Kaisa’s Machine

Moving Parts
Release Date: March 14, 2025
Label: Greenleaf

Kaisa’s Machine, the quintet led by Finnish bassist and composer Kaisa Mäensivu, is already a powerhouse lauded as a “band of young aces” (New York Times) and “refreshingly inventive” (All About Jazz) with two prior albums - In the Key of K (2017) and Taking Shape (2023) - under their belt. Now, Kaisa’s Machine seeks to expand their horizons as the bandleader reflects, using a breadth of emotion and compositional tools, upon the nature of home as she ponders the reality of being divided equally between the dramatically different cities of Helsinki and New York. Moving Parts, the third album by Kaisa’s Machine releasing March 14th, 2025, represents these two cities with varying soundscapes and moods as Mäensivu explores the ever-salient topic of what it means to belong.

The seeds of inception for Moving Parts have long been present in Mäensivu’s mind. An album that pays homage to the two most central places in her life is an idea that has felt natural and began to organically unfurl as she wrote. The pieces representative of Helsinki were, aptly so, written during a stint of time when Mäensivu was in Helsinki with plenty of time on her hands. “I was thinking often about things that bring meaning to life, the feeling of belonging somewhere, and whether it’s important or not to have that,” she says. The pensive and ponderous tone is evident immediately throughout the tracks that were composed in Finland. Similarly, the wild hustle and bustle of New York City is quickly observed by listeners on the recordings that were written in and representative of that great American city as Mäensivu utilized more hectic energy in rhythm, meter, and harmony to mirror the often-intense headspace of urban life.

The album’s title holds a double meaning as it, on the surface, describes Mäensivu’s travels to and from Finland and New York, and ties in to the themes present on the album of searching for belonging and defining home. On another level, the album cleverly ties in to the name and nature of her ensemble, Kaisa’s Machine. “The members of Kaisa’s Machine have changed over the years and many times the lineup varies between shows and tours too,” Mäensivu explains. “It’s a wonderfully and organically rotating musical machine that has all these beautiful moving parts that make it run at full capacity.” This image and idea was perfectly exemplified when in a recent interview with a journalist, Mäensivu was described as “operating the Machine (and its moving parts) with care”.

Musically, Mäensivu describes her ensemble as “Nordic noir meets New York sparkle”, succinctly summarizing how the uniquely darker and open Finnish sound blends with the contemporary jazz style of New York. As Mäensivu composed the music for this album, she maintained her natural flair for grooves and rhythms, all the while leaning more heavily into creating singable melodies and intentionally utilizing compositional structure to serve the music. In so doing, Mäensivu looks at the wider scale of each composition in its totality, and uses the solo sections as salient, single events within the form rather than open showcase sections. As such, each soloist and instrument in Kaisa’s Machine are used intentionally to support the vision of any given piece.) This large-scale focus within every piece, coupled with an instrumental shift unique to this album of containing only rhythm section instruments, has created a new direction and sound for Kaisa’s Machine. “I feel like this instrumentation makes the group really feel like a machine,” Mäensivu says, “as all the equally important parts are playing their roles and working towards the common goal which is good music.” 

A powerful example of the distinctive sounds on the album can be heard on the track “Midnight Sun,” which leans into the more Nordic sound. It’s a direct reference to a yearly phenomenon in Finland in which the sun does not set for many days on end. “The Midnight Sun  is one of the most magical things in Finnish nature,” Mäensivu says. “There’s this bright sun in the sky, but still the mystery of the night is present and it’s a beautiful contrast.” This track features trading between the bandleader and vibraphonist Sasha Berliner as it leads into the dramatic build segment of the piece. “Origin Story” stands in stark contrast, and it features the profound presence of lauded saxophonist Melissa Aldana, who steers the music in unexpected directions. The song is dramatic and high energy, and Aldana’s solo emphasizes that even further. “Tykytys” has been a longstanding crowd favorite of the band’s live performances. “I think it essentially captures what Kaisa’s Machine is about,” Mäensivu  says. “High energy, improvisation, moving harmonies, and tight grooves that make you wanna dance but you’re not quite sure how.” The piece “Satama,” whose title means “harbor” in English, features Maja Mannila on vocals performing a Finnish lyric. “The lyric is a quite personal text,” Mäensivu says “written by one of my best friends about finding your way “home,” referred as the harbor, and whether it’s actually something one needs or maybe there is no final arrival, but rather life as is, is it.”

The personnel on Moving Parts is quintessential as it is the ensemble, by definition, which comprises the very moving parts of Kaisa’s Machine. The staple ensemble featured on Moving Parts is Kaisa Mäensivu (bass), Eden Ladin (piano), Max Light (guitar), Sasha Berliner (vibraphone), and Joe Peri (drumset), with guest appearances by Melissa Aldana (tenor saxophone) and Maja Mannila (vocals).

With Moving Parts, Kaisa’s Machine is set to make a resounding mark on the landscape of jazz, both nationally and internationally. By interweaving the stylings of such distinct cultures together, Mäensivu presents an intimately honest and astoundingly engrossing album that highlights equally her prowess as a bassist, composer, and bandleader. Side by side with her musical cohort, Mäensivu ensures that audiences will remember each and every one of the moving parts within Kaisa’s Machine.