"How do you recognize the Finnish summer? The rain is getting warmer!" The Finnish pianist Iiro Rantala represents the mentality, but above all the humor and the unique spirit of his home country like no other. His concerts are like fireworks, and then again fragilely tender. He works on the grand piano with virtuosity, verve and wit, and he repeatedly intersperses anecdotes about the Finnish soul that can only come from Iiro Rantala in his mischievous way. Iiro calls his band HEL Trio. Named after Helsinki Airport, the formation with bassist Conor Chaplin and drummer Anton Eger produces accessible and contrasting sounds. A sleek jazz theme, for example, can quickly turn into tango. Iiro, a trenchant virtuoso, also light-footedly implements pieces by the electric bass virtuoso Jaco Pastorius, just as he also lets bebop themes dip fluffily into soul jazz. Then it's relaxed again, he romps around in the mainstream, he bubbles along without haste until he piles up wide chord roofs over pathetically descending bass figures. Iiro is an ironist who is not afraid of big emotions - and always good!

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