REFLECTIONS

Mist Season is a Finnish five piece formation featuring very experienced and skilled musicians. Once I got their first eponymous CD from 2004 as a promo, I was impressed with their pleasant instrumental blend of blues, jazz and rock. The work on piano,saxophone and guitar is outstanding and the rhythm-section very dynamic. In 2006 Mist Season released the successor entitled Woodlands, also instrumental. The band has made progression, with more variety and a wider range of instruments, from flute and accordeon to sitar and synthesizer. It took a while before Mist Season produced their third effort Reflections, in 2011.

And for the first the music contains vocal parts, from female singer Mirja Lassila (in two songs). Especially in the alternating Defending Hands her warm, a bit high pitched voice matches wonderfully with the folky music featuring twanging acoustic guitars and soaring flute.

From the 14 compositions three tracks feature short improvisations on the Grand piano, dubdued and tender. Also two short pieces on the acoustic ? and classical guitar: Summer Season in the vein of Steve Howe and Chaser like Steve Hackett is beautiful 'unplugged'' work. The other seven (instrumental) tracks are a progressive, very melodic blend of several styles, with the emphasis on a fusion of jazz and jazzrock (loaded with brass and woodwind instruments, especially the saxophone).

It's remarkable how easily Mist Season switches from style and atmosphere, and how outstanding all the instruments sound. A few examples.

The swinging Manaos (with a known theme): fiery electric guitar, fluent synthesizer flights and powerful saxophone.

Lobsterland Groove (written by fellow Skandinavian Roine Stolt): from dreamy with accordeon to flashy synthesizer runs and sparkling saxophone, accompanied by lush Hammond.

Matelda's Song: from soaring to mid-tempo with howling electric guitar.

And the highlight Sally And Jack : an intro with classical guitar, then dreamy with intense saxophone and a final part with a compelling guitar solo, between Gilmour and Latimer.

Mist Season also plays a Santana cover, no coincidence that the track Aqua Marine (an omnipresent trumpet) is from Santana his jazz/jazzrock era.

On this album you can enjoy frequently from a outstanding soli and a wide range of instruments, especially in Pan(jazzy piano) and Promenader (electric guitar,saxophone and synthesizer, in a jazzrock climate).

Highly recommended, if you like fusion, jazz and jazzrock, with lots of brass/woodwind instruments.

Just in case, the one moment PA mentions 2 social comments, the other moment zero social comments, it is really two social comments.