Jazz Finland Live

Open event

Tickets 15/10€

Sid Hille’s compositions provide perfect and beautiful frames to depart from and return to. In an exceptional mix of instruments the Sid Hille contemporary/jazz Collective offers a unique listening experience. Each time again – each time in a different way.

There is no borderline between jazz and contemporary classical music. There is only a small gap between mindsets, a tiny little opening of space for the NOW – a universe for the improvising musician. This is where the Sid Hille contemporary/jazz Collective operates. This is where the ’Zen Connection’ happens. (’The Zen Connection’ is the title of the band’s first release from 2012.)

Equipped with a firm set of musical abilities the improvising musician takes a jump, trusting his spontaneous musical ideas, responding to the surrounding environment of the other improvisers, creating a unique maze of musical structures that can never be reproduced the exact same way – only the HERE and NOW is true.

Teemu Viinikainen – guitar
Sid Hille – piano
Maija Linkola – violin
Elina Viitasaari – violin
Lotta Poijärvi – viola
Markus Hohti – cello
www.sidhille.com 

Open event

Tickets 10/8€

Jarmo Saari Republic is a new supergroup built on the praised solo project Jarmo Saari Solu and branching out its experimental, lyrical and hypnotic soundscapes. Saari is a musician, composer and producer, and his CV includes shows in more than 30 different countries and appearances on well over 100 albums. Saari dreamed about this dream team for ten years, before it finally came into being in 2012, and it was Tampere Jazz Happening in November 2013 that saw the first gig of these “soldiers of light”.

Miles Davis and Jimi Hendrix never had a chance to realise their ideas about collaboration, but luckily Jarmo Saari Republic has come forth to prevent such wrongs from occurring in the Finnish scale. The essence of the band lies in its versatile musicians, dynamic communication and unusual instrumentation. Each of the members has been working in the field of Finnish music already for two decades and with an exceptionally wide scope.

Jarmo Saari (b. 1970) is one of the most original guitarists of his generation. His musical visions have found an outlet in both his solo work and the bands Trubamolli, Filmtet, ZataBoo and XL. Saari is known for his visual compositional style and layered sound collages made with guitar and vocals, but also with a number of more unlikely instruments, such as theremin, baroque cello, trombone and glass harp. He has collaborated as a musician and composer with the following artists, for example: Jukka Perko, Tero Saarinen Company, Anna-Mari Kähärä, Trilok Gurtu, The Tapiola Choir, Pekka Kuusisto, Nils Landgren, Emma Salokoski, Felix Zenger, Meta4 String Quartet, UMO Jazz Orchestra, Mika Kaurismäki Pepe Deluxe and Tuomari Nurmio. In 2012, Saari was awarded with a Finland Prize by the Ministry of Education and Culture for artistic activity.

Sami Kuoppamäki, Olavi Louhivuori and Abdissa “Mamba” Assefa have earlier worked with such bands and artists as Kingston Wall, Oddarrang, Giant Robot, Kimmo Pohjonen, Fat Beat Sound System, Ilmiliekki Quartet, Tomasz Stanko, Nuspirit Helsinki, Tuomo, Anssi Tikanmäki’s Film Orchestra and Von Hertzen Brothers.

Why these three drummers, Jarmo Saari? – We have an abundance of skilled drummers in Finland, but it was this dream line-up with whom we finally got to try out the mad concept. I was given a Versoul baritone guitar by a number of friends for my 40th birthday, and I was honoured to hear Kuoppis and Mamba play in two sets in my birthday jam session. It was incredible to see it click between them! The rootsy and virtuosic Kuoppis and the intensely unpredictable Olavi play together with a wonderful flow, while Mamba seasons this soulful cake with earthy spices.

The debut album is due in the spring of 2014 by the label Rockadillo Records, and we will be treated to guest appearances from at least the following three artists: Sam Huber, Tommy Lindgren and the Rolling Stones sax player, Tim Ries.

Open event