Jukka Tolonen - Hysterica (1975)
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- čas přidán 10. 09. 2024
- Jukka Tolonen - Hysterica, from album "Hysterica" (1975)
Jukka Tolonen was perhaps the first true Finnish guitar hero. With his virtuoso playing and his blues-jazz-classical stylistic mixture on Tasavallan Presidentti's two first albums and Wigwam's Tombstone Valentine, he became the first domestic axeman that could meet the big-world giants on their on terms, a paragon to young Finnish rockers - right down to his long hair and emaciated looks. Along with Pekka Pohjola, he was in fact one of the first rockers with some formal musical education beyond the basics. When his first, all-instrumental solo album appeared in 1971, its cover told all that was necessary: just the trademark-like title Tolonen! and Reijo Porkka's grainy, stark black-white photo of boy and his guitar in the by-now formulaic guitar-hero pose. That's exactly what the album made out of Tolonen, a trademark. His virtuoso highlight, the unaccompanied solo-guitar cadenza in the appropriately titled jazz-rocker "Ramblin", became (unfortunately perhaps) the technical yardstick by which every aspiring rock guitarist was measured. But even in retrospect, when yardsticks have been revised and yesterday's heroes dethroned several times, Tolonen! shows that its creator had more in him than just fast fingers. "Elements Earth Fire Water Air" starts with his trademark wah-inflected, twangy electric solo counterpointed by spidery runs on acoustic, piano or spinet (also played by Tolonen), but then breaks into a stentorian classical-style piano part, starts again with a sweet melancholy sax theme and slowly builds on it again, contrasting the acoustic haziness with the wah's electric growl. "Mountains" has just a shimmering acoustic guitar and a little Leslie-hazy electric to support a ravishing theme on the saxophone, an epitome of melodic beauty and tasteful arrangement. Tolonen clearly had greater ear for composition and arrangement than many of his follower would have.
But Tolonen! had deeper impact than just hoisting Jukka Tolonen on a pedestal: it was the first genuine progressive rock record to make it to number six on the national chart and was voted the Album of the Year, incredible considering it was instrumental, hardly easy to take and that rock was still looked harshly upon by many of the musical establishment. Tolonen! in part served to legitimise rock and, more importantly, showed that progressive rock had commercial viability. In its wake, the already projected solo albums by Jim Pembroke and Pekka Pohjola got the go ahead. It was, however, still a musically immature statement, as confirmed by the inclusion of "Last Night", a short, shabby excerpt from a live jam with Wigwam.
Maturity came with Summer Games two years later. With a more acoustic overall sound, more prominent influences from Indian music, and very tasteful use of horns, this album flows almost unnoticeably from pastoral acoustic lounging to serene jazz-rock where Indian tabla rhythms, Western classical influences and superbly melodic horn arrangements form a rich and perfectly balanced whole. If seventies Finnish progressive rock can be credited with an original approach, it would be this earthy, warm and slightly jazzy sound, echoes of which reverberate in most Finnish progressive records of the time, however faint sometimes (others might want to take some aspects of the Canterbury sound as a reference point).
In comparison, The Hook (the title is perhaps a barb aimed at the American record company who refused the album because it supposedly didn't have any) is highly electrified and turns toward the North. The 12-minute opener "Aurora Borealis", two bolted-together fusiony rock vamps building into impressive climaxes, is harmonically more Nordic than Indian and Esa Kotilainen's bursts of frigid synthesizer washes give it a cool, cosmic coating. The rest of the album includes Big Band jazz, classical-style piano motifs, Zappa-like rhythmic quirkiness and even an acoustic lullaby. While not as solid as Summer Games, it represents Tolonen at his most "progressive" in terms of rhythmic complexity, keyboard arrangements but also orchestrating the music for various instruments so that none really dominates. Even with Tasavallan Presidentti withering, the world seemed open for Tolonen on his own.
With Hysterica he bowed to American wishes and made a more guitar-oriented, streamlined album, but it was still not enough to record-company tastes and did not become the expected breakthrough in the States. Musically, "Silva the Cat" is Tolonen at his quirky best, and "Jimi" and "Django" serve as suitable tributes to his two different influences without becoming mere pastiches. "Windemere Avenue" became a small radiohit, but only after it had been seconded to Crossection, an American compilation containing also tracks from Tasavallan Presidentti's albums. In retrospect, however, Hysterica shows that in terms of musical power Tolonen had already peaked....www.gepr.net)
I think the fact that foreign people discover Jukka's music is just extraordinary. His music is sadly, really unknown even here in Finland nowadays.
Jukka Tolonen only spent two years in jail (2006-08), but he emerged a changed man in many ways: osteoarthritis in his fingers robbed him of his ability to play guitar, but he surrendered his life to Jesus Christ, and is drug free, happier, and healthier than he had been in many, many years. Playing piano and singing, he recorded an album of Finnish Pietist hymns called "Juudan Leijona" (Lion of Judah) in 2011 with occasional accompaniment by others. In summer 2014 a documentary called "Tolonen!" was released by Gateway Films in Finland which chronicles his life and career. Presently he performs Christian music with bands at various Finnish churches and in outdoor concerts.
Great guitarist is JUKKA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
His first album TOLONEN .....you must,,,,,
just discovered this guy tonight, but this is the type of music i've been looking for =D
Fact is Jukka was (Rip) in same league as, and played with guys like Coste apetrea, chick corea santana etc...
Fusion/rock/jazz is two-faced to me, the ones dare to jump in this genre are the top of musicians, ultra skilled performers with technic skills above most people.
Me myself been listening to hardrock/metal since i was 8 in 1972 and the highlevel of musicmanship like ie. Deep Purple are second to none, just delivered in another way...
but most often there's a good pace, where fusion (lets say a song 7min) can tend to
get stuck in overworked slow parts too much and spend 4.5 min to that....
BUT when fusion gets progressive like a bullettrain bursting out in full attack, there's
not much can touch it ♥
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Sad fact: Jukka very often was in Stockholm and played/had friends and one of them
was my mate/workmates and hes brother, once somewhere in the late 80's or early 90's
He was on hes way to Bosse the bro (used to buy lil smoke and what ever needed),
and i was asked to join, but of some not understandable reason i declined...
The regret was high, and still haunt my head ;)
Fun fact: Also in the 90's i think, one day i walked one of the bigger shopping streets
in Sthlm where streetmusicians use to play, but this day i heard some asskick guitar
kept walking, passed the guy and without reacting i still couldnt ignore the damn music,
suddenly i woke up and thought this is not normal.
Walked back and there sat a guy from Brasil/Portugal shredding it, riffing catchy tunes
like any of the guys mention above. I stayed quite a while for 3-4 songs and he had fun
see me not able to contain it in the public :)
But we also talked, i asked what band he played in and for CD's to buy but he just played to get some money, we both felt we liked ecah other so i asked where he lived
- Visaettra.
wtf, so do i!
this was in cellphones beginning but i think we programmed each others number..
But life do what life do - goes on so fast we gorget to think, i lost my phone a while after that
and still to this day i miss that guy and all i know hes name is Alexandro / Aejiandro.
It may be a low odds on you read this, but if you do, pls contact me ; )
Jukka is not dead
FUCK SHIT!!!!! WHAT A GOOD MAN!!! I just clicked on 0:27 seconds and realized that it's superb. Now I'm fan in a second. I didn't know this. :-o
muito bom! um dos melhores.
Excellent!
Fucking briliant....I can't wait for the next note!!!!!
Oh shit this sounds great!!!
Joulukuussa 2006 Jukka Tolonen nousi jälleen otsikoihin puukotettuaan vuonna 1977 syntynyttä naisystäväänsä ja lokakuussa 2007 rusikoituaan autoja rautatangolla. ] Hän vastasi syytteisiin tapon yrityksestä ja huumausainerikoksesta Helsingin käräjäoikeudessa 17. joulukuuta 2007.]
Syyte tapon yrityksestä meni nurin, mutta Tolonen tuomittiin 5. toukokuuta 2008 kahdeksi vuodeksi ja kolmeksi kuukaudeksi ehdottomaan vankeuteen törkeästä pahoinpitelystä ja huumausainerikoksesta.
tätä vois kuunnella elämäni loppuun asti
Roughly translated from the Finnish wikipedia: In December 2006, Jukka Tolonen rose again the headlines puukotettuaan In 1977, new-born female friend, and in October 2007 rusikoituaan cars rautatangolla. He responded to charges of manslaughter, and the company huumausainerikoksesta the Helsinki District Court on 17 December 2007. The indictment of manslaughter company went bust, but Tolonen was sentenced to 5 May 2008 for 2 years and 3 months in prison for serious assault and drug offenses.
I know this piece from another LP: "Crossection"
Was it a compilation or another version for the european market? Besides: Pekka Pohjola (Bass), Jukka´s cooperator, died a couple of months ago..
Great guitarist - good writeup with this video. So sad that Tolonen is in jail on drug-related murder charges at present (see the Finnish wikipedia entry on Jukka Tolonen).
@chrisart7 hienosti käännetty oli. "Jukka tolonen rose again the headlines puukotettuaan..." :'D
He did REGGAE in 1982 too.. lol
@Deathshuck Jotenkin kornia kun jenkit luulee osaavansa jotain vierasta kieltä syöttäessään koko lauseen sellasenaan google translatoriin.
Olisko kellään laittaa Windemere Avenue tänne?
I've just now discovered this hysteric genius. He should be out of the nick now, right?
Pekka Pöyry sax Super!!,Esa Kotilainen minimoog YES!! And Tolonen what a gtr!! Gibson 335.
Hienoa! Äänekoskella on tiedossa Keitelejazzien yhteydessä vähän toisenlaista Tolosen musaa. Mix? Sekin selviää to 24.7.14.
facebook.com/events/714346708624063/
Damn, just read about Tolonen getting tossed in the slammer. What the hell? Sounds like it was a reduced charge, but seriously...wasted talent.