Aallot by Harri Kuusijärvi (feat. Jori Huhtala, Mika Kallio)

Flame Jazz Records releases ’Aallot’ (’Waves’), the new album by accordionist Harri Kuusijärvi, in January 2025. At the heart of the album is Kuusijärvi’s electronically extended accordion, which he has been developing over the past few years.

When people think of the accordion, traditional dance music often comes to mind. However, the instrument is capable of surprising versatility. Frustrated with the limitations of the conventional accordion, Kuusijärvi returned to his roots in Finnish Lapland to find his unique voice, expanding the instrument’s possibilities through electronic enhancements. The culmination of years of work will be heard on Aallot.

"I didn’t want a generic instrument for moving flexibly across different musical styles; the acoustic accordion is already versatile enough for that. What I was looking for was a tool to distill my personal expression. Some musicians have such a distinctive voice that it’s recognizable in just a few seconds of listening. I wanted something like that—a unique,
signature sound of my own,” explains Kuusijärvi.

On the album, Kuusijärvi is joined by Finnish jazz luminaries bassist Jori Huhtala and drummer Mika Kallio. The vision was to pair the new, extended accordion with a pared-down, acoustic jazz rhythm section.

"In previous projects, I’ve often used the accordion as a glue to tie the ensemble together. While it has been a great group instrument, I’ve felt it lacked the soloistic expressive range of instruments like the electric guitar or tenor saxophone, to which I often delegated that role. On this new album, the accordion finally takes center stage, thanks to electronics that allow me to expand its expressive range,” Kuusijärvi shares.

The result is minimalist, Nordic, earthy and groovy electroacoustic music—difficult to compare to anything previously done with the accordion.

"The accordion has a rich, distinctive, and powerful tradition. While the classic polkas and waltzes are wonderful pieces of music, they don’t resonate with my soul. From the beginning, traditional accordion music wasn’t the reason I chose the instrument—it was the accordion’s potential for exploration and experimentation. Now, after 30 years of searching, I finally feel like I’ve found something that truly feels like mine,” says Kuusijärvi.

The ensemble, founded in 2023, made its debut during studio sessions recorded for Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE Radio 1’s Jazzklubi program, which was broadcast in June 2024.

So, what exactly is an electronically extended accordion? Kuusijärvi answers: "It’s a standard concert accordion equipped with electronics that detect the movements of the buttons and bellows. This allows the player to control electronic sounds alongside the acoustic ones. All sounds originate from this same accordion: the instrument produces the traditional acoustic sound, which is then processed with effects, and it’s also sampled—recorded for use as a sound source for electronic instruments. All these layers are controlled live and simultaneously with the same instrument. For the player, the experience is both intuitive and astonishingly expressive.”

Harri Kuusijärvi is one of the most distinctive figures in accordion music today. He has premiered numerous contemporary works composed for the accordion, collaborated with countless artists in the field of rhythmic music, and received critical acclaim for his albums across genres. In 2023, the Finnish Accordion Association named Kuusijärvi the Accordionist of the Year.

“Harri Kuusijärvi is ushering the accordion into novel sonic spaces." – New York City Jazz Record

harrikuusijarvi.com