• 01. The Ice That Breaks 04:17
Performed by Mika Pohjola, Chris Cheek, Matt Penman, Roberto Dani
Music by Mika Pohjola
Published by Mika Music
• 02. The Secret of the Castle 07:26
Performed by Mika Pohjola, Chris Cheek, Matt Penman, Roberto Dani
Music by Mika Pohjola
Published by Mika Music
• 03. Romance 04:05
Performed by Mika Pohjola, Chris Cheek, Matt Penman, Roberto Dani
Music by Mika Pohjola
Published by Mika Music
• 04. A Swedish Fairy-tale 07:42
Performed by Mika Pohjola, Chris Cheek, Matt Penman, Roberto Dani
Music by Mika Pohjola
Published by Mika Music
• 05. A Visit To Look Forward To 06:38
Performed by Mika Pohjola, Chris Cheek, Matt Penman, Roberto Dani
Music by Mika Pohjola
Published by Mika Music
• 06. And She Appeared 09:31
Performed by Mika Pohjola, Chris Cheek, Matt Penman, Roberto Dani
Music by Mika Pohjola
Published by Mika Music
• 07. Snapshots 03:18
Performed by Mika Pohjola, Chris Cheek, Matt Penman, Roberto Dani
Music by Mika Pohjola
Published by Mika Music
• 08. Hymn of the Immortals 04:06
Performed by Mika Pohjola, Chris Cheek, Matt Penman, Roberto Dani
Music by Mika Pohjola
Published by Mika Music
• 09. Memories from Hometown 04:04
Performed by Mika Pohjola, Chris Cheek, Matt Penman, Roberto Dani
Music by Mika Pohjola
Published by Mika Music
• 10. A Farmer's Dream 09:03
Performed by Mika Pohjola, Chris Cheek, Matt Penman, Roberto Dani
Music by Mika Pohjola
Published by Mika Music
• 11. Reverie 05:49
Performed by Mika Pohjola, Chris Cheek, Matt Penman, Roberto Dani
Music by Mika Pohjola
Published by Mika Music

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• Mika Pohjola - piano & composer
• Chris Cheek - saxophone
• Matt Penman - bass
• Roberto Dani - drums

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The Secret of the Castle is based on the 19th century novel by Charles Walton, in which three young men are haunted by an evil ghost in Scotland. The ghost alters the minds of the youngsters and even exchanges the behavior and personalities between them in the most peculiar ways. One of the men is in love with the local farmer's daughter, and she is with him. However, the ghost succeeds to make every encounter between them to a hateful dream. This fascinating novel ends with a dramatic capture of the ghost at Edinburgh after a conspiracy by the farmer himself. The ghost is sentenced in house arrest for 380 years, the farmer becomes the governor, and the three men are set free. This 1997 recording is pianist and composer Mika Pohjola's follow-up to a sound established on his GM Recordings release, Myths and Beliefs. Featuring here Pohjola's regulars - Matt Penman on bass, Roberto Dani on drums and special guest Chris Cheek on saxophones - the group and particularly the trio shows a matured interplay which cater Pohjola's compositional mind very favorably. No wonder, in the mid and late 1990s, Mika Pohjola toured Europe, Japan and the United States with this group at a rapid pace. The trio recorded the remarkable one-nighter, Jazz Capital of the World, at the Blue Note jazz club in New York two months before this program, and two years later, with Chris Cheek the critically acclaimed Announcement and the rare English Breakfast live album from the Cheltenham Jazz Festival. The Secret of the Castle features Pohjola's all original fairy-tale songs with a visionary jazz sound.

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