JPP

Finland's JPP ranks among the country's foremost fiddle ensembles, merging longstanding pelimani traditions with bolder, inventive approaches. Central to the lineup is the fiddle partnership of uncle Mauno Jarvela and nephew Arto Jarvela, joined by harmonium player Timo Alakotila, an acoustic bassist, and as many as thirty additional violinists. A selection of their standout recordings appears on the album Pirunpolska, whose title means Devil's Polska. The name evokes a Finnish legend in which a masterful fiddler arrives at a rural gathering, proves to be the devil, and performs with such skill that the dancers cannot cease until they collapse from exhaustion.