Iiro Rantala: Palmer Edition III: Trinity

Most jazz records are recorded in studios with perfect acoustics. Ours was recorded in a French château surrounded by vineyards. And the acoustics were perfect too. The atmosphere was as rich and complex as the best wines of the region - an incomparable setting for a jazz session. Morten Lund, Kaisa Mäensivu and I - each an artist in our own right - had never been on stage together before that day. And yet it clicked at that moment. Under the high ceilings of the castle, surrounded by old wine barrels, we reached into the Great American Songbook and pulled out something fresh, vibrant and new. We love these melodies. They're like perfect little stories wrapped up in 32 bars. The jazz standards are our roots. These Broadway and Hollywood tunes are the songs that shaped this music - and we wanted to give them our voice, here and now. There are also two French songs on the album - a nice idea from our producer Andreas Brandis. "Hymne à l'Amour" is a song I've known since I was a child. The lullaby "Fais dodo, Colas mon p'tit frère" is only known to the French, but I think we've captured a beautiful version of it - iiro Rantala