Counterbalance (reissue) vinyl

Finnish fusion five-piece the Heikki Sarmanto Quintet recorded and released their sole album, Counterbalance, way back in 1971. Brought together by bandleader and Rhodes electric piano wizard Heikki Sarmanto, the band burned brightly briefly before vanishing into obscurity. Svart Records has - wisely, given its cult status - decided to reissue the album, this time on translucent green vinyl and accompanied by extensive liner notes. It remains a unique and hugely enjoyable album that joins the dots between warm and largely laidback contemporary jazz, jazz-funk, more pastoral folk-jazz fusion, and more high-octane, spiritual jazz-inspired improvisations. It also boasts some genuinely life-affirming flute and guitar solos amongst the rubbery double bass, loose-limbed rhythms and Sarmanto's inspired keys-work.