic Circle in Finnish Lapland, fretted/fretless guitarist and oud player Jussi Reijonen is truly a product of the liminal spaces between cultures.

Having grown up in Finland, Jordan, Tanzania, Oman and Lebanon, and spending much of his adulthood in the United States, Jussi has lived a life soaking up sounds, sights, scents and shades of Nordic, Arabic, African and North American aesthetics and expression, all of which are reflected in his creative work as composer and performer.

Jussi’s debut album un | ان [unmusic 2013] was released to great critical acclaim, with Guitar Player magazine referring to it as “extraordinary music” and Lucid Culture calling it a “still, spacious, slowly unwinding masterpiece”. The album was nominated for an Independent Music Award in 2014.

Following a creative block that lasted nine years, his latest album Three Seconds | Kolme Toista [Challenge Records International 2022] introducing his new transcultural nonet with Jason Palmer (USA), Bulut Gülen (Turkey), Layth Sidiq (Jordan/Iraq), Naseem Alatrash (Palestine), Utar Artun (Turkey), Kyle Miles (USA), Keita Ogawa (Japan) and Vancil Cooper (USA) has been nothing short of an artistic triumph. Described as “unlike anything in memory… creates a new, genre-less, form… spellbinding from beginning to end, and full of virtuoso performances… one of the best recordings of 2022” by AllAboutJazz and “a stunner… a unified, diverse, overwhelming statement” by JazzTimes, the album has been a major international critical success, receiving 5-star reviews and being selected as Best Creative Albums of 2022 by AllAboutJazz and Best Jazz Albums of 2022 by Glide Magazine.

His Three Seconds | Kolme Toista nonet was chosen as a Jazzahead! 2023 official showcase artist.

Alongside his work as leader, Jussi has worked as sideman, composer or arranger with a diverse array of world-renowned artists. He has collaborated with Jack DeJohnette, Pepe de Lucía, Javier Limón, David Fiuczynski, Simon Shaheen, Bassam Saba, Arto Tunçboyacıyan, Dave Weckl, Hüsnu Şenlendirici and the New York Gypsy All-Stars, among others. He has performed extensively at prestigious festivals and venues throughout the United States like Lincoln Center and the Library of Congress, as well as in Finland, Sweden, Latvia, Switzerland, Austria, The Netherlands, Germany, France, Canada, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates. He is currently active with Swiss vocalist-composer Gabriela Martina and others, and is a member of the New York Arabic Orchestra.

Awards

2020 Arts-Sciences-Lettres, France Silver medal for artistic achievements, “Honneur et Reconnaissance aux Hommes de Valeur” 2017 13th Hi-Fi Album Awards, China Winner, “2017 Instrumental Album Performance of the Year” with Yazhi Guo: Endless Journey [Rhymoi Music 2017]. 2016 15th Annual Independent Music Awards, USA Winner, “Best Traditional Album” with Newpoli: Nun Te Vutà [Beartones 2015]. 2016 DownBeat magazine, “Best Albums of 2016” Awarded to Gabriela Martina: No White Shoes [Red Velvet Sounds 2016]. 2016 Berklee Urban Service Award 2016 Awarded to Sonic Relief for using music to aid people in need (organizing a humanitarian fundraising concert for Syrian Refugees, featuring Simon Shaheen and Lee Swensen Katz Trio, December 2015) 2014 13th Annual Independent Music Awards, USA Nomination for “Best World Beat Album” with Jussi Reijonen: un [unmusic 2013]. 2014 Lucid Culture, “The Best Jazz Albums of 2013” Awarded to Jussi Reijonen: un [unmusic 2013]. 2014 Radio WNYC, “New Sounds Best of 2013” Awarded to Jussi Reijonen: un [unmusic 2013]. 2014 Radio KMUW, Global Village “Best of 2013” Awarded to Jussi Reijonen: un [unmusic 2013]. 2013 Guitar Player Magazine, Editor’s Faves, April 2013 Awarded to Jussi Reijonen: un [unmusic 2013].

Gear

Ruokangas Guitars
Mad Professor Amplification
Maqiano
LaBella Strings