Film has been a primary influence on guitarist Kalle Kalima—at least as a composer if not as a musician. Recent albums by the Finnish-born Berlin resident have been dedicated to Stanley Kubrick and David Lynch. On his latest, Bunuel de Jour, the compositions are titled after such films by the Spanish Surrealist as The Phantom of Liberty, An Andalusian Dog and, of course, Belle de Jour.
Credited to Kalle Kalima & K-18, Bunuel de Jour is a collection of sharply spiked pieces at the edge where jazz and modernist classical collide into shrill metallic shards. The mood can quiet into 3 a.m. noir before leaping into free jazz improvisation. Kalima’s band is quartet with alto sax and a bevy of unconventional woodwinds standing alongside guitar, accordion and bass.
K-18, by the way, is the Finnish equivalent of our NC-17. Cinema’s inspiration is all over Kalima’s resume.
