Saxophonist Pertti "Pepa" Päivinen (b. 1955) started to play the flute at the age of 12 at the Music School of Vantaa, under Seppo "Paroni" Paakkunainen, and continued with saxophone in the Vyborg Orchestra at the age of 14. Päivinen got interested in jazz music at the age of 16-17, but was at the same time heavily influenced by the progressive rockbands, such as Soulset, Tasavallan Presidentti, Colosseum and Blood, Sweat & Tears. In 1975 Päivinen started his studies at the Pop & Jazz Conservatory of Oulunkylä under saxophonist Juhani Aaltonen and arranger Kai Backlund.

Päivinen started to perform actively in the beginning of the 1970s when he joined the group of Sami Hurmerinta, Taivaanvuohi. He toured also with Tapani Kansa and Arto Sotavalta, and in the Jukka Tolonen Band (JTB) Päivinen got to tour around the Europe in the late-1970s. In the 1980s he met Edward Vesala whose Sound & Fury -band Päivinen joined in 1984. The same year Päivinen was awarded with the Pekka Pöyry Award as the Saxophonist of the Year.

When UMO Jazz Orchestra needed one man more to the saxophone section in 1985, Päivinen joined the big band. Ever since he has played the biggest saxophones in UMO, bassclarinet and flutes, live and on the albums of the big band. In the late-1980s Päivinen was one of the forming members of Saxperiment saxophone quartet that performed once in a while in the 1990s, for example on the Finnish Jazz Federation's tours in 1990 and 1997.

Päivinen returned to Sound & Fury when Edward Vesala asked him to play on the second ECM-album of the band, Ode to the death of jazz (1990). The cooperation continued till the death of Vesala and Päivinen played also on the tours and on the other albums of Sound & Fury in the 1990s. The first solo album for Pepa Päivinen was Saxigon that was released in 1997 (Strawberry Records) that was also one of the last recordings for Vesala. Soon after Saxigon Pepa Päivinen Trio was formed whose debut album Umpsukkelis (Silence 1999) was awarded with the Jazz Emma Prize as the Jazz Recording of the Year in 1999. Päivinen received also the Georgie (Yrjö) Award as the Jazz Musician of the Year in 2000. In 2004 guitarist Timo Tuppurainen joined Päivinen's trio and the trio was transformed into a quartet which shaped the music of the group into even more stronger direction.

Although UMO and his own band have kept Päivinen busy the beginning of the 21st century, he has had time to participate in other projects as a sideman as well. In the beginning of the 21st century he played on the album of Filmtet, the group of guitarist Jarmo Saari that rearranged Finnish filmmusic, and on the album Karikko by Kari Ikonen. In addition Päivinen has been part of the live line-up of Ensemble Braxtonia, the group of the American saxophonist Anthony Braxton, cooperated with composer Markus Fagerudd and played in drummer Mikko Hassinen's Muuntaja. Päivinen was awarded with the Musician's Union's acknowledgement Prize in 2003.