Esa Pethman

𝙀𝙨𝙖 𝙋𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙢𝙖𝙣’𝙨 “In Belgium 1967” captures a fleeting moment of European modern jazz in full bloom — a previously unheard session that feels intimate, immediate, and quietly historic.

Drawn from the VRT radio archives, these two unreleased pieces place the Finnish reed master in rare company: Heinz Bigler, Uffe Karskov, Jean Fanis and others, all caught in the creative slipstream of late-60s European bop and modal exploration. Pethman moves between alto flute and tenor sax with effortless command, shaping melodies that drift from cool restraint to fiery lift, always anchored by the ensemble’s crisp interplay.

What makes this release stand out is its atmosphere — the sense of musicians meeting on equal footing, sparking ideas in real time, revealing both the lyricism and restless energy that defined the early rise of modern jazz across the continent. The recording may be brief, but its clarity and spirit give it the weight of a missing puzzle piece finally restored.

A beautifully presented 7-inch edition rounds out the package, but it’s the music itself — vivid, agile, and deeply human — that makes “In Belgium 1967” such a treasured document of European jazz history.