If there is any single tune that fits into the category "best known pieces of Finnish jazz", Olli Ahvenlahti's Grandma's Rocking Chair would be at the top of the list. The tune was first released in 1976. However, Grandma's Rocking Chair did not gain a wider reputation until the early 1990s acid jazz boom when it was reissued in the Totally Wired 8 compilation and began to reach dance club audiences. The 'third coming' took place in 2001 when dj and house producer Kenny Dope released a remix of the tune. The fascination of Grandma's Rocking Chair cannot be denied but, arguably, it could have been any other title from Ahvenlahti's second solo album The Poet. Developing the style that was introduced in the author's debut Bandstand, The Poet stands out as a landmark in its mixing of simple melody lines, modern jazz harmonies and cool rhythms.
