Sid Hille
pianist/ composer/ teacherPianist Sid Hille (b. 1961) moved to Finland in 1994, first to Kokkola where he worked as the leader of the jazz department of the Central Ostrobothnia Conservatory, also teaching jazzpiano and composition. This Germany-born pianist had earlier had time to travel around the world and live in i.a. United States and Netherlands. Hille studied in the University of Utrecht where he graduated in 1993 with a Master's Degree.
In Finland Hille conducted, besides his work as a teacher, the jazz orchestra of Central Ostrobothnia Conservatory and in 1997 a quartet full of the younger generation's Finnish jazzmusicians was born. Later the quartet got the name Platypus Ensemble and it toured actively around Middle-Europe in 1997. For the Finnish jazzaudience the same group performed on the Finnish Jazz Federation's tour in February 2000 with their fresh album For What You Are Is Never Seen (A-Records 1999). The core of the repertoire of Platypus Ensemble consists of the compositions of the groupleader that has lots of the spirit of Nordic jazz but also a strong mark of it's composer. Group improvisation has always been an important part of the expression of the band and it has been modified into a musical dialogue during the 15 years of the band's existence.
In the 21st century Hille has composed lots of music also for the bigger groups and spent most of his time composing and performing. As a composer he has succeeded the best with his big band compositions, chamber music and film music. In 2002 Hille received the Finnish Cultural Foundation grant for his Frutas Maduras big band composition that he composed for UMO Jazz Orchestra and a trombone soloist. Since 2002 Hille has been living in Helsinki and concentrating on his career as a composer and a groupleader. In addition he has continued his work as a teacher in Ebeli, the pop/jazz department of Espoo music school.
In 2010 Hille was awarded with the Finnish Film Prize for his music in Saara Cantell's movie "Kohtaamisia/Heartbeats".