We've updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.
supported by
Junz
Junz thumbnail
Neil Hobkirk
Neil Hobkirk thumbnail
Udo Betz
Udo Betz thumbnail
frank_hanny
frank_hanny thumbnail
修 檜山
修 檜山 thumbnail
/

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      €8 EUR  or more

     

  • You'll get the Japanese Market Special Edition CD "Trio Hour" and a Download of THIS album.

    Listen: triohour.bluemusicgroup.com

    Includes unlimited streaming of Ball Play via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days

      €14 EUR or more 

     

  • You'll get the Northern Sunrise CD and a Download of THIS album. Northern Sunrise features saxophonist Steve Wilson, guitarist Ben Monder, bassist Massimo Biolcati, drummer Mark Ferber, and compositions by pianist Mika Pohjola.

    Listen: northern.bluemusicgroup.com

    Includes unlimited streaming of Ball Play via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days

      €14 EUR or more 

     

  • You'll get the classic Announcement CD and a Download of THIS album.
    Announcement features saxophonist Chris Cheek, bassist Matt Penman and drummer Roberto Dani. Compositions by pianist Mika Pohjola.

    Listen: announcement.bluemusicgroup.com

    Includes unlimited streaming of Ball Play via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days

      €14 EUR or more 

     

  • High quality Blue Music Group CDs at a clearance price! FREE SHIPPING worldwide. These albums are discounted because of excessive stock, not due to quality reasons. All albums contain pristine music and a production of the highest quality.

    • KAMMARENSEMBLEN: VI (2020) (Double-CD)
    Listen: vi.bluemusicgroup.com
    • PUTTES ÄVENTYR I BLÅBÄRSSKOGEN (2016)
    Listen: putte.bluemusicgroup.com
    • DAS ORCHESTER: CONSORTS (2015)
    Listen: consorts.bluemusicgroup.com
    • JILL SEIFERS WALSH: TWO FOR THE ROAD (2008)
    Listen: broadway.bluemusicgroup.com
    • SONGS OF FINLAND (2007)
    Listen: finland.bluemusicgroup.com
    • LEIVONEN LUMIMYRSKYSSÄ (Tango Music of Toivo Kärki) (2006)
    Listen: leivonen.bluemusicgroup.com
    • MIKA POHJOLA: ANNOUNCEMENT (1998)
    Listen: announcement.bluemusicgroup.com

    Includes unlimited streaming of Ball Play via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.     ... more
    ships out within 3 days

      €35 EUR or more 

     

  • A Special Bundle with 5 CDs by pianist & composer Mika Pohjola:
    • TRIO HOUR (w. Kyle Struve & Dan Loomis)
    Listen: triohour.bluemusicgroup.com
    • NORTHERN SUNRISE (w. Steve Wilson, Ben Monder, Massimo Biolcati & Mark Ferber)
    Listen: northern.bluemusicgroup.com
    • LANDMARK (w. Miguel Zenón, Ben Monder, Fernando Huergo, Roberto Dani & Johanna Grüssner)
    Listen: landmark.bluemusicgroup.com
    • ANNOUNCEMENT (w. Chris Cheek, Matt Penman, Roberto Dani)
    Listen: announcement.bluemusicgroup.com
    • TWO FOR THE ROAD (w. Jill Seifers Walsh)
    Listen: broadway.bluemusicgroup.com

    FREE SHIPPING worldwide.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Ball Play via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days

      €45 EUR or more 

     

  • FREE SHIPPING Worldwide.

    • Ivo Nilsson: Tanken skall blåsas ur en gång per skift (2022)
    • Ensemble Ma: Lunaria (2021)
    • Lipparella: Hidden Voices (2021)
    • Sören Hermansson: Horn & Sound (2020)
    • KammarensembleN: VI (2020)
    • Das Orchester: Le Nouvel Amour (2018)
    • KammarensembleN: 4 (2017)
    • Johanna Grüssner & Mika Pohjola: Puttes äventyr i Blåbärsskogen (2016)
    • Das Orchester: Consorts (2015)
    • Mika Pohjola: Trio Hour (2013)
    • Johanna Grüssner: Nu ska vi sjunga (2013)
    • Steve Wilson, Ben Monder etc: Northern Sunrise (2009)
    • Jill Seifers Walsh: Two for the Road (2008)
    • Many Artists: Songs of Finland (2007)
    • Johanna Grüssner: Nu blir sommar (2007)
    • Eeppi Ursin, Mika Pohjola etc: Leivonen Lumimyrskyssä (2006)
    • Rigmor Gustafsson, Eeppi Ursin, Theo Bleckmann etc: Scandinavian Yuletide Voices (2005)
    • Tove Jansson, Johanna Grüssner etc: Moomin Voices (2003)
    • Miguel Zenón, Ben Monder etc: Landmark (2002)
    • Mika Pohjola, Chris Cheek etc: Announcement (1998)
    • Mika Pohjola, Matt Penman etc: Live at the Blue Note (1996)

    Includes unlimited streaming of Ball Play via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.     ... more
    ships out within 3 days

      €153 EUR or more 

     

  • Full Digital Discography

    122
    releases

    Get all 122 Blue Music Group releases available on Bandcamp and save 50%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Tanken skall blåsas ur en gång per skift - Daily Work, Relax to Modern Sounds, Hidden Voices, Lunaria, Works for Piano & Wind Instruments, Horn & Sound, The Greatest Northern Christmas Carols, Kauneimmat joululaulut, and 114 more. , and , .

    Purchasable with gift card

      €494.50 EUR or more (50% OFF)

     

1.
Ball Play 05:34
buy track
2.
Two Pages 10:37
buy track
3.
The True Crest 07:18
buy track
4.
Eclectic Conspiracy Mode 09:07
buy track
5.
These Foolish Things 03:05
buy track
6.
Song of Trust 02:59
buy track
7.
A Sunny Day 03:38
buy track
8.
Star Dust 04:22
buy track
9.
Humpty Dumpty 00:45
buy track
10.
Jazz Blues 03:57
buy track
11.
Concentracznyi 05:51
buy track
12.
Minor Question 02:56
buy track
13.
The Ice That Breaks 04:51
buy track
14.
Old and Grumpy 05:56
buy track
15.
Ninghe 04:32
buy track
16.
Movements in Style 03:19
buy track
17.
Sophisticated Lady 04:46
buy track
18.
Norwegian Summer 05:06
buy track
19.
What the World Needs Now Is Love Sweet Love 03:41
buy track

about

A collaboration with bassist Drew Gress and drummer Mark Ferber, pianist Mika Pohjola offers a follow-up to his Sound of Village duo improvisations. Pohjola features a free jazz vein of the 1960s, known as proprietary territory of Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Paul Bley and Rashied Ali. Coupled with original compositions by Pohjola, Xavier Montsalvatge and Burt Bacharach, Ball Play is a one-hour long enjoyment which naturally spans several decades of musical expression.

Ball Play opens with the title-track ... continues with a more original-spirited Two Pages, which repeats and develops a short motive in the first half, and then gradually moves toward a free flow of thought. The standards, Star Dust, These Foolish Things and the Burt Bacharach original What The World Needs Now Is Love Sweet Love are among the best renditions on the album, and this is where all three musicians are fully engaged in the twisting of the familiar source material. Pohjola's brightest solo contributions can be heard on "Song of Trust" and the strange traditional-oriented Jazz Blues. An oddity on the album is the Catalan composer Xavier Montsalvatge song Ninghe, which is played without alteration from the original.

credits

released March 1, 2003

Mika Pohjola - piano
Drew Gress - bass
Mark Ferber - drums

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Blue Music Group image

Blue Music Group Stockholm, Sweden

The Small Label with Big Music.

Blue Music Group is the vision of composition, performance and production of Mika Pohjola. Having recorded his debut album for composer legend Gunther Schuller’s GM Recordings, Pohjola started self-releasing in 1997, and recording other artists in 2008, New York jazz as well as Swedish contemporary classical musicians.

FREE SHIPPING Worldwide on all CDs! ... more

contact / help

Contact Blue Music Group

Streaming and
Download help

Shipping and returns

Redeem code

Report this album or account

Blue Music Group recommends:

If you like Ball Play, you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Quelle Chris joins the show to discuss his most recent release, "DEATHFAME"

 listen now