Jazz Finland Live

Kaisa's Machine (FIN)
Double bassist, composer Kaisa Mäensivu studied at the famous Manhattan School of Music with Dave Liebman, John Riley and Jay Anderson. Now she’s back in Helsinki continuing her studies at the Sibelius Academy with Jukkis Uotila. This is Kaisa’s own acoustic quartet, but she also plays with the inter Scandinavian Taiga, Adele Sauros Quartet and the Sointi Jazz Orchestra. The busy jazz scene of today’s New York inspires Mäensivu especially, while the long continuum of African-American groove and swing and Scandinavian lyricism also mean much to her. Kaisa’s Machine will record their debut this autumn.

Aki Rissanen Trio (FIN)
12 years of studying classical piano early on has left a strong mark in Aki Rissanen’s playing style. Add to that the open-minded young man’s influences from electronic dance music, and the end result is decidedly different from other piano trios. The shiny elegance of TeppoMäkynen’s and Antti Lötjönen’s rhythm section is also essential to the band’s sound. The highly praised Amorandom (Edition Records, 2016) is Rissanen’s seventh album, but he has worked a lot with other artists in many styles, lately especially with trumpet player Verneri Pohjola and the American saxist Dave Liebman.

Lauri Porra Flyover Ensemble (FIN)
The son of Sibelius’ daughter’s daughter, Lauri Porrastarted playing the cello very early, but found the bass as an adolescent. It, especially the electric bass, became his main instrument, though he is also adept on cello, piano and trumpet. He has long been a member of metal band Stratovarius and has also played in singer Emma Salokoski’s and guitarist Ben Granfelt’s bands and Kotipelto, to name a few. As a leader he has made three albums, the latest being the excellent Flyover (Texicalli Records, 2015). Porra also composes a lot for movies, theatre and tv. Last year he finished Entropia, his Concerto for Electric Bass and Symphony Orchestra.

Tickets 25/20 €

Yrjö Award 2016 (FIN)
The most prestigious prize given to jazz musicians in Finland, the Yrjö Award will be presented by the Finnish Jazz Federation for the second time during the Tampere Jazz Happening. The event will culminate in a performance by the winner of the award.

The Finnish Jazz Federation Anniversary Orchestra (FIN)
The Yrjö award is Finland’s most precious jazz prize and every player in this Anniversary Orchestra, led by multi-reedsman Mikko Innanen, has got it. The new Yrjö recipient will be published in this concert and he or she will also play with the band. Innanen has picked the material from the repertoires of earlier Yrjö recipients, so you may view the concert also as a little lesson in the rich history of Finnish jazz.

Steve Lehman Octet (USA)
The alto saxist from New York is not just a musician and composer, but also a scholar, challenger and transformer of jazz, and a teacher in several academic institutions. Having worked, on top of his own bands, with the likes of Anthony Braxton, Vijay Iyer, Meshell Ndegeocello and Anti-Pop Consortium’s High Priest, he has lately researched computer-driven models for improvisation in his electro-acoustic music. Earlier he studied the relationship between jazz and African music. Steve Lehman’s burning desire for new solutions has made the American as well as European music journals call him “the foremost thinker in jazz”.

Marius Neset Quintet with Svante Henryson (NOR)
Before he played sax, Marius Neset took drum lessons early on. It influenced his compositional style. “The drums gave me an important rhythmic base. I learned very early to play in these odd meters so I have a very natural feel for it”, says the 30-year-old reedsman, who has an uncanny ability to make one sax sound like two or three. In 2003, he went to study in Copenhagen’s Rhythm Music Conservatory, where the British pianist Django Bates became his mentor. While playing in Bates’ Human Chain, Neset charmed several music business key figures, like Edition Records’ Dave Stapleton, with his unique style that can change from wild virtuosity to tender atmospheres in an instant. Cello player Svante Henrysonwon the Nordic Council’s music prize in 2015.

Tickets: 52,50 € / 42,50 €

Open event