RECORDS
New Habitat (2020)
Catalog number: FRCD-101
Label: Fiasko Records
Release date: November 6, 2020
Format: CD (digisleeve)
All this brazen and exhilarating melange has been executed with brilliant playing skills and stylistic knowledge.
Rondo
1. Jännitys rakkauden (Innanen-Onttonen) (5:52)
2. Ratakatu 12 (Onttonen) (4:30)
3. Nighttime Rag (for Hampi the Cat) (Onttonen) (4:48)
4. Kaukana on Pjongjang (Innanen) (4:56)
5. Kesän kukkia kaipaan (Innanen) (6:33)
6. Egisa the Sensational Catfish (Innanen-Onttonen) (5:31)
7. Busukas (Innanen) (5:10)
8. It’s Your Life (Onttonen) (5:47)
9. Myötäjäisinä ruskeaa vettä (Innanen-Onttonen) (10:13)
Total time: 53:20
Mikko Innanen – alto and sopranino saxophones, fife (on 9)
Esa Onttonen – electric and acoustic guitars, keyboards (on 1), kantele (on 9)
Ilmari Pohjola – trombone
Veli Kujala – accordion
Petri Keskitalo – tuba
Mika Kallio – drums, Paiste cymbals, Pearl Syncussion (on 9)
with
Mari Palo – vocals (tracks 1 and 5)
Sami Kontola – percussion (tracks 1–3 and 5–7)
Recorded by Petri Majuri at E-studio, Sipoo on November 11–12, 2019. Editing and additional recordings by Esa Onttonen in various locations in Helsinki during the summer of 2020. Field recordings on Myötäjäisinä ruskeaa vettä by Mikko Innanen (the sound of Vantaanjoki rapids) and Esa Onttonen (thunderstorm).
Mixed by Abdissa Assefa at Ambience Studios, Helsinki in September 2020.
Mastered by Jaakko Viitalähde at Virtalähde Mastering.
Cover photos and Gourmet paper dolls by Esa Onttonen.
Paper doll photos by Riitta Juvonen, Martta Kallio, Susanne Kujala, Petri Kumela and Esa Onttonen.
Graphic design by Seppo Laine.
Produced by Esa Onttonen and Mikko Innanen.
Kesän kukkia kaipaan dedicated to Bettie Blackheart.
Merci, Charles Gil. Kiitos, Taike.
To be available.
En garde (2018)
Catalog number: FRCD-83
Label: Fiasko Records
Release date: April 27, 2018
Format: CD (digisleeve)
In Finland Gourmet is in a class of its own.
★★★★★
Helsingin Sanomat
Insanely good tragicomical and twisted jazz, simultaneously both intellectual and obscene.
★★★★★
Keskisuomalainen
Gourmet strikes like zillion volts.
★★★★★
SuomiJazz.com
The best features of the band are still glowing. Both saxophonist Innanen and guitarist Onttonen can write songs that you’ll remember and cause emotional reactions, not to mention visions.
★★★★
Soundi
A food of high-class quality and appearance. That’s the dictionary definition of gourmet and the same applies to the music of Gourmet.
★★★★
Satakunnan kansa
En Garde … will always surprise you with unexpected twists in a very musical way with a positive energy.
★★★★
SkJazz.sk
… this is jazz music at its best and most fun… An absolutely wonderful music experience!
salt peanuts*
Jälki vakuuttaa kautta linjan riemukkaalla revityksellään, timmillä tiukkuudellaan ja silkalla sujuvuudellaan.
Turun Sanomat
… the album is a jubilant listen.
Jazzpossu
You can expect anything from this sextet – and they also do it! The best thing about the music of this group is its ease. Nothing feels forced.
Salon seudun sanomat
1. Louis XIV (Innanen-Onttonen) (5:04)
2. Love Gone Wrong (Onttonen) (6:45)
3. Voice of Velour (Onttonen) (2:35)
4. What Can We Do When the Sky Falls Down? (Innanen) (5:27)
5. Flowers Are Pretty (Innanen) (5:36)
6. When We Leave, Where Will We Go? (Onttonen) (3:04)
7. Roy (Onttonen) (2:21)
8. Vorwärts gegen Faschismus (Innanen) (4:20)
9. Lasinen vuori (Innanen) (3:56)
10. Pas de pluie mardi (Innanen-Onttonen) (3:31)
11. My Little Llama Blue (Keskitalo) (1:38)
12. Pink Camel (Innanen-Onttonen) (6:57)
13. Muistoja Luxemburgista (Innanen) (3:32)
14. Järviradiota kuuntelen (Innanen) (2:10)
15. Lauluja tilaisuuksiin, osa 2: Juhlasoitto (Onttonen) (3:18)
Total time: 60:18
Mikko Innanen – alto, sopranino and baritone saxophone, voice (on 8)
Esa Onttonen – guitars, ukulele (on 13), vocals (on 14)
Ilmari Pohjola – trombone
Veli Kujala – accordion
Petri Keskitalo – tuba
Mika Kallio – drums
Voice on Pas de pluie mardi by Nathalie Aubret.
Recorded by Teemu Korpipää at Mankku, Porvoo, Finland on September 3–4, 2016. Additional recordings by Esa Onttonen. Mixed by Esa Onttonen. Mastered by Jaakko Viitalähde at Virtalähde Mastering.
Graphic design by Seppo Laine. Gourmet photo by Tuomas Timonen.
Produced by Esa Onttonen and Mikko Innanen
Thanks to Charles Gil, Arts Promotion Centre Finland, Georg Malmstén Foundation.
Pink Camel (2018)
Catalog number: TOTAL-6
Label: Fiasko Records
Release date: April 13, 2018
Format: Digital Single
1. Pink Camel (Innanen-Onttonen) (6:57)
You may find the record in the following stores:
Cosmopolitan Sideshow (2011)
Catalog number: FRCD-59
Label: Fiasko Records
Release date: November 7, 2011
Format: CD (digipack)
Background
After the release tour of Six Acres of Broken Hearts Gourmet started replacing old pieces with new compositions. Two waltzes, Parempi valssi and Jämsä-valssi both entered the repertoire in July 2006 whereas Voodoo Time in West Orange (originally titled Banjovis) and Itämerirosvolaulu were introduced a few months later. In 2007-2009 Gourmet performed infrequently but two new pieces, Ain’t Goin’ Back to Yuma and Chine, 12 points! (Kiinalainen euroviisu) were performed at the 2009 edition of Helsinki Burlesque Festival.
The new setlists built around those six pieces were first road-tested on the second tour of Finland and the band’s third visit to France (Saint Nazaire) in February 2010. Fifteen tracks eventually ended up on the third Gourmet album titled Cosmopolitan Sideshow, recorded in April 2011 and released in November 2011 by Fiasko Records. The album received five-star reviews in Helsingin Sanomat and Soundi and was chosen as one of the best albums of the year by Hufvudstadsbladet. It was also nominated for the Emma Award in the Jazz Album of the Year category.
On these rough northern latitudes there is no finer chef with expertise in different cuisines than Gourmet … Frantic, unrestrained, extremely funny and very musical.
★★★★★
Helsingin Sanomat
First you get hit by the extremely soulful relaxedness and atmospheric expressiveness of the sound. Then you realize that they – unlike many other top jazz players – can write real tunes with distinct characters. At the same time, however, the record specifically charms with the integrated whole… Something like The Skatalites meeting Dallapé under the supervision of Tom Waits.
★★★★★
Soundi
One of the best albums of 2011.
Hufvudstadsbladet
1. Ain’t Goin’ Back to Yuma (Onttonen) (2:37)
2. Jormanuel(le) (Onttonen) (4:24)
3. Liechtenstein (Onttonen) (0:17)
4. Moorgeist und Marschmusik (Innanen) (3:53)
5. Itämerirosvolaulu (Onttonen) (4:36)
6. Chine, 12 points! (Kiinalainen euroviisu) (Innanen) (2:13)
7. Hindenburger Stomp (Innanen) (3:10)
8. Sugar Hill Serenade (Innanen) (4:43)
9. St. Nicholas Strut (Innanen) (2:42)
10. Parempi valssi (Onttonen) (2:41)
11. Vodka (Onttonen) (5:07)
12. The Continental (Innanen) (4:13)
13. Voodoo Time in West Orange (Onttonen) (3:38)
14. Goin’ Back to Yuma (Onttonen) (3:17)
15. Jämsä-valssi (Innanen-Onttonen, arr. Kujala) (1:49)
Mikko Innanen – alto and baritone sax
Esa Onttonen – electric guitar, mandolin, Eko Stradivarius (ca. 1975)
Ilmari Pohjola – trombone
Veli Kujala – accordion
Petri Keskitalo – tuba
Mika Kallio – drums
Recorded at Mankku, Porvoo, Finland on April 4–5, 2011. Recorded, mixed and mastered by Teemu Korpipää.
Cover art by Petra Innanen.
Original photographs by Kerttu Malinen.
Headwear by Fiona Timantti.
Produced by Esa Onttonen and Mikko Innanen
Thanks to Charles Gil, Niko Kumpuvaara, Teemu Saarinen, Juho Viljanen, ESEK, LUSES, Arts Council of Finland, Arts Council of Helsinki Metropolitan Region.
Six Acres of Broken Hearts (2004)
Catalog number: FRCD-19
Label: Fiasko Records
Release date: November 23, 2004
Format: CD (digipak)
Background
A 2004 release announcement by Fiasko Records wrote: “A culinary parallel to the exciting and delightful new sound of Gourmet could be a meal consisting of at least the following dishes: some spoonfuls of bortsch, a dose of mamma’s meatballs, a bowl of gumbo, chili beans wrapped up in tortillas and shaslik, served with all kinds of potatoes. It is highly recommended to flush it all down with a hefty cup of good old Tennessee bourbon. A cake as sweet as your true love’s lips and of the size of the Lone Star State goes well as the dessert. The coffee should be thick, black and mean.”
More focused than the preceeding album Glamour & Decadence, Six Acres of Broken Hearts was the launching pad for the new Gourmet – with Petri Keskitalo on tuba – and gathered rave reviews from critics and audiences alike.
One of the year’s best albums!
Helsingin Sanomat
… a total killer of an album.
Finnish Music Quarterly
Probably the most positive and funniest jazz record of the past year.
Hufvudstadsbladet
… exceptionally colorful and successful recording.
Koillis-Häme
1. Flesh And Some Bone (Onttonen) (5:00)
2. Dead Man’s Valley (Innanen) (0:58)
3. That Swinging .45 (Innanen) (4:11)
4. The Seduction (Innanen) (7:15)
5. Fire! Smoke! Ashes! (Innanen) (5:48)
6. The Final Twist (Innanen) (3:39)
7. Ferry ‘Cross The Prairie (Onttonen) (4:22)
8. My Little Pony (Innanen) (0:19)
9. Everything Is Fine (Onttonen) (3:41)
10. I Shot Liberty Valance (Innanen-Onttonen) (3:46)
11. Fanfarria (Onttonen) (1:26)
12. La Balada de Camarillo Kid (Onttonen) (5:32)
13. Camaradas! (Onttonen) (4:27)
14. Epílogo (Onttonen) (1:24)
Mikko Innanen – soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxophones; cowbell; wood blocks; bird sounds; whistle
Esa Onttonen – electric and acoustic guitars, metal bucket
Ilmari Pohjola – slide trombone, water trombone, trumpet, whip, can, bird sounds
Veli Kujala – concert accordion, bandoneon
Petri Keskitalo – tuba
Mika Kallio – drums, rattlesnake effects
Recorded at the Mango Studios, Porvoo on August 24-25, 2004. Mixed at Ydin, Helsinki. Recorded, mixed and mastered by Teemu Korpipää. Cover art by Petra Innanen.
Produced by Esa Onttonen and Mikko Innanen.
Glamour & Decadence (2001)
Catalog number: FRCD-3
Label: Fiasko Records
Release date: April 17, 2001
Format: CD (digipak)
Background
Gourmet’s debut album Glamour & Decadence was the third release by Fiasko Records, a record label co-founded by Mikko Innanen, Esa Onttonen, Mika Kallio, and a handful of other musicians. It was recorded in May 2000 and spiced with some additional overdubs by Pete Korpela who nowadays is an in-demand percussionist based in Los Angeles. The recording started Gourmet’s collaboration with recording and mixing engineer Teemu Korpipää and artist Petra Innanen who would both work on Gourmet’s following releases as well.
In the 2001 critics poll organized by Finnish jazz magazine Jazzrytmit, Glamour & Decadence placed second in the Best Album of the Year category, losing only to an EMI-marketed Blue Note offering. It was also chosen as one of the five best Finnish jazz albums of 2001 by the Jazzradio show of the Finnish Broadcasting Company.
The album was heard by the legendary composer/producer/musician Otto Donner who instantly chose Gourmet as one of the jazz groups to be filmed for the Finnish Broadcasting Company. Few years later Aku Louhimies, an acclaimed director, used Kebab ranskalaisilla in his 2006 film Riisuttu mies.
Glamour & Decadence perfectly describes the sardonic hybrid achieved by Gourmet, boasting accordion, heavy rock guitar and slide trombone within their line-up.
Mojo
The plentiful eclecticism is the strength of this band.
Jazz Podium
An eccentric and intoxicating brew… of blues, jazz, tango, rock, surf, noise and even Greek bouzouki music.
All About Jazz
1. There’s No Place Like The Old Place (Innanen) (5:20)
2. Monica (Innanen) (6:04)
3. Bela L (Onttonen) (3:44)
4. Motor-Up (Innanen) (2:45)
5. Ariel (Innanen) (4:11)
6. 1334 (Innanen) (2:34)
7. Tragedia (Onttonen) (6:21)
8. Kukka (Onttonen) (4:26)
9. Mihail & Katjuska (Onttonen) (2:59)
10. Kebab ranskalaisilla (Innanen) (3:44)
11. Lauluja tilaisuuksiin, osa 1: uudet valtiot (Onttonen) (2:28)
12. Detroit (Innanen-Onttonen) (0:28)
13. Las Palmas (Innanen-Onttonen) (3:21)
14. Kaksin (Innanen) (1:52)
15. Thy Master (Onttonen) (4:11)
16. Kiduspoika Janus (Onttonen) (8:25)
Mikko Innanen – soprano, alto and baritone sax, flute, additional percussion, voice (6)
Esa Onttonen – electric and acoustic guitars, fuzz bass, bouzouki (9), additional percussion, voice (6)
Ilmari Pohjola – slide trombone
Veli Kujala – accordion
Janne Antikainen – double bass
Mika Kallio – drums, gong
with Petri Korpela – percussion: bass drum (3), miscellaneous percussion (4), rumba timba (6), cymbals (6,14), marimba (6,9,16), voice (6), tambourine (9), bongos, riq (10), congas (13), chimes, bells (14,16)
Recorded at Kallio-Kuninkala, Järvenpää, Finland, May 29-30 and June 1, 2000. Recorded, mixed and edited by Teemu Korpipää. Mastered by Rogi Renwall at DER, Tammisaari, Finland.
Hair, make-up and photos by Petra Innanen.
Cover design by Teemu Saarinen.
Produced by Esa Onttonen & Mikko Innanen.