The Sky Is Ruby

• Track Listing

The Sky is Ruby is an album of Raoul BJ rkenheim's compositions recorded with Finland's premiere jazz big band, the UMO Jazz Orchestra. Raoul Bj rkenheim, who is one of the most adventurous guitarists on the contemporary scene, initially progressed from B.B. King to Frank Zappa and from John McLaughlin to John Coltrane in his search for a sound of his own. With his own groups, such as Krakatau, BJ rkenheim accomplished that goal more than two decades ago and has successfully brought this own unique sound to his compositions as well. For the Sky Is Ruby, BJ rkenheim penned eight inspired original compositions that make good use of the orchestra and it's soloists, including tenor saxophone great Juhani Aaltonen and pianist/harpist Iro Haarla, plus the composer himself. The end result stands out as one of the rare recent recordings of improvised music for a larger ensemble that avoids repeating the by now trite mannerisms of traditional big band music.