 He briefly studied with pianist Sal Mosca, who was a student of the legendary Lennie Tristano.Pohjola performed in the late 1990s at New York clubs Blue Note, Birdland, the Five Spot, Smalls, The Jazz Standard and Visiones.His collaborators included Chris Cheek, Mark Turner, Miguel Zenón, Ben Monder, Drew Gress, Jeff Williams, Jochen Rückert, Matt Wilson and Mark Ferber.