Jazz Finland Live

Showtime: 19:00, Doors: 18:00
Tickets: €39, presales at kukkesand@hotmail.com

In an extraordinary evening, the accomplished Pakistani musician Ustad Noor Bakhsh will grace the stage, playing the Baloch folk music tradition with virtuosity on his unique Benju instrument. The event will also feature the renowned cult artist Jimi Tenor and jazz drummer-percussionist Ilmari Heikinheimo's Freelektron duo.

FREELEKTRON

Formed in 2016, Freelektron has performed in various events, clubs, and festivals in Finland under the name Jimi Tenor & Ilmari Heikinheimo Duo. Their music merges the possibilities of jazz and electronic music, heavily relying on improvisation. The band's sound is enhanced by a larger drum-triggering system, making them sound like a larger ensemble.

In the spring of 2020, the band released their debut album Freelektron through the Norwegian Jazzaggression label.

USTAD NOOR BAKHSH

Noor Bakhsh hails from Balochistan, Pakistan, a region along the Indian Ocean coast, near the borders of Iran and Afghanistan. He plays a unique stringed instrument called the Benju, equipped with an unconventional keyboard. The instrument originally comes from Japan and was initially a toy called Taishōgoto. Noor's electric Benju includes a microphone, channeling the sound into a vintage Philips amplifier discovered in a Karachi marketplace 30 years ago.

Upon hearing rumors of this masterful musician, ethnomusicologist Daniyal Ahmed embarked on a journey to find Noor. Their meeting led to the on-site recording of Noor's impressive debut album using just two microphones as the sun set in the background. The album titled Jingul was digitally released under Ahmed's own honiunhoni label, and it received praise from international music media. The vinyl version of the album, set for September 15th release, will be published through the UK-based Hive Mind Records.

Back home on the Indian subcontinent, Noor unexpectedly became a viral sensation, an unusual feat for someone who doesn't own a smartphone or even have access to the internet. His repertoire includes Persian and Kurdish melodies that predate the current borders of Iran and Pakistan. In a recent recording session, he even included an Arabic ghazal, an ancient form of love poetry.

Noor Bakhsh's renditions of popular and folk tunes, sung in all of Pakistan's major languages, showcase his unique style and original compositions. For those unfamiliar with Balochi music, the electrified sound of Noor Bakhsh's Benju and the ornamentation of melodies bring to mind Ali Farka Touré's style, and the rhythmic sway invites movement akin to the music of both Eastern and Western Africa.

Europeans are fortunate, as this year Noor Bakhsh has embarked on his inaugural concert tour here, with appearances in festivals such as Roskilde and Amsterdam Folk Roots.