Jazz Finland Live

Jonathan Bäckström Quartet’s music is defined by streamlined, timeless groove. The Finnish-Swedish foursome travels to the coast of the Baltic Sea and explores concert life in the archipelago towns and villages, including some of the core locations of the Archipelago Sea Jazz festival network. The tour sets sail in Hanko, visits Parainen, Turku, Taalintehdas, and finally returns to home harbor in Helsinki. The group drives Jazz Finland’s tour bus and carries a portable sound gear to the seaside concert venues outside the busy festival season.

Kruunupyy-hailing bassist Jonathan Bäckström leads his band through his compositions that run like rivers: from minimalist soundscapes to free-flowing layers of melodic streams, and cascading improvisation. The archipelago journey is completed alongside his fellow travelers, alto saxophonist Marcus Wärnheim, tenor saxophonist Jarno Tikka and drummer Benjamin Nylund.

Marcus Wärnheim – alto saxophone
Jarno Tikka – tenor saxophone
Benjamin Nylund – drums
Jonathan Bäckström – bass

Tickets: 10€

Open event

Tickets 22,50 € / 18 €

SaloJazz brings to Finland a living legend of jazz pianism, New York-based top pianist David (Dave) Kikoski. He has played in world-class ensembles, e.g. With Roy Haynes, Billy Hart (SaloJazz 2018), Jeff "Tain" Watts (SaloJazz 2019) and John Scofield.

Grammy-winning New York-based drummer Joe Peri and a top Finnish-origin string bassist Kaisa Mäensivu had admired Kikoski and visited his gigs for a long time until one night they got on stage with Kikoski for a jam session in New York. Now their dream of playing together comes true on a tour with the master pianist. Together the three will play Peri's and Mäensivu's own compositions as well as music from Kikoski's extensive artist collaboration.

"For me, the main thing is spontaneity and taking chances. You have to study and know the traditions, but then you have to play things that haven't been played before. It becomes a balance of knowing the tradition and using your own original voice to add to it." - Dave Kikoski

Open event

The internationally acclaimed Jussi Fredriksson Trio’s newest album Archipelago Sea Tales (2021) tells sad and beautiful stories about the world’s most captivating archipelago. Pianist Jussi Fredriksson penned a new repertoire for the band, in the middle of the corona peak. Instead of the health crisis at hand, he drew inspiration from life by the Baltic Sea shore. His compositions are a wild journey from the islander folklore romance to the nature disaster that is facing the South-Western archipelago. The pieces paint a devastating picture of the state of the sea, but also spark hope and survival. Fredriksson’s music comes alive on stage with his trio staples: bassist Jori Huhtala and drummer Mika Kallio.

Jussi Fredriksson Trio

Jussi Fredriksson – piano
Jori Huhtala – bass
Mika Kallio – drums

www.jussifredriksson.com

Open event

In spring 1976Olli Ahvenlahti, Eero Koivistoinen, Pekka Pöyry, Pekka Pohjola, Bertil Strandberg, Markku Johansson, Esko Rosnell and Tommy Körberg recorded Ahvenlahti's LP The Poet at the legendary Marcus Music studio in Stockholm. The record became a significant part of European fusion jazz history and achieved sort of a cult reputation in England and Japan as well. Now the album will be performed almost 50 years later by Ahvenlahti accompanied by Finnish jazz masters at G Livelabs.

Open event

Tickets 15/10€

Jazz Jkl Collective and Severi Pyysalo offer a versatile and fast-paced cross-section into the history of jazz and vibraphone at Miilu. There will be captivating jazz music from several decades as the masterful vibraphonist leads Jazz Jkl Collective at the concert, uniting several generations of musicians.

Open event