Edward Vesala

Edward Vesala (born Martti Vesala, 1945-1999) was a Finnish drummer, composer and bandleader, born in Mäntyharju. He moved from 1960s jazz and rock groups into free and avant-garde jazz. He is known for his ECM albums, from Nan Madol (1974) to the composed, orchestral music of his ensemble Sound & Fury, which drew on jazz, classical music, tango and folk. In the 1970s Edward Vesala led a quartet with trumpeter Tomasz Stańko and saxophonist Tomasz Szukalski, and played on Stańko's Balladyna (ECM, 1976), Jan Garbarek's Triptykon (1973) and Kenny Wheeler's Around 6.