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Kaisa’s Machine: Taking Shape

By Hrayr Attarian
July 20, 2023
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On her captivating second release, Taking Shape, Finnish bassist

Kaisa Mäensivu

bass

" data-original-title="" title="">Kaisa M?ensivu demonstrates her singular talents as a composer and a bandleader. She is again at the helm of her cohesive group, Kaisa's Machine. It has been six years since her debut, years during which she established herself in her new hometown of New York. Her writing has transformed as she draws inspiration from the vibrancy of the city on this set of originals.

M?ensivu sets the album's mood with a 40-second lithe and elegant intro after which she leads the ensemble on the effervescent and soulful "Floating Light." The exciting tune also features award winning tenor saxophonist

Tivon Pennicott

saxophone, tenor
b.1985

" data-original-title="" title="">Tivon Pennicott. Pennicott echoes guitarist

Max Light

guitar, electric

" data-original-title="" title="">Max Light's intriguing refrains which embellish the main theme and set the stage for the latter's eloquent improvisation. Pennicott himself takes center stage with his muscular and acerbic lines before the concluding head.

M?ensivu's own intelligent and intricate extemporization bisects "Dream Machine" as it is preceded by pianist

Eden Ladin

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Eden Ladin's cool crisp solo and is followed by Pennicott's passionate one. Drummer

Joe Peri

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">Joe Peri closes the performance with thunderous beats amid delightfully riotous ensemble play. Another guest musician is rising star, vibraphonist

Sasha Berliner

vibraphone

" data-original-title="" title="">Sasha Berliner whose resonant and sparkling mallets balance Ladin's shimmering notes on this track. Berliner and her vibraphone also "replace" Ladin and his keys as the chordal instrument on the mellifluous "Gravity."

Ladin's unaccompanied pianism, with its warm and melancholic lines, forms the third interlude on the recording which dovetails into the dramatic "Shadow Mind." This piece unfurls slowly within a tense and cinematic atmosphere. Light's incandescent guitar strings flicker against M?ensivu and Peri's dark, rumbling, vamps. Ladin improvises with lyricism while M?ensivu's reverberating phrases are pure poetry. The inner camaraderie within the quartet is demonstrated clearly here as one individual expression fades into the next and the music flows seamlessly from the collective to each band member and vice versa.

Refreshingly inventive, Taking Shape demonstrates that M?ensivu is an accomplished musician with a uniquely creative voice. It also showcases a mix of exuberance and maturity. It is an engaging work which portends a brilliant career.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

I; Floating Light; Dream Machine; Gravity; Aurora Unbound; II; Better Intention; Sink or Swim; III; Shadow Mind; Sizzler; Eat Dessert First.

Personnel

Kaisa M?ensivu

bass

Max Light

guitar, electric

Eden Ladin

piano

Joe Peri

drums

Tivon Pennicott

saxophone, tenor

Sasha Berliner

vibraphone

Album information

Title: Taking Shape | Year Released: 2023 | Record Label: Greenleaf Music

Kaisa's Machine · Kaisa's Machine feat. Severi Pyysalo - Codenames

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