Jukka Perko & Iiro Rantala - It Takes Two to Tango (2015)

'It Takes Two To Tango' focusses a central musical point of reference in Perko and Rantala s musical language: the tango. It may come as a surprise to some, but Finland is second only to Argentina on the list of countries where the tango plays a big part in popular culture. Indeed, the tango may be even more important to Finland because it is not considered a musical performance there like in South America, but a dance music for everyday use. Iiro Rantala is always surprising, exciting and lively and yet here also highly supportive to Jukka Perko, with his unmistakable lyricism, elegant to the very highest note, in which the strength of bebop is just as evident as Nordic melancholia and of course the passion of the tango. Once again Finland is the first on the floor and leaving footsteps. 'It Takes Two To Tango' is the first joint recording of the pair, in a lyrically dense discourse on the topic of love in all its facets. It is an homage to their musical homeland and the uniting power of jazz.