Jukka Tolonen

Jukka Tolonen - Hysterica - 1975 - Love Records

The founder of legendary Finnish Tasavallan Presidentti and also appearing on two Wigwam albums, Jukka Tolonen is one of the most respected and well known guitarists ever to come from Finland, and why not from Europe. Under his name he released some more than respectable albums in the jazz rock/progressive rock field, one of them being Hysterica from 1975. Hysterica like his previous two albums is an acclaimed release both by fans and critics as well. To me it’s a very worthy jazz rock album, with a touch of his distinct tone not far from bluesy atmosphere. Some killer musicianship here, is obvious because we have here on bass Pekka Pohjola and on drums Esko Rosnell, while on keyboards appears Esa Kotilainen + lots of other instruments, trumpet, trombone, sax. The music is quite challenging with blistering guitar chops and fairly intelligent keyboards. The opening track, the most bluesy of the album , a tribute to Jimi Hendrix, is a worthy one but what is to come is most consistent and interesting. The title track, Hysterica, Tiger or Silva the cat are excellent jazz rock/progressive rock pieces that stand among the best of the genre. Really high calibre musicianship and interludes between musicians. An almost essential album both in his catalogue and in this musical field, definitely worth discovering. 4 stars for sure. nice art work. - © b_olariu | 4/5 | 2013-7-24 Prog Archives, All rights reserved. © http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=1004344 & © 2000 - 2013 rateyourmusic.com http://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/jukka_tolonen/hysterica/

A good instrumental jazz rock album from the great Finnish guitarist, Jukka Tolonen. At times the music skirts commercial instrumental pop, but it’s quality stuff with funk, bebop, fusion jazz and blues vibes throughout. Jukka includes two great tracks in tributes to Jimi Hendrix and Django Reinhardt, although not played in those great guitarists’ styles. Jukka Tolonen is one of the most talented and versatile guitarists whose career covers over 45 years. Listen to his great “Summer Games” album and Tasavallan Presidentti’s “Lambertland” album. His “The Hook” album is also on this blog [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 88.8 Mb]

TRACKS

1 Jimi 9:29
2 Django 2:35
3 Hysterica 6:27
4 Tiger 6:59
5 Silva The Cat 4:49
6 Windermere Avenue 7:18

All tracks composed by Jukka Tolonen

MUSICIANS

Jukka Tolonen – Guitars, Piano
Heikki Virtanen - Bass
Pekka Pohjola - Bass on Track 4
Esa Kotilainen - Organ, Synthesizer, Clavinet
Esko Rosnell - Drums, Percussion
Pekka Pöyry - Alto & Soprano Saxophone, Flute
Jan Kling - Tenor Sax
Seppo Paakkunainen - Baritone Sax
Sakari Kukko - Soprano Saxophone, Flute on Track 4
Bertil Lofgren - Trumpet
Torgny Nilsson - Trombone

BIO (WIKI)

Jukka Jorma Tolonen (born April 16, 1952, Helsinki) is a Finnish jazz guitarist. Tolonen became famous as guitarist for the progressive rock band Tasavallan Presidentti (which means "president of the republic"). He had grown up playing the piano, but received his first guitar at age eleven. From 1966-67 Jukka Tolonen, at age fourteen, played guitar with Arto Sotavalta and the Rogues. Their first single, recorded in 1967, was "No Milk Today," backed by "Lady Jane." For several months in 1969 he was a member of the Eero Raittinen-Help band which eventually split up. It was then that Tolonen and drummer Vesa Aaltonen founded the group Tasavallan Presidentti with whom he toured and recorded several albums from 1969-1974. Their third album, Lambertland, reached number seven on the Finnish charts in 1972, followed by Milky Way Moses which peaked at number twelve in 1974. His first solo album Tolonen!, recorded and released in 1971 while he was only nineteen years old, displayed his prowess on both guitar (electric and acoustic) and piano, and instrumental songwriting which comfortably segues from classical, jazz, folk, blues, and rock. Tolonen! peaked at number six on the Finnish charts in 1971, winning the Finnish Broadcasting Company's Album of the Year disk. "Windermere Avenue", a song from his 1975 Hysterica album, became a minor radio hit in Finland. While making several other solo albums and projects he also played on albums Tombstone Valentine (1970) and Fairyport (1971) by Wigwam. Tolonen is a virtuoso guitarist, who is highly respected in his native Finland as well as in Sweden, where he has lived for long periods. Among Tolonen's side projects are Guitarras Del Norte, Trio Tolonen, and Jukka Tolonen Band (JTB). He has used many different guitars over the years, such as the Gibson ES-335 and Ibanez Artist. Since the 1990s he has used Finnish handmade instruments by Ruokangas Guitars (electric) and Lottonen Guitars (acoustic). Despite his earlier successes, Jukka Tolonen was eventually twice divorced, homeless, and drug-addicted. In May, 2008 Tolonen was found guilty of stabbing his girlfriend and was sentenced to 27 months in jail for aggravated assault. When released in 2010, he told the media that he was quitting guitar playing due to osteoarthritis. While in prison Jukka Tolonen dedicated his life to Jesus Christ, and in 2011 he released Juudan Leijona ("Lion of Judah"), a CD of traditional Finnish hymns, in which he sings and plays piano, occasionally accompanied by other instruments and voices. He continues to perform live concerts of Christian music on piano along with other musicians and vocalists.