There was a time during the 1970s and 1980s in Finland when the electric bassist Pekka Pohjola was being talked about in the same breath as their most revered ‘classical’ composer Jean Sibelius. In international terms, Pekka had achieved cult status in progressive rock circles for his bass playing in the Canterbury-esque prog-rock ensemble Wigwam and for his consequent albums as leader, two of which appeared on Virgin Records. Nowadays the atmospheric jazz-rock soundworld and kind of instant melodies created by Pekka Pohjola can be heard echoed in the work of the recent surge of Nordic nu-prog bands, in the recordings of the ex-EST bassist Dan Berglund's Tonbrucket for example. On his new CD Pekka, the late bassist's son, trumpeter Verneri Pohjola invites us to listen to his father's music in a more improvisatory contemporary setting albeit without abandoning the music's roots in 1970s progressive rock. The electric setting on Pekka signals a change in direction from his acoustic quartet's originals on Bullhorn, his 2015 debut for the Edition label. Pohjola Jr draws our attention to his father's strong melodic themes and atmospheric rock vamps while developing “his own highly expressive, improvisatory narrative across the course of the recording”. Highlights include ‘The Madness Subsides’ with Teemu Viinikainen's melancholic guitar vamp (the original sampled for DJ Shadow's hit 1996 CD release Endtroducing), the anthemic ‘Inke and Me’ that the trumpeter has transformed into a bittersweet Tomasz Stańko-like ballad, and the 1970s kids' TV theme-like ‘Pinch’ with Verneri's fiery trumpet rasps. Indeed, the devilish spirit of 1970s electric era Miles is not so far away while the input of contemporary electronica is perhaps too subtle and infrequent to make much of an impression overall. But while the trumpeter is the main attraction, Pekka is also a convincing tribute to his father's writing skills.