Edward Vesala

Edward Vesala (born 15 February 1945 Mäntyharju as Martti Vesala; † 4 December 1999 in Helsinki ) was a Finnish jazz musician ( drummer, composer, bandleader ).

Life and work

Vesala took first with Mauri Antero Numminen on, founded in 1970 his own trio, was a larger audience through the collaboration with Jan Garbarek, with Peter Brötzmann and Peter Kowald and in particular with Tomasz Stanko and Tomasz Szukalski known; Stanko he can be heard on a variety of plates from the 1970s. In 1973 he played a solo record as a percussion artist. In addition to his performances with Stanko he accompanied at that time often American musicians such as Paul Bley, Chick Corea, Archie Shepp, Roswell Rudd and Gary Burton. In 1976 he joined with Toto Blanke and Jasper van't Hof on in the jazz-rock group Electric Circus. In 1977 he formed a trio with Gerd Dudek and Buschi Niebergall.

From 1984 to 1986 he conducted courses and workshops, and worked for a year as a teacher at a school where the young musicians he conveyed his experiences. Later he taught these students more private; from this circle, he recruited the musicians for his ensemble Sound and Fury. This large size and idiosyncratic cast (woodwind, harp, guitar, accordion) striking ensemble played only the idiosyncratic, Tango, inclusive classical and Finnish folk music, but sometimes quite bulky original compositions by the band leader. In this group are as a musician especially saxophonists Jorma Tapio and Pepa Päivinen, the guitarist Raoul Björkenheim and Jimi Sumen and the harpist and keyboardist Iro Haarla, who was married to Vesala to call. Vesala also composed for the Philharmonic Orchestra of Helsinki.

Vesala is considered an important musician of the European jazz scene and was essential both as a drummer and as a composer and band leader for the development of a specifically European jazz at.

Lexigraphic entries

• Ian Carr et al Jazz Rough Guide Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-476-01584- X
• Wolf Kampmann Reclams Jazz Encyclopedia Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-15-010528-5
• Martin Kunzler, Jazz Encyclopedia Vol 2 Reinbek 2002 ISBN 3-499-16513-9