The collective plays trumpeter Eskola's original compositions that have been enriched by the drummer/producer Teppo Mäkynen. Mäkynen has proved to have a golden touch in jazz music which is both ambitious and yet hugely popular and which has sometimes been labelled as “dancefloor jazz”. The nine-piece band released their debut album in Japan in May 2013, with the European release date set in September. While bossa nova is soundwise very much present, Eskola’s compositions take a new approach to the tradition.

Jukka Eskola (b. 1978) is one of the most talented and well-known musicians of his generation in Finland. His name is affiliated with such groups and artists as The Five Corners Quintet and Jimi Tenor, and he is himself the frontman of Jukka Eskola Quintet. His solo albums Jukka Eskola (2005), Hub Up (2006), released exclusively in Japan, and Walkover (2009) have elevated the charismatic trumpeter to the forefront of Finnish jazz music. In recent years, Eskola has delighted the audience again and again with his acclaimed and fresh projects. Before the present contribution to bossa nova, his hand can be heard on Lampela X Eskola (2010), a release collaborated with the composer Jussi Lampela.

Proton String Quartet, responsible for the strings on the Orquesta Bossa album, was founded in 2005 and they have worked with e.g. the accordionist Kimmo Pohjonen and the pianist/composer Sid Hille.

The Finnish Jazz Federation (FJF) organises five domestic tours in the autumn 2013 on which Orquesta Bossa’s sophisticated swing is introduced to the live audience. The tours are supported by the Ministry of Education and The Finnish Music Foundation MES.

Jukka Eskola Orquesta Bossa is
Jukka Eskola - trumpet
Teppo Mäkynen - drums
Peter Engberg - acoustic guitar
Ville Herrala - bass
Petri Puolitaival - flute/saxophone
Ilkka Lehtonen - violin
Teppo Ali-Mattila - violin
Maarit Holkko - alttoviolin
Veli-Matti Iljin - cello

www.jukkaeskola.com

ed. Annamari Innanen 22.1.2013