Aki Rissanen - Steven Kamperman Duo

The versatile Dutch composer and clarinetist Steven Kamperman traveled to Helsinki in April 2024 for a CD recording with top Finnish jazz pianist Aki Rissanen. They had first crossed paths a year earlier in Paris, where they were both attending separate residencies. There, they immediately experienced a special musical connection, which was later reaffirmed during a joint concert at the Cité des Arts in Paris.

The central theme of their Finnish studio session was a series of miniatures titled: THOU SHALT WORSHIP THE RICH AND FAMOUS | 10+1 Commandments of Our Time.

From northern sounds to contemporary grooves, and from game music to blues, the duo Aki Rissanen and Steven Kamperman offer a wide palette of sounds, ranging from tender to expressive.

Irony and a wink of the eye clearly play a significant role in their interpretation of contemporary commandments and are also reflected musically—for example, when Aki Rissanen imitates the sound of a ringing cash register on his piano in Thou Shalt Make Easy Big Money, or when Steven Kamperman repeatedly plays the same note in Thou Shalt Worship Thy Looks. However, comedic elements never overshadow the music, which genuinely takes the listener on an emotional journey.

Among their modern commandments, improvised or sometimes composed intermezzi can be heard, as for instance an adaptation of Se le mia Morte Brami by Carlo Gesualdo. A work of this renowned 16th-century composer—who had his own wife and her lover murdered—blends, of course, seamlessly into this collection of contemporary commandments.