RIYL: Linda Fredriksson "Juniper", Ornette Coleman, Don Cherry, ESP-Disk', Andrew Hill

Finnish quartet Superposition returns with their second album, "II", on We Jazz Records, 19th July. The band will premiere their new album live on the same day at Helsinki's Odysseus Festival, organised by We Jazz. Led by drummer Olavi Louhivuori, Superposition features Linda Fredriksson and Adele Sauros on saxes and Mikael Saastamoinen on bass. Having won the "EMMA" prize for the Finnish jazz album of the year with their debut (We Jazz Records, 2020), Superposition takes leaps forward with their remarkably strong new album, taking the quartet's acoustic free jazz based sound towards a more melodic, flowing direction.

Superposition, a sought-after live combo, is first and foremost a solid group that understands the power of developing their music together. Each of the four members bring in compositions for album number two, and they all write in a way that serves the band's overall sound. Olavi Louhivuori, the band's de facto leader, has composed 4 of the 9 tracks, but there is no hierarchy here and the Superposition sound is certainly a shared one.

Introspective, moody passages ebb and flow naturally with the fire spirit of the band that snaps, crackles and pops with the best of them. Think of acoustic freedom jazz lineage set in motion by the likes of Don Cherry, Ornette Coleman and many more. Already the starting three tracks show you the many shades of the unified band, from the sneaking intensity of the first single "Clouding" via the subdued tension of "Clashes" into the all out gallop of "Huia". There's something both intimate and anthemic in the sound of Superposition. The band's music has a strong narrative, making "II" a true aural "page-turner".