Teemu Viinikainen (b. 1975) is one of the most respected and successful guitarists in the Finnish jazz scene. In addition to Viinikainen, the album, which is titled "Now!" will include bassist, Ville Herralla, and drummer, Mika Kallio. With the exception of one track, all the compositions on the album are written by Viinikainen. "Nyt!" is the debut album of the trio.

According to Viinikainen, the recording, which took place at the Helsinki Varistoteles studio in May, was unusually successful. The slow ripening album has been the contribution of two years of material and ideas on their part. Theinput also shows that Viinikainen, who had been searching for a new playingdirection, had all of the trio's rehearsals and gigs recorded over a period of two years, whereupon the results were examined in peace, seeking the right kind of composition and sound of the band.

The album was recorded over a period of two days, with the generation of a vast amount of material. "We played a lot of free improvisations, through which, we were able to look for and find ideas for the actual tracks that were composed", Viinikainen says.

The very large and rich drum set of Kallio, has, according to Viinikainen, had a great role in construction the assemblage. "The way and style in which Mika plays is exceptionally original and it is difficult to imagine anyone else could equal the contribution that he has made. Ville also immediately felt like the correct choice for this trio straight from his first tryout. His playing style is a wonderful blend of traditional jazz and modern, free improvisation."

Nyt! is the second album to be released by Viinikainen released under his own name. "The making of the album has been a large leap forward in my career and, at the same time, a jump into uncharted territory. It has, in part, also been, in many ways, a type of spiritual growth and, therefore, the tasks that were involved have been so significant.

Teemu Viinikainen has received a great deal of commendable praise in the past and has performed with a number of international jazz artists, such as Joe Lovano, Vince Mendoza, Randy Brecker and Tim Hagans. Viinikainen received the prestigious Finnish Jazz Federation Yrjö- jazz award 2010 and the Sony JazzAward 2004. He has also twice been nominated for the Teosto- award as part of the Perko-Pyysalo-Viinikainen trio. According to the well-known jazz critic and author Stuart Nicholson, Viinikainen is one of the 20 best jazz guitarists in the world.

Teemu Viinikainen Trio's "Nyt!" is the fifth release of the Prophone Finnish Jazz series that was launched in 2010. Prophone is a Swedish record label that began operations in 1990, the heart of which lies in Nordic jazz.