At Villa Hakasalmi, Mikko Antila performed alongside bassist Joonas Tuuri and drummer Teppo Mäkynen, captivating an appreciative audience with nostalgia and excitement.
Mikko Antila is a vibraphonist with soul. No synonyms needed, no need to reinvent the wheel; Antila. Simply. Has. Soul.
This became evident to Yours Truly a while back—holy cowbell!—nearly three years ago in an old movie theater in the small town of Porvoo, where he extended his talent to percussion and keyboards with the supergroup of improvised music, Peela.
Then, a year ago, again at a Peela gig, this time in Helsinki, he blended his luscious vibes with the silky scatting of Maja Mannila.
But the beginning of the week was different when Antila stepped on the floor of Villa Hakasalmi (Hakasalmen huvila), the 19th-century villa, in Helsinki center, alongside bassist Joonas Tuuri and drummer Teppo Mäkynen.
Trios that play on the same wavelength as if they were reading each other’s minds and perform in an intimate setting have a special place in the jazz-head’s heart. And the room was full of them … a bit older, maybe; people who likely embraced the dance floor to the swing of Glenn Miller … ok … maybe not 83 years ago … but maybe 60 years ago … maybe to covers of Miller’s “In The Mood.”
But on Monday, they sat quiet until a song was over, and then they exploded into room-shattering applause; they put their whole bodies into it as if they were bouncing their partners on the floor while dancing the Charleston!
Antila and friends, though, did not leave these folks shivering in their seats with their memories. For example a wonderful interpretation of Duke Ellington’s “In A Mellow Tone,” recorded in 1940, sent them down a time tunnel just to arrive back in the cozy Empire-style setting with Antila gracing the vibes with his delicate ear for beautiful tones and smooth wrist movements.
“Poinciana,” by Nat Simon—a piece written in 1936 and turned into a Latin jazz standard by Ahmad Jamal—was one of this trio’s gig highlights—not least because their interplay seemed to reach a new magnitude.
These men had fun! This was truly Good Vibes Only.
Jazz is often best described by writing about feelings instead of scrutinizing harmonical nuances and technique.
These men obviously have skills but most importantly possess what it takes to move an audience.
And so—a wonderful Antila original like “Kaunis maailma (A Beautiful World),” could be described as sending audiences into a trance … but on another note it all comes down to one sentence:
Soul is the most essential quality of a jazzman.
Mikko Antila has plenty of it.
