Lotta-Maria Saksa - You're the Cream in My Coffee (2018)

It takes more than enthusiasm to spend hours every evening spending hours evaluating old piano rolls. Self-playing mechanical pianos became fashionable at the beginning of the 20th century. A pianist - often the composer - once had to play his piece. The music was punched on mechanical rollers (similar to punch cards) and could then be played over and over again. Thousands of these old reels existed until the record pushed them more and more.

The Finnish guitarist Lotta-Maria Saksa has set herself the task to transfer this piano music from the old original reels directly to the guitar. Although there are often also the notes of the pieces, but there are often missing rhythmic nuances. Lotta-Maria Saksa wants to stay as close as possible to the original groove. However, since a single guitar does not cover the entire tonal spectrum of the piano, she has opted for guitar duets. Hundreds of fascinating arrangements of old jazz standards and almost forgotten hits have come out. How fascinating these arrangements are can now be heard on the CD just released "You're The Cream In My Coffee". As a classically trained guitarist, Saksa has mastered the necessary technology for this mammoth project. The "groove", however, she listens directly to the old piano masters. When listening to the recordings, you feel transported directly into another time and are surprised by the youthful freshness of the music.