Varre Vartiainen with Mike Stern

Mike Stern, a living legend of fusion jazz and jazz guitar, is featured on guitarist Varre Vartiainen’s new album. The joint album ’Head & Heart’ by Vartiainen and Stern will be released in November 2024, preceded by three singles, the first of which, ’Miked Up!’, will be available on streaming services on August 16.

The upcoming album is a follow-up to Vartiainen’s critically acclaimed 2021 release ’Almost Standards’ (ECD-2021142) and will be available on vinyl, CD, and digitally. The album is being released by the Tampere-based label Eclipse Music. The music, which leans strongly towards the golden years of 1970s fusion jazz, is almost entirely composed by Vartiainen, but Stern also contributes significantly to the overall artistic vision of the album. Expect, of course, dazzling guitar performances from both lead musicians.

Mike Stern (b. 1953) hardly needs an introduction to jazz enthusiasts. According to Downbeat magazine, Stern is one of the greatest jazz guitarists of all time. He has had an illustrious career, playing with jazz icons such as Miles Davis and Billy Cobham, as well as Blood, Sweat & Tears. His list of collaborators includes the Brecker Brothers, Jaco Pastorius, Steps Ahead and David Sanborn, not to mention Stern’s own extensive solo work. Throughout his career Stern has received six Grammy nominations, won the Orville W. Gibson Award in 1997 and was named ’Guitarist of the Year’ by Guitar Player magazine in 1993.

Guitarist Varre Vartiainen has performed with many jazz and rock groups over the years and is without a doubt one of the most esteemed musicians of his generation. He has played together with international pop & jazz artists such as Angelique Kidjo, Thomas Ledin, Ed Motta, Lars Danielsson and Jim Beard. In Finland he is a known member of notable groups like Nylon Beat, Sleepy Sleepers, Leningrad Cowboys & Dallape.

Vartiainen has also made a name for himself on television, having performed and conducted the house bands of such tv shows as the David Hasselhoff Show and the Finnish Idols. He has also been musical director of Helsinki Festival mega concerts in Helsinki Senate Square among others.

In 2000 Vartiainen formed his own band Husband together with Anssi Nykänen, Harri Rantanen and fellow top guitarist Marzi Nyman. The group has actively performed at jazz festivals and clubs for more than 20 years, recorded several well received albums and collaborated with such institutes as the Espoo Big Band. Vartiainen has also collaborated with several well-known Finnish jazz musicians such as Iiro Rantala, Jarmo Saari and Mikko Hassinen.

Varre’s first album for Eclipse is titled ”Almost Standards”. The music on the album is stylistic modern mainstream jazz but it also has echoes from traditional jazz combined with groovy elements.

On the album he is supported by a stellar group of top Finnish jazz musicians: the saxophone virtuoso Joonatan Rautio and jazz legends Jukkis Uotila and Severi Pyysalo. The basis of the album is, however, Varre’s trio with a super rhythm section consisting of bassist Timo Hirvonen and drummer Jussi Lehtonen.