Jazz Finland Live

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Open event

Tickets 20 €

Award winning saxophone player and composer Felipe Salles (BRA/US) meets Ostrobothnia based musicians guitarist Martin Söderbacka & bassist Eevalotta Matikainen as they interpret selected jazz standards and a few originals.

Felipe Salles, a native of São Paulo Brazil, has been an active musician in the US since 1995. Salles has worked and recorded with prominent jazz artists, including Randy Brecker, Paquito D'Rivera, David Liebman, Melissa Aldana, Lionel Loueke, Jerry Bergonzi, Chico Pinheiro, Bob Moses and many more. He has toured extensively in Europe, North and South America, India, and Australia, as a sideman and as a leader of his own group. Salles has released ten critically acclaimed recordings as a leader and his arrangements and compositions have been performed by some of the top groups in the world including The Metropole Orchestra and The Manhattan School of Music Jazz Orchestra.

The Ostrobothnia based jazzguitar-double bass duo Martin Söderbacka and Eevalotta Matikainen have performed over 1000 shows together and have released 5 albums as co-producers. Eevalotta and Martin have been performing and touring together with numerous guest artists such as: Viktoria Tolstoy (SE), Joris Roelofs (NL), Siim Aimla (EST), David Lyttle (IRL), Joonatan Rautio, Jukka Perko, Teemu Viinikainen, Osmo Ikonen, Sami Saari, Jesse Kaikuranta, Aili Ikonen, Manuel Dunkel, Olli Soikkeli and many more. Besides the duo lineup Söderbacka and Matikainen also compose for their quartet SM4 and for Eevalotta's soul/jazz quintet Soul What? feat. Joonatan Rautio.

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Olli Ahvenlahti, who has had an exceptionally extensive and versatile career in Finnish music, turned 75 this year and is celebrating it with a national concert tour organized by the Finnish Jazz Federation from October 8th to 13th. The tour will feature the new Olli Ahvenlahti New Quintet – The Poet Vol. 2, performing jazz-funk compositions from Ahvenlahti’s Mirror Mirror album, which was released in the spring of 2024. The tour begins in Joensuu on October 8th, followed by stops in Kuopio, Lahti, Savonlinna, Raahe, and Tornio.

Pianist Olli Ahvenlahti’s new Mirror Mirror album was inspired by his 1976 release The Poet, particularly by the enduring piece Granma’s Rocking Chair. The album consists of Ahvenlahti’s latest compositions, specifically tailored for his new ensemble, made up of top active musicians. The music is rhythmically tight and the melodies catchy, with Ahvenlahti’s Fender Rhodes piano playing a crucial role in shaping the band’s sound. The Mirror Mirror album, released by the We Jazz label, had its album release concert at the April Jazz Festival last April, and the band has since performed at various venues, including the Pori Jazz Festival.

Olli Ahvenlahti eagerly anticipates the tour concerts and the opportunity to connect with jazz fans across Finland.

– “It’s truly great to have the chance to perform the music from the new album in multiple cities across Finland. The concerts will feature electric jazz-funk – much like the style of The Poet album from long ago,” says Ahvenlahti.

Olli Ahvenlahti has been an influential figure in the Finnish music scene since the 1970s. As a pianist, composer, arranger, conductor, and even a television performer, Ahvenlahti’s diverse body of work includes not only solo albums but also music for films, theater, and TV series.

Open event

Open event