The Poet (LP)

Ahvenlahti is one of Finland's most well known jazz musicians, through his work with the UMO Jazz Orchestra and Eurovision Songwriting Contest for which he conducted for eight years in he 1990's. He now composes music for radio and television in Finland at YLE.

This record became hot in the 90's as the London acid jazz scene picked up the tune "Grandma's Rocking Chair".

Dancers dug its pace and percussion, and Kenny Dope reworked it in 2001.

Sides like the title track "The Poet" and "A Day At The Zoo" are soul jazz at its finest, while the upbeat "Sambatown (Rockridge)" throws in some latin flavor for good measure. A fusion track we really dig is called "Sunday's Stuff". The Billy Cobham-esque drums, those horns, and killer bass get us throughout the whole seven plus minutes.

Packaged in a heavyweight card sleeve and pressed on high quality vinyl, this release has the original label and artwork as well.