Jazz Finland Live

Open event

Cotton Club was the most famous night club in Harlem, New York, in 1923-35. It played host to the biggest orchestras, singers, dancers, comedians and variety groups of the era and world-wide radio shows were frequently broadcast from the club by NBC.

On stage Mosabacka Big Band feat. Ida Boucht and Juki Välipakka. MBB is conducted by Marko Renko.

Duration appr. 120 min, including an intermission. Doors at 6:30PM.

Tickets starting from 14/10 €

Open event

Stylish bossa nova and beloved golden oldies of jazz meet when Finnish trumpet star Jukka Eskola performs with the startlingly talented New York-based singer Cyrille Aimée.

Eskola released his album Jukka Eskola Orquesta Bossa in 2013. It consists of new Finnish compositions typically inspired by bossa nova. Orquesta Bossa, which performs on the Emma-nominated album, features an acclaimed jazz quintet and string quartet. The music is sophisticated and airily groovy, reaching across time and genre boundaries. The orchestra will perform with one of the most brilliant young jazz vocalists of our time, the acclaimed Cyrille Aimeé.

Born in France, Aimée started getting interested about gypsy culture and music at a young age. As an adolescent, she travelled across Europe and performed at street corners. On one such journey, she found herself at the Montreux Jazz Festival, where she won first prize in 2007. Aimée is currently one of the most sought-after jazz singers in the United States. The concert offers a unique opportunity to hear virtuoso jazz singing combined with the amazing arrangements of the ten-man Orquesta Bossa. The programme features golden oldies of jazz and bossa nova, such as A Night In Tunisia and Corcovado, along with works by Orquesta Bossa.

"Michael Jackson brushes shoulders with Sarah Vaughan in the person of Cyrille Aimée." New York Times

"When you see Cyrille Aimée perform, you instantly fall in love with her" Jazz Times

"Aimée is the revelation." New York Daily News

Duration 2 h, incl. interval.

Tickets 26 € at Lippupalvelu: or 22 € with S-Bonus card from Oulu10 service points and Valve ticket office.

Cyrille Aimée (vocals) Jukka Eskola Orquesta Bossa: Jukka Eskola (trumpet), Petri Puolitaival (saxophone, flute), Jaska Lukkarinen (drums), Ville Herrala (bass), Peter Engberg (guitar), Ilkka Lehtonen (violin), Teppo Ali-Mattila (violin), Maarit Holkko (viola), Veli-Matti Iljin (cello)

Open event

NYConnection performs at Oulu Music Festival! The group consists of three top-notch Finns and the acclaimed Israeli pianist, Roy Assaf. They released their second album Urban Griot last spring.

Jaska Lukkarinen, drums
Roy Assaf (USA), piano
Jussi Kannaste, saxophone
Antti Lötjönen, bass

Tickets 15/10 €
Jazz 20 ry members 10 €

Open event

Aleatoric is music in the here and now. The album released on Eclipse Music in 2013 was recorded during a special, live, one-day studio session. The term “aleatoric” refers to composing and making by means of chance and coincidence. And even though a lot of the material here is composed, the element of chance is the defining one on this album. Just like many of the all times classic jazz albums, “Aleatoric” captures, like a musical photograph, a special moment in the recording history of these great musicians. The music is new and fresh but, at the same time, the method of making this album is deeply rooted in the best tradition of classic jazz.

Pianist Aki Rissanen (b. 1980) has been quickly rising among the few top forces of the instrument in Finnish Jazz, and gained growing attention in the European jazz scene. In addition to his high merits in the Solo Piano Competition at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland and La Defense competition in France, Rissanen is best known for his works with Verneri Pohjola, Jukka Perko and the UMO Jazz Orchestra. The acclaimed Aki Rissanen Jussi Lehtonen Quartet with Dave Liebman has been released in 2015 by German label Ozella Records. His long term duo partner Robin Verheyen (1983) is considered one of the top European saxophone players and accomplished jazz musicians from Belgium. He has established himself since 2007 in NYC where he quickly build a reputation there and has worked with such jazz heavyweights as Gary Peacock, Bill Carrothers, Drew Gress and many others. Since 2012 he has also started a collaboration with pianist Marc Copland. Recently they have performed as a quartet with Gary Peacock and Joey Baron at the Jazz Middelheim Festival in Belgium.
Drummer Markku Ounaskari is well respected all over Europe and has recorded, among others, for the legendary ECM record label. His high experience brings deeper perspectives to the soundscapes of the young soloists. Ounaskari has been awarded with the Yrjö award in 2014, the most prestigious jazz prize in Finland

“The trio’s blend of chamber jazz lyricism and improvisatory rigor is an effective mix that fully engages the listener. Highly recommended.” **** The Jazzmann/ Ian Mann, Nov 1st 2013, UK

The Impérial Quartet emerged in 2010 as a fresh surprise on the bubbling French jazz scene. This highly interactive and expressive band has been an award-winner of the renowned Jazz Migration tour program in 2012, a program initiated by the AJC which aims at supporting youth innovation and creativity. In 2013, the Naïve Record label released their second album “Slim Fat”.

The members of the quartet have been accomplices for many years. Damien Sabatier and Gérald Chevillon have even been soul brothers since their teenage years. Together they share the family of saxophones from sopranino to bass, developing an original and unexpected sound palate. This uncommon variety of pitches supported by a generous and solid rhythmic pair allows the exploration of new musical territory through the compositions of all the four members of the band. The quartet’s search for organic material, is also inspired by traditional music, trance music and that somewhat “dirty” rock energy. It serves as a rhythmic pool to their spacious melodies, fiery improvisations and other theatrics.

Both saxophonists and Antonin Leymarie have played in Tous Dehors, the large band of clarinetist Laurent Dehors which successfully performed at Pori Jazz 2011. The Finnish audience has also had the chance to appreciate the skills of Chevillon on bass saxophone as part of the Laurent Dehors Trio in March 2014. Joachim Florent too has been heard before in Finland, touring with two outstanding trios, Jean Louis (2010) and Metalophone (2012). The Belgian bassist was praised for his energetic and precise playing, and has also performed previously together with Aki Rissanen in the quartet White Light (2008). Leymarie is a new-comer in Finland. The drummer has been involved in many groups and has recently created his own Magnetic Ensemble, whose hypnotic trance has gone wild on the French alternative music scene.

Tickets 10 € / 5 €

Open event