I’m Here

Drummer and composer Edward Vesala, the most internationally renowned jazz musician from Finland, was very keen on percussion instruments. Oddly enough, this broad and enduring interest is hardly evident on his albums. Whether playing on his own albums or contributing to other musicians’ work, Vesala played a standard drum kit most of the time. He hardly used external percussionists on his own albums either. And most of all: his music was almost never percussive, at least in the traditional manner. Perhaps even stranger is the fact that he barely played any drum solos on his own albums
That’s why I’m Here (Blue Master Special, SPEL 311, 1974), recorded in Helsinki in 1973, is such a rarity. Of course, being a limited release has also made it an expensive treasure among collectors. Additionally, I’m Here is Vesala’s only solo album and only percussive album, and one of the few where he can be said to play drum solos, albeit in his own idiosyncratic way
The idea of a jazz drummer making a solo album was in itself quite rare in 1973, although not entirely unheard of. French Pierre Favre had already made two solo albums (in 1970 and 1972), and Dutch Han Bennink and Swedish Sven-Åke Johansson one each, both recorded in 1972. It wasn’t exactly Vesala’s first time either. He had already played drums alone on the second side of the album Yksi, kaksi, kolme, neljä soul jumppaa (One, two, tree, four soul gymnastics, Gross Records, GRLP-27, 1969), though for purely instructive purposes, showcasing different rhythms and tempos