Jazz Finland Live
Yrjö-palkinto, Henri Texier Sand Quintet, Trygve Seim Helsinki Songs, Josef leimberg,Pakkahuone, tampere2.11. At 19:00
HENRI TEXIER SAND QUINTET (FR)
Henri Texier - double bass
Sébastien Texier - alto sax, clarinets
Vincent Lê Quang - tenor & soprano sax
Manu Codja - guitar
Gautier Garrigue - drums
Charles Caratini - sound
"Follow the car ahead," the man said and got into the taxi. A jazz tune played on the car's radio. You know the rest…. The music of French bass ace, Henri Texier, emerges from a classical starting point: its roots are deep in the cool jazz and modal jazz traditions, but the implementation is unique. A solo artist since 1972, Texier has, in a very French fashion, been extolling American jazz and various folk music styles and looking for a perfect mix of those influences, but always remembering the importance of the tune. The same determination is true of Texier's percussive and functional bass aesthetics, where he delivers clear lines with delicate tonal details. Such aesthetics draw you towards effortless spiritual experience.
On this year's Sand Woman album, Texier and a new acoustic band play both new material and his old numbers. The project has been promoted by the renowned electronic music artist Bonobo's remix version of Texier's Les La’s-Bas, which has reached millions of listeners.
On Pakkahuone stage two Texiers will appear, when son Sébastian Texier plays alto saxophone and clarinet.
TRYGVE SEIM HELSINKI SONGS (NO/FI/EE)
Trygve Seim - sax
Markku Ounaskari - drums
Mats Eilertsen - bass
Kristjan Randalu - piano
Trygve Seim has always looked East in many ways. Firstly, in the 1990s, he co-operated with Edward Vesala, and later with numerous other Finnish musicians. Later, he studied the musical heritage of Rumi's ancient Persian, Indian, Armenian and Arabic roots, working with these influences and embarking on a voyage of discovery with his musical projects.
Trygve Seim lies somewhere on the middle ground with his new ”Helsinki Songs” album. Most of the songs – including the title piece – were composed during numerous writing sessions at an apartment owned by The Finnish Composer's Association. The people of Helsinki, its nature and architecture, its extraordinary displays of light & darkness, its shifting moods, have all informed the powerful lyricality of the pieces. However, Seim´s pan-Scandinavian adventures are still influenced by the Norwegian oceanic climate, which exaggerates intense themes and ruthless melodies.
JOSEF LEIMBERG & THE ASTRAL PROGRESSIONS ORCHESTRA (US)
Josef Leimberg - trumpet
Tracy Wannomae - bass clarinet, sax, flute
William Logan - drums
Anand Bennett - guitar
Sanjaya Ajaye - bass
Matthew Little - keys
Los Angeles-based Josef Leimberg's musical CV is long and persuasive. Among other things, Leimberg is known as a fully-fledged and gifted producer and trumpeter, as shown by his work with rap artist Snoop Dogg, and Kendrick Lamar's Grammy Award-winning To Pimp A Butterfly. Nevertheless, Leimberg only released his first solo album 2 years ago.
Astral Progressions is a multi-faceted album that engages Leimberg and his band with the world of cosmic music. Powerful sounds, embracing soul, funk, hiphop and even pop, the whole is marked by a retrofuturistic fusion effort. Behind all this lies the American West Coast's gangsta-funk groove, as well as aggressive jazz solos which highlight the spirituality and the challenges of black lives, both past and present. The merciless melodies of Leimberg's trumpet juxtapose beautifully with the soul-caressing clarinet of Tracy Wannomae, while the beating heart of the music is rooted by the earthy beats of the rythmn section. This musical alchemy invokes, for a delicious moment, the astral forces of balance and harmony.
Tickets 55/45 €
Gigs on the same day in tampere
GHOST-NOTE (US)
Robert "Sput" Searight - drums
Nate Werth - percussion
MonoNeon - bass
Vaughn Henry - keys
Sylvester Onyejiaka - baritone & tenor sax, flute
Jonathan Mones - alto sax, flute
Peter Knudsen - guitar
Robert "Sput" Searight and Nate Werth won several Grammys with their ground-breaking band Snarky Puppy. Together with bass player MonoNeon, who played with Prince, the band create a bouncing groove, where fireworks and shooting stars explode. The superbands' first album, Fortified, debuted on the iTunes Jazz List in 2015. This year’s album, Swagism, already tells us by its name that it represents the birth of a New Cool, and no excuses for the volume.
The band is on a imaginary journey with James Brown, J Dillan, and The Beastie Boys on an private jet from New York to the jungles of West Africa, and then on to Cuba, and then Brazil for the samba carnivals. The motifs picked up from the road are put into a soup that contains all possible spices. ”Why?” ”Because we can!” Ghost-Note's sound is so expensive that when they’re onstage, stock markets overheat and currency exchange rates go haywire . Shake it! Break it! Twerk it! Freestyle!
Tickets 25/20 €
Black Motor, Martti Vesala Soundpost Quintet, MaxxxtetTelakka, tampere2.11. At 21:00
BLACK MOTOR (FI)
Simo Laihonen - drums
Ville Rauhala - bass
Tane Kannisto - saxophones, woodwinds, flute
Black Motor has been one of the most original and productive Finnish jazz bands of the past few years. This Tampere band played numerous concerts on this same Telakka stage in the early 2000s, along with the leading jazz musicians and improvisers in Finland. The experience they gained in this way was an important education in the mechanics and expression of all things Jazz. The trio's versatile record output is a fascinating documentary of a band that has followed its instincts and has gone its own way. In the early days, they had a punk-oriented approach to the late John Coltrane and Albert Ayler's spirit of chaotic free jazz, and later began to explore the roots of folk music and mystical ballads. In 2014, Tane Kannisto, a renowned saxophonist from Edward Vesala's Sound & Fury, joined the band with his big bag of wind instruments, contributing their dazzling emotional depth to the band’s expression. This re-created and more sensitive Black Motor is not afraid of darkness, but loves light. The black motor is cleaned and oiled: welcome to night driving!
MARTTI VESALA SOUNDPOST QUINTET (FI)
Martti Vesala - trumpet, flugelhorn
Petri Puolitaival - tenor sax
Joonas Haavisto - piano
Juho Kivivuori - double bass
Ville Pynssi - drums
The Sibelius Academy alumni Martti Vesala is known not only as a phenomenal and sought-after trumpeter, but also as a clever composer and arranger. Alongside his own band, he has worked with Njet Njet 9, Nicole Willis And The Soul Investigators, and Aiyekooto And The Afrobeat International.
With Soundpost Quintet, Vesala makes a tribute to possibly the most beloved tradition of jazz. The primary influences of the band include The Miles Davis Quintet’s mature and dynamic groove, Wayne Shorter's elegant musical language and the experimental, acoustic jazz of the 1960s. Vesala has composed all the music of Vesala Soundpost Quintet.
Time-honoured elegance and Finnish teamwork seamlessly woven together.
MAXXXTET (FI)
Max Zenger - sax, bass clarinet
Tomi Nikku - trumpet
Teemu Åkerblom - bass
Jonatan Sarikoski - drums
Music has an amazing ability to convey memories and stories, but also customise them. Max Zenger is an adventurous, cosmopolitan and multilingual musician whose music is like a travel diary: his songs tell about his past encounters and real memories, along with their rose-tinted cousins: he also dreams, of course, and perhaps anticipates the future as well.
With Maxxxtet, one can also hear influences from different cultures and genres. Zenger's lyricality and strong-tempered modes support the image of learning and insight, but like life, it fits play and situational comedy, too. In the hands of Maxxxtet, this all comes alive in a unique, exuberant and explosive manner. The brilliance of Zenger's saxophone playing has also sent him on an adventurous journey as a freelancer: for example, he’s been invited to play with UMO Jazz Orchestra, as a soloist at West Coast Jazz Concerts. With Maxxxtet, Zenger also grabs a bass clarinet, whose foxy sound is supported by Tomi Nikku's counterpoint trumpet lines and the tropical beats of the rhythm group.
Tickets 30/25 €
