Jazz Finland Live

BLOOD RED – Album release concert!
Espoo Big Band feat. Verneri Pohjola
Music by Mikko Hassinen

Espoo Big Band’s 12^th album, “Blood Red”, will be released by Galileo Music in both digital and physical (CD) format in September 2021.

Blood Red, composed by Mikko Hassinen, is a kind of soundtrack to a fictional story taking place in late 16th-century Istanbul.

”The inspiration for the composition comes from the wonderful book My Name is Red written by the Nobelists Orhan Pamuk. The music doesn’t describe or explain the story or the characters. Rather, it reflects different feelings evoked by the novel,” Hassinen explains.

Mikko Hassinen was excited about the opportunity to write music for Espoo Big Band, whose motives are fundamentally different from the most typical traditions related to big band music. Espoo Big Band (EBB) is one of Finland’s leading large jazz orchestras. The band has performed at several of the world’s most famous jazz festivals – including North Sea Jazz, Detroit, Montreaux and Paris – and released eleven albums.

The compositions are influenced by both Arbian and Persian music. The influences of Persian music are involved in nuances related to the shapes, scales and rhythms of the songs. The use of live electronics spices up the big band’s already colorful sound.

“I have been interested in Arabic music for a long time and therefore it seemed natural to combine the influences I got from it with jazz. Verneri Pohjola is a great jazz improviser, but he was a natural choice as a soloist also because of his strong lyrical playing style,” says Mikko Hassinen.

Open event

Tickets 22 €

Superposition is the new creative quartet led by Helsinki-based drummer/composer Olavi Louhivuori. The band features some of the most ear-worthy musical talent in the buzzing Finnish scene.

Open event

Tickets 20/10 €

The first Sointi Club of the autumn season will jump into the multicolored world of folk tunes. This time, the premiere concert, which has already become a tradition, will feature completely new arrangements of folk songs.

The arrangements of the premiere concert have been made byVille Kyttälä, Aleksis Liukko, Henri Lyysaari, Antti Lähdesmäki, Tomi Nikku, Adele Sauros, Pekka Seppänen, Oskari Siirtola and Rasmus Soini.

Open event

The heavy-hitters in Finnish jazz, Reiska Laine Quintet, tour the country on 10 concerts during September 11–25. The Jazz Finland tour takes the ensemble to Turku, Salo, Kotka, Joensuu, Kuopio, Savonlinna, Espoo, Kokkola and Raahe. The last show of the tour stars the Porvoo Jazz Festival on Saturday, the 25th of September.

Over his 50-year long career, drummer Reiska Laine has played as a sideman in so many famous bands and orchestras, but never has he led his own ensemble. Now this mistake is finally corrected, and Laine has invited his dream team to his quintet. In Maestro’s own words, Reiska Laine Quintet features the “Ideal Rhythm Duo” of pianist-keyboardist Seppo Kantonen and double bassist Ulf Krokfors, and the “Sax Legends” Eero Koivistoinen and Juhani Aaltonen. All the musicians have been awarded with the prestigious Yrjö prize, so this combo really is the “who-is-who” in Finnish jazz. On the Jazz Finland tour pianist Kantonen will be substituted with the internationally acclaimed star of a younger generation, Alexi Tuomarila.

The quintet mesmerized the audiences and got raving reviews for their 2019 and 2020 concerts at Pori Jazz, Jazz-Espa and Tampere Jazz Happening. Their unbeatable experience and visionary expression show in their own original pieces and take the few Coltrane covers from the 1960s to another level.

Reiska Laine Quintet
Reiska Laine, drums / Eero Koivistoinen, tenor saxophone / Juhani Aaltonen, tenor saxophone, flute / Alexi Tuomarila, piano / Ulf Krokfors, double bass

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