Iro Haarla, her husband and drummer Edward Vesala (1954-1999), was for many years Iro’s inner architect and orchestrator. Vesala had just graduated from Helsinki’s Sibelius Academy in 1978 when Haarla met Vesala. She put aside her career as a concert pianist and composer to help him achieve his musical goals. Vesala was a very intuitive musician. Haarla was the one who gave form and colour to many his ideas through her arrangements and editing material for his Sound.
![](https://jazzinfo.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/iro-haarla-20150716041958.jpg)