Swedish acoustic bassist Anders Jormin is highly virtuosic, but no show-off. Aviaja – his duo album with the very deft Finnish vibraphonist Severi Pyysalo – is nicely unusual but eminently accessible. It’s a trans-generic set of their own compositions, plus beautiful instrumental interpretations of Cuban & Russian songs, with occasional use of percussion, melodica & voice.

Anders Jormin was born 1957 in Jönköping, Sweden. After intense studies, he left Musikhögskolan in Göteborg with diplomas in double-bass and improvisation / pedagogy in 1979.

Today as a doublebass-player and composer, AJ is a frequent and highly respected performer on the international concert scene. As a musician in great demand, AJ has recorded and toured with many of the legends in jazz. Among others : Gilberto Gil, Lee Konitz, Elvin Jones, Joe Henderson, Don Cherry, Charles Lloyd, Mike Mainieri, Joe Lovano, and Jack deJohnette, as well as Kenny Wheeler, Albert Mangelsdorff, Tomasz Stanko, Dino Saluzzi, John Surman, John Taylor, Mark Feldman , Paul Motian, Joey Baron, Tom Rainey , Jon Balke, Vertavo string quartet , Ann-Sofi von Otter, Norma Winstone and Marilyn Crispell. For many years, AJ was also a front figure in one of Scandinavias foremost ensembles, "Entra".

Severi Pyysalo (born in 1967) has gained a reputation as one of the leading vibes wizards in the world. He first began playing drums at the age of six and entered the Turku Conservatoire three years later to start his classical studies. While there, he also acquired a taste for his instrument-to-be, the vibraphone.

Pyysalo made his mark as a vibes player at the Pori Jazz festival in 1982. The turning point in his career came two years later, when he was heard by Paquito D'Rivera and Sarah Vaughan. As a result, they both invited him to sit in for their own sets and a minor legend was born. A couple of weeks later Pyysalo got his first gigs in the USA, including a stint at the Village Vanguard with Paquito D'Rivera's quintet.

During his career Pyysalo has performed in most European countries and in the USA, Canada and Australia. He has played with McCoy Tyner, Frank Foster, Zoot Sims, Rick Margitza, Wayne Kratz, James Newton, Bobby Hutcherson and Bobby Bradford, to name just a few. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.