Jazz Finland Live

Joonas Haavisto's four-part piece Pinnan alta will premiere at April Jazz. The piece is composed for mixed choir, piano and percussion. Haavisto, who is also responsible for the lyrics, tells a story that transports the listener into the depths, from which human action and the limitations of life are examined with wonder. The work, which reaches into spiritual spaces and Coltrane-like cascades, also focuses on improvisation, which helps us stay in the moment and confront the unknown.

Joonas Haavisto is a Finnish jazz pianist and composer who has had a significant international career for over 15 years. With his trio, he has released five albums and toured extensively abroad, performing at the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York, the Tokyo Jazz Festival and the DC Jazz Festival, among others. Known for his crystal-clear piano sound and versatility, Haavisto has performed with many famous jazz musicians, such as Jerry Bergonzi, Jonathan Blake, Jaleel Shaw, Ralph Alessi, Tivon Pennicott and Michael Formanek. As a soloist, Haavisto has played with chamber orchestras and big bands. He has composed compositions for small and large ensembles, as well as for the Cannes Film Festival-awarded film “The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki” directed by Juho Kuosmanen.

Mika Kallio is a versatile percussionist who feels at home in almost any jazz style. He has been heard in numerous different Finnish bands, such as Verneri Pohjola Group, Mikko Innanen 10+, Gourmet and singer Mia Simanainen’s Ahava. Kallio’s courage and ability to throw himself into the game as a musician are reflected in the drummer duos he has conceived and the pieces he has composed for percussionists and dancers. Kallio's percussions include gongs as an essential part. Perhaps they will also be heard at the April Jazz gig!

EMO Ensemble is a chamber choir consisting of approximately thirty young and experienced choir singers, profiled for performing new music. Pasi Hyökki, who acts as the choir director, wanted to establish a vocal ensemble with an unprecedented sound in Finland and gathered a strong group of young musicians of the chamber choir in the EMO Ensemble, a part of the Espoo Music Institute. Since winning the 2003 International Harald Andersén Chamber Choir Competition, EMO Ensemble has profiled itself as a performer of contemporary music, offering composers an agile instrument for wild experiments and the realization of subtle tones. EMO Ensemble has produced four critically acclaimed albums: Maasta 2005 (Helsingin Sanomat and Hufvudstadsbladet's best albums of the year list and the Finnish Choir Conductors' Association's choral album of the year), Hereillä 2008 (Nominee for the Emma Award for Classical Music), Taivaaseen 2010 and Tähti Christmas album 2010.

Joonas Haavisto, piano & compositions
Mika Kallio, pecussions
EMO Ensemble
Pasi Hyökki, choir director

Tickets 31/26 € + order fee (from 1,50 € + 0,65% of the order), Lippu.fi.
Duration approx. 1 h 15 min, no intermission

Some duos are put together specially. Others come about by themselves. Like that of pianist Bill Laurance and bassist Michael League. The two have known each other since their student days, when they came together as musical kindred spirits. Anything that was fun was allowed: classical, soul, folk, jazz. It was the founding phase of a collective that was to become known as Snarky Puppy and travel the world. Their joint duo is an alternative to the large format. It's all about the inside view, with Laurance on piano and League on fretless bass guitar and oud. They do without a band, which gives them musical freedom. The sound of the oud opens up further free spaces, sonic canvases that allow filigree, detailed images.

“Keeping Company” is the duo's second album after “Where You Wish You Were”. Both wrote numerous pieces with the aim of delving even deeper into their personal musical language. The focus is on the pure and organic, without much technique, without overdubbing, with elements of soul jazz. League explores the oud from his own perspective, while Laurance reduces the piano to melodies and compact improvisation. The album is like a collection of sounding Polaroids, spontaneous and intuitive, carried by the creative dialogue of two musical companions.

Bill Laurance, piano (UK)
Michael League, oud, fretless bass (US)

Tickets 40/35 € + order fee (from 1,50 € + 0,65% of the order), Lippu.fi.
Duration approx. 1h 30 min, no intermission

Open event