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Eerik Siikasaari

bassist
eerik-siikasaari

Eerik Siikasaari (b. 1957) started to play the piano when he was 6-years-old but the piano changed into electric bass when he was 12 and then four years later again into doublebass. Siikasaari studied bass first at the Pop & Jazz Concervatory until he was accepted into the jazz department of Sibelius Academy where he later graduated as the Master of Music. At the beginning of the 1980s Siikasaari gained important experience by playing with the quartet of drummer Jukkis Uotila and the Karelia band of saxophonist Seppo "Paroni" Paakkunainen.

In 1988 Siikasaari formed Trio Töykeät with pianist Iiro Rantala and drummer Rami Eskelinen. Trio developed an unique concept where Rantala's compositions were backed up with the amazing skills and thoughtful arrangements of the group and the compositions had more humor than the Finnish jazz had in general in the 1980s. Already in 1988 Trio Töykeät won the European Jazzband Contest in Hoeilaart, Belgium. Trio Töykeät did their first Jazz Federation's tour in Finland in 1989 and the debut album Päivää! (Sonet) was released the next year.

In 1990-1993 Rantala and Eskelinen studied in the Manhattan School of Music in New York and when the pianist and the drummer returned to Finland, Trio Töykeät performed a lot around the world in Cuba, Mexico, Europe, Australia and East Asia. The band released many high-level albums and Jazzlantis that was released in 1995 won the Jazz Recording of the Year in Emma Awards. In the same year, and the year after that, first Siikasaari and then Rantala were awarded with the Georgie, Yrjö, Award as the Jazzmusician of the Year. Trio Töykeät was also honoured to be the first jazzband ever to play at the Presidential Independence Day Reception in 1996.

In the 21st century the group continued releasing high-class albums and performing actively in Finland and abroad. In 2008 Trio Töykeät however announced that they are, after over 2000 gigs, 43 countries and seven albums, breaking up. There was not any drama involved in the decision to quit: the group just felt that the group has come to the end of their journey. All in all Trio Töykeät was one of the most famous Finnish jazzbands in the 1990's, probably even the most popular.

Besides Trio Töykeät, Siikasaari has long performed with Espoo Big Band, also on the band's tours abroad, and taught bass in Ebeli, the pop/jazz department of the music school of Espoo. Siikasaari is also a popular sideman on the field of Helsinki jazz scene and he has had time to influence in i.a. accordeonist Mika Huusari's band, Piirpauke and in different projects of children's and ballad music.