Jazz Finland Live

This international quartet has a hypnotic sound. Led by two extraordinary guitar players, Kalle Kalima and Knut Reiersrud, the quartet represent styles from rock and jazz to blues and world music. The rhythm section, drummer Christian Marien and bassist Phil Donkin are both highly creative musicians on their own right. Their program consists of exciting arrangements of native Indian chants and classic rock songs. The songs are like mantras, reaching for trance. In Helsinki, they'll perform compositions heard originally on the "Flying Like Eagles" album, released by ACT Records in 2019.

Kalle Kalima, electric guitar / Knut Reiersrud; resonator, electric & lap steel guitar, harmonica / Phil Donkin, bass / Christian Marien, drums

Is there a better way to celebrate your birthday than to perform together with your long-standing band friends? This is what the saxophonist Manuel Dunkel chooses to do on his 50th birthday in a concert at Korjaamo on 2nd November together with the UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra. This time, Dunkel steps forward from the first row of the orchestra to the soloist’s limelight for the whole concert.

The concert program contains mainly new music by Manuel Dunkel, composed for his own quartet. The big band arrangements are by Ed Partyka and Eero Koivistoinen in addition to Dunkel himself. Additionaly, the program also includes a premiere of a work by Artturi Rönkä, composed especially for UMO and Dunkel. The program is melodic and represents the jazz tradition as well as more modern nuances. The concert is conducted by Ville Vannemaa. Duration 75 minutes, no intermission.

Dunkel has played in UMO since 1994, in other words for more than half of his life. He is a familiar face in numerous other ensembles and is especially known for the quartet named after him. One could say that “where there is jazz, there is Manu”.

– I’ve had the opportunity to do and experience wonderful things both musically and in my life otherwise. Still, I feel that my curiosity and aspiration to grow as a musician are as strong as ever. In art, the feeling of incompleteness, self-criticism and the will to evolve are ever present. I still enjoy playing at least as much as when I was younger, says Dunkel shortly before his birthday.

Manuel Dunkel (b. 1971) is one of the most respected saxophonists in Finland. Dunkel has played in the UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra since 1994 and is known for his nuance-rich sound, strong post-bop expression and virtuosic improvisation. Dunkel graduated as Master of Music from the Sibelius Academy Jazz Department in 2004 and has played in several Finnish ensembles as well as been the leader of his own quartet since the late 1990’s. Dunkel received the Yrjö Prize of the Finnish Jazz Federation in 2011 and is releasing his seventh own album during the coming autumn. He has performed in over thirty countries and has played together with many internationally renowned jazz musicians such as Paul Jackson, Rick Margitza and Kenny

Open event