Jukka Iisakkila’s Clocks and Clouds is a jazz-fusion / progressive rock album that, in the words of fellow Finnish music guy Pekka Pohjola, revels in the “consequences of head bending.”
And, speaking of “head bending,” this album follows with a strong stroke in the wake of Pekka Pohjola’s albums like Keesojen Lehto (aka The Mathematician’s Air Display) and the Group. Ditto for the sincere nod to the jazz-rock of Frank Zappa and all his “Gumbo Variations.”
Iisakkila’s “Freefall” floats on melodic jazzy air and is then condensed into a staccato pulse not unlike Genesis’ “Watcher of the Skies.” Now, this music does not sound like Tony Banks and company, but if the warm circulus moments of the prog drum-driven (and sort of jazzy) “Los Endos” could be untethered for almost seven minutes, this tune may well be the dramatic (and equally drum-driven, thank you, Ilkka Saarikoski!) sonic celebration — with an absolutely wonderful Jukka Iisakkila guitar solo. By the way, he also carves the grooves with his keyboard and bass playing.
“The Only Sound Is Waterdrops,” again, floats on jazz air. But at (about) 1:46 into the tune, the colorful almost folk melody takes over the dance and then is allowed the space to wah-wah into the lovely ventured weird pulse of warm prog-fusion space. There’s even more “head-bending” music. Not to bring up Genesis again, but “The Only Sound Is Waterdrops” also recalls the colorful instrumental parts of, say, “Firth of Fifth” and “The Cinema Show.” As my friend Kilda Defnut always says, “Not only is a rose is a rose is a rose, but great prog music is great prog music is great prog music.”
Then, “Inner Universe Fever” gets tough and rocks the celestial spheres. But, once again, the tune shifts into a just plain catchy groove that re-emerges later with a greater rock (and rather joyous!) propulsion. Sometimes, jazzy fusion can be an exercise in academic vitreosity. But, like their cousins from Sweden in Samla Mannas Manna, Jukka Iisakkila always adds humor and quirky refreshments into his rather serious compositions. Ditto, once again, for Frank Zappa, who long ago invited willing listeners to a “Prelude to the Afternoon of a Sexually Aroused Gas Mask.”
As Kilda Defnut also says, “Juxtaposition is the paintbrush of deep humorous wisdom.” And the brief “Interludes” on Clocks and Clouds do just that: They are piano terse, with a bit of acoustic guitar, with an interjection of weird child-like voices. This is lovely Scandinavian prog stuff.
Iisakkila’s title track continues with the juxtaposition of spacey exploration thrust against clever instrumental bits, and a synapse-swinging guitar sol that is haloed with sublime keyboards clouds. This is dramatic; as (the great) Steve Hackett once warned, “Please Don’t Touch.” “Darling We’ve Made a Mess” rushes to the finish line with a swirl of weird prog complexity. The tune is a maze of melody, as it flips coins to determine the end of our universe. And yes, of course, there’s more (thank you, Lewis Carroll!) frabjous “head bending.”
The final tune, “Shakin’ It On,” corrals all the jazzy rock sound of the previous tunes and then lays down its piano-graced poker hand that continues to “dance” on that prog-rock “volcano” with certain joy – and then, it all somehow, dissolves into a few brief notes (I do believe!) of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite.
And, yeah, that’s a pretty strange was to end Jukka Iisakkila’s Clocks and Clouds, a wonderful record that, for some odd reason, sports a top-hatted cartooned and rather delightful duck on its jazz-fusion / progressive rock ’n’ roll cover art.
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