Edward Vesala

Who was Edward Vesala?

Edward Vesala, born Martti Vesala, was a Finnish avant-garde jazz composer, bandleader and drummer.

Born in Mäntyharju, he began as a drummer playing jazz and rock in the 1960s, among all in such bands as the early line-up of Blues Section and Apollo. In the 1970s, he led his own jazz groups, led a quartet with Polish trumpet player Tomasz Stańko, played with Toto Blanke's Electric Circus, and recorded with Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek. In the 1980s and 1990s, Vesala recorded several albums of his own compositions exhibiting a unique style that combines jazz, classical music, tango, and folk music with his own group Sound and Fury, which was an ensemble of about ten players made up mostly of Vesala's students. Prominent players in Sound and Fury included saxophonists Jorma Tapio and Pepa Päivinen, guitarists Raoul Björkenheim and Jimi Sumen, and harpist and keyboardist Iro Haarla who was Vesala's wife.

Vesala died from congestive heart failure in Yläne, Finland at the age of 54.