Edward Vesala

Edward Vesala (1945-1999) was a Finnish jazz drummer, who released several albums with ECM. He was born in the small town of Mäntyharju. He started playing the drums after leaving school, studying orchestral percussion at the Academy in Helsinki. His first performing experience in the late 1960s was in blues and rock bands.

Vesala’s debut recording in 1970, Nana, was meant to be a quartet recording, but the trumpeter called off sick, leaving Vesala, bass player Arild Andersen and saxophonist Juhani Aaltonen to record what became Finland’s first free jazz album in 1970 as a trio.

His first came to international attention when he and Andersen were recruited by Jan Garbarek for his fourth album on ECM Triptykon in 1973. It was already clear that Vesala was a creative force, treating the drums as an expressive instrument, with little reliance on any time-keeping role. In 1974, Vesala made the first of his ECM recordings as a bandleader. Nan Madol features an almost entirely Finnish lineup including Aaltonen, though US saxophonist Charlie Mariano makes important contributions. Satu in 1977 featured an ECM all-star band with Palle Mikkelborg, Terje Rypdal and Tomasz Stańko, whose band Vesala had joined a few years earlier.

He recorded with Kenny Wheeler at the end of the 1970s, but a decade passed before Vesala released another album in his own name with ECM. Lumi in 1987 again featured Finnish musicians, and again the music ranges from avant garde jazz through classical music and folk melodies, as well as tango, a bit of funk and more besides. This slow and steady approach to recording sadly means we have just two more albums of Vesala as a band leader before he died of heart failure at just 54 years old.

Key Recordings:
Nan Madol (ECM 1974)
Satu (ECM 1977)
Lumi (ECM 1986)