Open event

Free entry

UMO's jazz jams return to the summer terrace of Konepaja Biergarten for their sixth consecutive summer – free entry!

The jazz jams are a musical think tank where new ideas are created by building on the past. In summer 2026, the jams take on a special celebratory atmosphere as Finland marks 100 years of jazz and UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra concludes its 50th anniversary season.

The evening begins with a performance by the house band at 6:30 PM, followed by the jams themselves. Musicians and music enthusiasts emerging from the audience form spontaneous ensembles where nothing is predetermined – no one knows what will be played or with whom. The house band lays the foundation, but the direction of the evening is shaped through interaction between performers and the audience. That is exactly what makes jazz jams such a unique and vibrant part of jazz culture.

Throughout the summer, audiences will experience themed evenings and unique ensembles bringing together musicians from UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra, other jazz professionals, and rising talents from the Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki and Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. The jams foster the development of jazz music, connect generations, and create space for new voices.

The outdoor terrace of Konepaja Biergarten (Bruno Granholminkuja 1, Helsinki) offers a relaxed summer setting to enjoy music, good company, a wide selection of drinks, and occasionally also food stalls.

The jams are organized in collaboration with UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra, Konepaja Biergarten, the Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki, and Metropolia University of Applied Sciences.

_{In 2026, it will be 100 years since jazz symbolically arrived in Finland with the ship Andania. The year thus marks a historic centenary celebration for Finnish jazz: Jazz in Finland 100. The anniversary highlights Finnish jazz and its artists both in Finland and abroad, celebrating jazz as part of Finland’s cultural heritage. The Jazz in Finland 100 campaign is coordinated by the Finnish Jazz Federation.}

Open event

Free entry

J TIKKA is the solo project of saxophonist Jarno Tikka. On his recent debut album Hear My Whisper, he merges the jazz tradition with modern hip hop. The album is a compelling example of contemporary Scandinavian jazz, where Tikka's soulful saxophone blends seamlessly with MPC drum‑machine rhythms familiar from the hip‑hop world.

On the record, Tikka performs and produces all the music himself, while in live performance the material comes alive through an outstanding band of top Finnish jazz musicians, giving the compositions new dimensions.

Jarno Tikka, saxophone
Eero Seppä, bass
Mikko Antila, vibraphone, keyboards, percussion, sampler
Okko Saastamoinen, drums

Free concerts are held weekly on the Musiikkitalo summer patio from Thursday to Saturday throughout the summer, 28 May–1 August at 5 pm. See the full summer programme at www.musiikkitalo.fi/en/summer-concerts.

In case of rain, the concert will take place indoors at the Musiikkitalo Restaurant.

Open event

Open event

Damien Sabatier: alto and sopranino saxophones
Hugues Mayot: tenor saxophone
Joachim Florent: double bass
Antonin Leymarie: drums

The driving forces behind the ensemble are the two saxophonists Damien Sabatier and Gérald Chevillon, who also founded Impérial Quartet in 2010. At the jaZZanti concert, however, Chevillon will be replaced by the outstanding saxophonist Hugues Mayot, who performs, among others, with the French National Jazz Orchestra.

On their fifth album, Imperial Quartet continues to explore the folk traditions of Central Europe and the regions shaped by the Danube. As a cultural thread, the river symbolizes cycles, encounters, and the blending of Eastern and Western cultures.

The quartet draws from vernacular traditions—Balkan, Hungarian, Romani, and klezmer music—highlighting their emotional depth and rhythmic richness. Modality, asymmetrical time signatures, and virtuosity intertwine in a free musical language nourished by improvisation. Melodies are reshaped, fused, and reimagined with intention in a contemporary form.

Functioning as a true laboratory for experimental work with sound and rhythm, the ensemble composes and arranges collectively in search of an organic sonic palette. Alternating between introspective softness and powerful bursts of energy, Dunav Magika is a poetic and magical sonic journey in which jazz enters into dialogue with the living memory of European cultures.

Photo: Istvan Meszaros

Soul Diaspora, Impérial Quartet
https://youtu.be/atNvGQz1OR4

The concert is supported by City of Helsinki, Svenska Kulturfonden and The Finnish Music Foundation.

Open event

Tomi Salesvuo´s compositions and the band’s original arrangements for the classic Finnish hit songs makes the repertoire shine and is providing an engaging mix of tradition and fresh creativity.

Long time friends Pope Puolitaival – saxophone, Mikko Helevä – Hammond Organ and Tomi Salesvuo – Drums played their first jam during the Sibelius-Academy Jazz department studies in the mid 90s. Since then the musicians have worked in various projects together during the years. Salesvuo Syncopation’s debut album release, Complete Loft Sessions (Eclipse Music) underlines the interpretation that captures the listener with Salesvuo´s playful melodies and the trio´s energetic performance!

Now embarking on their first international tour, Salesvuo Syncopation invites audiences to experience powerful swing and nostalgic melodies performed by three of Finland’s most sought-after jazz musicians. Catch the spark of Finnish jazz!

The night's concert will also feature singer Nina Mya.

_{In 2026, it will be 100 years since jazz symbolically arrived in Finland with the ship Andania. The year thus marks a historic centenary celebration for Finnish jazz: Jazz in Finland 100. The anniversary highlights Finnish jazz and its artists both in Finland and abroad, celebrating jazz as part of Finland’s cultural heritage. The Jazz in Finland 100 campaign is coordinated by the Finnish Jazz Federation.}

Open event

Free entry

Antti Ahoniemi Trio is a new jazz trio presenting vibrant original compositions by its members. The combination of guitar, double bass and an expanded drum set creates an open and flexible sound rooted in the swinging jazz tradition.

Antti Ahoniemi, double bass
Joonas Leppänen, drums
Tuomo Dahlblom, guitar

Free concerts are held weekly on the Musiikkitalo summer patio from Thursday to Saturday throughout the summer, 28 May–1 August at 5 pm. See the full summer programme at www.musiikkitalo.fi/en/summer-concerts.

In case of rain, the concert will take place indoors at the Musiikkitalo Restaurant.

Open event

Open event

Lauri Kallio is a versatile music professional whose work can be found on approximately forty releases. He has contributed as a recording engineer, mixer, producer, composer, and arranger—and naturally as a performer, primarily a guitarist. In recent years, Kallio has become well-known for his work with bands such as Pambikallio and the Jimi Tenor Band. His second album, Turtles, Cats and Other Creatures, was released in 2025. 

Lauri Kallio’s ensemble plays music where the "landscape, open to interpretation, leaves the listener with the responsibility and freedom to seek out stories and their meanings. Then again, you don’t have to do that either; you can just be and enjoy." (Pekka Laine) 

Lauri Kallio – guitar 
Adele Sauros – saxophones & flute 
Natalia Castrillón – harp 
Ville Rauhala – bass 
Joonas Leppänen – drums

Jazz-Espa is a city festival focusing on Finnish jazz music produced by the Finnish Jazz Association from 27 July to 1 August 2026. The event aims to present a diverse and current range of top names in Finnish jazz and young future talents to a wide target audience. The concerts are free, accessible and suitable for the whole family. More information at jazzespa.fi and on social media @suomenjazzliitto.

Open event

Chico Matada is a Mozambique-born drummer, composer, and bandleader whose music blends African rhythmic traditions with modern jazz, cinematic arrangements and improvisation. Released in April 2026 by Eclipse Records, his latest album features a multinational ensemble of musicians. At Jazz-Espa, Matada presents his unique compositional language, where deep-reaching roots and modern expression converge. The music is simultaneously meditative and rhythmically vibrant—an invitation for the audience to pause, listen, and feel. 

Rafa Postel – trumpet 
Nikita Rafaelov – piano and synthesizers 
Hector Lepe – guitar 
Melik Turunen – bass 
Chico Matada – drums 

Jazz-Espa is a city festival focusing on Finnish jazz music produced by the Finnish Jazz Association from 27 July to 1 August 2026. The event aims to present a diverse and current range of top names in Finnish jazz and young future talents to a wide target audience. The concerts are free, accessible and suitable for the whole family. More information at jazzespa.fi and on social media @suomenjazzliitto.

Open event

J TIKKA is the solo project of saxophonist Jarno Tikka. On his recent debut album, Hear My Whisper, he blends jazz tradition with modern hip hop. The album is a captivating example of contemporary Scandinavian jazz, where Tikka’s soulful saxophone merges seamlessly with MPC drum machine rhythms familiar from the world of hip hop. 

On the record, Tikka handled all instruments and production himself. In a live setting, however, the music comes to life through a brilliant ensemble, allowing the compositions to take on a new form. 

Jarno Tikka – saxophone 
Mikko Antila – vibraphone, keyboards, percussion 
Eero Seppä – bass 
Okko Saastamoinen – drums 

Jazz-Espa is a city festival focusing on Finnish jazz music produced by the Finnish Jazz Association from 27 July to 1 August 2026. The event aims to present a diverse and current range of top names in Finnish jazz and young future talents to a wide target audience. The concerts are free, accessible and suitable for the whole family. More information at jazzespa.fi and on social media @suomenjazzliitto.

Open event

Eero Savela Quartet’s music is built upon the compositions of trumpeter and composer Eero Savela, which serve as the foundation for the ensemble’s interplay. Clear melodies provide an accessible surface, yet the band broad-mindedly pushes the music into freer directions. Released in August 2025, the album Way To was nominated for an Indie Award, and Tina Edwards of BBC Radio 3 ranked it among the best releases of the year.

The quartet’s musicians represent several generations and are well-known figures across jazz and various other musical genres. Their playing emphasizes listening, interaction, and a distinctive collective sound.

Eero Savela – trumpet
Seppo Kantonen – electric piano
Eero Tikkanen – double bass
Joonas Leppänen – drums

Jazz-Espa is a city festival focusing on Finnish jazz music produced by the Finnish Jazz Association from 27 July to 1 August 2026. The event aims to present a diverse and current range of top names in Finnish jazz and young future talents to a wide target audience. The concerts are free, accessible and suitable for the whole family. More information at jazzespa.fi and on social media @suomenjazzliitto.

Open event

Open event

Arto Ikävalko Trio brings an intense and experiential concert to Jazz-Espa, where the traditions of modern acoustic piano trio jazz meet a fresh and original compositional voice. The performance features Arto Ikävalko’s atmospheric and surprising compositions from the trio’s debut album Changing Priors (2024), newer unreleased material, and selected jazz standards reimagined with the ensemble’s unique touch. Through his compositions, Ikävalko creates atmospheric imagery of different worlds that take on a life of their own as the band members breathe life into them through their playing. 

Arto Ikävalko – piano 
Joonas Tuuri – bass 
Ville Luukkonen – drums

Jazz-Espa is a city festival focusing on Finnish jazz music produced by the Finnish Jazz Association from 27 July to 1 August 2026. The event aims to present a diverse and current range of top names in Finnish jazz and young future talents to a wide target audience. The concerts are free, accessible and suitable for the whole family. More information at jazzespa.fi and on social media @suomenjazzliitto.

Open event

Mikko Pettinen Why Not is a top-tier Finnish jazz ensemble whose expression is built on strong interaction, precise musicianship, and the nuanced language of modern jazz. The group’s founder and leader, trumpeter Mikko Pettinen, is known for his personal compositional style, which emphasizes clear forms, subtle dynamics, and a sense of space. 

The ensemble performs repertoire from the album Patient Patient (Eclipse Music, 2025), a work rooted in Pettinen’s personal experiences. The record received a full five-star review from Kulttuuritoimitus and was nominated in the jazz category at the Indie Awards. Additionally, journalists from Yle selected the album as one of the ten best releases of 2025. 

Mikko Pettinen – cornet, trumpet, Organelle M, vocals 
Joakim Berghäll – baritone saxophone, bass clarinet, kalimba 
Vesa Ojaniemi – bass 
Tuomas Timonen – drums

Jazz-Espa is a city festival focusing on Finnish jazz music produced by the Finnish Jazz Association from 27 July to 1 August 2026. The event aims to present a diverse and current range of top names in Finnish jazz and young future talents to a wide target audience. The concerts are free, accessible and suitable for the whole family. More information at jazzespa.fi and on social media @suomenjazzliitto.

Open event

Pepa Päivinen, a saxophonist and flutist known for boldly breaking boundaries, is one of the cornerstones of Finnish jazz. The music of his new Peacepipe ensemble is peacefully melodic and atmospheric, while also venturing into edgy, energetic prog, jazz, and free music. Finding its way deep into the consciousness, the group's expression seeks to kick down musical fences and discover interesting new paths. This quartet, creating an impressive atmosphere through collective sensitivity, consists of veteran musicians with strong individual voices. 

Pepa Päivinen – saxophone, flute 
Timo Kämäräinen – guitar 
Ville Herrala – double bass 
Mikko Hassinen – drums 

Jazz-Espa is a city festival focusing on Finnish jazz music produced by the Finnish Jazz Association from 27 July to 1 August 2026. The event aims to present a diverse and current range of top names in Finnish jazz and young future talents to a wide target audience. The concerts are free, accessible and suitable for the whole family. More information at jazzespa.fi and on social media @suomenjazzliitto.

Open event

The trio of Turku-based drummer Veikka Kajamies, recipient of the Finnish Jazz Federation’s 2025 Taimi Award for young talent, draws from the tradition of swinging improvisation while looking firmly toward the future. Their spontaneously bold and seamlessly intertwined interplay comes to the fore, captivating the audience with original compositions painted with a broad brush and carefully selected covers. 

Having begun their musical journey together in the Sibelius Academy’s youth program in 2019, this energetic trio features Kajamies alongside fellow Taimi Award-winning pianist-clarinetist Joonatan Henriksson and bassist Otso Huhtala, known for his work with the UMO. 

Joonatan Henriksson – piano & clarinet 
Otso Huhtala – bass 
Veikka Kajamies – drums

Jazz-Espa is a city festival focusing on Finnish jazz music produced by the Finnish Jazz Association from 27 July to 1 August 2026. The event aims to present a diverse and current range of top names in Finnish jazz and young future talents to a wide target audience. The concerts are free, accessible and suitable for the whole family. More information at jazzespa.fi and on social media @suomenjazzliitto.

Open event

In the music of saxophonist, composer and sound artist Heli Hartikainen, experimental sonic textures and hypnotically transforming soundfields come out to play. Hartikainen’s debut solo album, CHRONOVARIATIONS, which utilizes 3D audio technology, was awarded the Kritiikin Kannukset (Spurs of Criticism) prize in 2025 for the year's most significant artistic breakthrough and was nominated for an Emma Award for Best Jazz Album of 2024.

On their new album, Interbody (2026), Hartikainen utilizes active sampler software developed for them and customized in collaboration with sound engineer Kaj Mäki-Ullakko. The polyphonic sampler is controlled by Hartikainen’s tenor saxophone; its operating principle is characterized by a certain randomness, allowing improvisation and algorithmic chance to weave into an organic dialogue between a human and a machine.

Heli Hartikainen – tenor saxophone and live electronics

Jazz-Espa is a city festival focusing on Finnish jazz music produced by the Finnish Jazz Association from 27 July to 1 August 2026. The event aims to present a diverse and current range of top names in Finnish jazz and young future talents to a wide target audience. The concerts are free, accessible and suitable for the whole family. More information at jazzespa.fi and on social media @suomenjazzliitto.

Open event

Olli Soikkeli has risen to become one of the most respected jazz manouche guitarists in the world. Having lived in New York for over ten years, Soikkeli has performed alongside the genre's international stars at jazz clubs and festivals throughout Europe and the United States. 

Now, he appears in Finland with his new Django Trio, in which Soikkeli is accompanied by guitarist Brad Brose and bassist Joonas Tuuri. The Jazz-Espa performance is part of the Finnish record release tour for Soikkeli’s recent album Comeback. 

Olli Soikkeli – guitar 
Brad Brose – guitar 
Joonas Tuuri – double bass 

Jazz-Espa is a city festival focusing on Finnish jazz music produced by the Finnish Jazz Association from 27 July to 1 August 2026. The event aims to present a diverse and current range of top names in Finnish jazz and young future talents to a wide target audience. The concerts are free, accessible and suitable for the whole family. More information at jazzespa.fi and on social media @suomenjazzliitto.

Open event

Siina Suutarinen is a distinctive singer, composer and pianist who is currently building an international career with her English-language music. Suutarinen is especially known for her soft vocal sound, which has been compared to artists like Diana Krall. Her debut album, Who You Are, was released in 2025 via Flame Jazz Records, and she is currently working on a second album with her new band, Super Sonic. Inspired by human relationships, honesty and a connection to nature, their music draws influences from jazz and Brazilian music, combining strong bass lines, melodies and bold harmonic ideas. 

Siina Suutarinen – vocals, piano, synthesizer 
Ilari Mäkelä – piano, synthesizer 
Antti Ahoniemi – bass 
Kasper Halttunen – drums 

Jazz-Espa is a city festival focusing on Finnish jazz music produced by the Finnish Jazz Association from 27 July to 1 August 2026. The event aims to present a diverse and current range of top names in Finnish jazz and young future talents to a wide target audience. The concerts are free, accessible and suitable for the whole family. More information at jazzespa.fi and on social media @suomenjazzliitto.

Open event

New3 is a trio formed by three rising young jazz musicians, combining two vocals and woodwinds in a fresh way. The members' original compositions and arrangements of poignant songs create a musical environment full of space, experimentation, improvisation, honest interpretation, and presence. The band members are known from groups such as the Helmi Antila Quartet, Mattsson/Herrala/Kallio and Siina Suutarinen. The musicians met at the Sibelius Academy’s jazz department, and their friendship is strongly audible in their music. 

Helmi Antila – vocals, piano, keyboards 
Siina Suutarinen – vocals, piano, keyboards 
Oona Mattsson – saxophones and flute 

Jazz-Espa is a city festival focusing on Finnish jazz music produced by the Finnish Jazz Association from 27 July to 1 August 2026. The event aims to present a diverse and current range of top names in Finnish jazz and young future talents to a wide target audience. The concerts are free, accessible and suitable for the whole family. More information at jazzespa.fi and on social media @suomenjazzliitto.

Open event

Elifantree is the brainchild of vocalist Anni Elif, saxophonist Pauli Lyytinen, and drummer Olavi Louhivuori. Energetic and unpredictable, their music moves freely between precision and rawness, often hinting at surreal and abstract imagery. Their sound is playful yet highly articulate, guided by a fearless spirit of improvisation. 

Their forthcoming seventh album, due in May 2026, is a mystical journey where vocals, tenor saxophone, drums, mellotron, live electronics, and synthesizers merge into an organic, ever-shifting whole—echoing jazz, free improvisation, prog, and pop, yet fully belonging to none. 

Anni Elif – vocals, synthesizers 
Pauli Lyytinen –  saxophone, ewi, effects, drum machine, mellotron 
Olavi Louhivuori – drums

Jazz-Espa is a city festival focusing on Finnish jazz music produced by the Finnish Jazz Association from 27 July to 1 August 2026. The event aims to present a diverse and current range of top names in Finnish jazz and young future talents to a wide target audience. The concerts are free, accessible and suitable for the whole family. More information at jazzespa.fi and on social media @suomenjazzliitto.

Open event

Free entry

Oiva Haapamäki Quartet is a fresh new highlight on the Finnish jazz scene. The quartet performs its own interpretations of well‑known jazz and pop tunes alongside Haapamäki's original compositions, whose modern language reflects the performers' generation. The concert features sensitive, expressive and emotionally powerful music inspired by both traditional and modern American jazz.

Haapamäki's music has been heard in Finland at events such as Pori Jazz 2025 and at legendary European jazz clubs including L'Archiduc in Brussels and Hot Club Ghent. The quartet consists of emerging young talents from the Sibelius Academy jazz department.

Oiva Haapamäki, trumpet
Veeti Hietala, drums
Pauli Blomstedt, piano
Oliver Karttunen, electric bass

Free concerts are held weekly on the Musiikkitalo summer patio from Thursday to Saturday throughout the summer, 28 May–1 August at 5 pm. See the full summer programme at www.musiikkitalo.fi/en/summer-concerts.

In case of rain, the concert will take place indoors at the Musiikkitalo Restaurant.

Open event

Beatbox & Cupola brings a rhythmic world to Jazz-Espa’s Children’s Saturday, where the traditional roles of instruments are turned upside down! In the duo of Felix Zenger and Lauri Wuolio, rhythms are created with the mouth, and melodies are played on a drum. This preview of Konserttikeskus’s upcoming repertoire introduces two unique and distinct instruments: beatboxing—rhythm produced by the human voice—and the cupola, a melodic metallic percussion instrument. In this inspiring and energetic yet occasionally near-meditative performance, the audience also gets to learn the basics of beatboxing. 

Top masters of their instruments, Wuolio and Zenger demonstrate that music can be made in one’s own way and from one’s own perspectives. Zenger has performed worldwide with stars such as Pharrell Williams, and his most popular YouTube video has nearly 40 million views. Lauri Wuolio is one of the most internationally renowned cupola players; his albums, released under the name Kumea Sound, have been streamed over 50 million times. 

Felix Zenger – beatbox 
Lauri Wuolio – cupola 

The concert is organized in collaboration with Concert Centre Finland. 

Jazz-Espa is a city festival focusing on Finnish jazz music produced by the Finnish Jazz Association from 27 July to 1 August 2026. The event aims to present a diverse and current range of top names in Finnish jazz and young future talents to a wide target audience. The concerts are free, accessible and suitable for the whole family. More information at jazzespa.fi and on social media @suomenjazzliitto.

Open event

The energetic ZikiZiki family orchestra, appearing at Jazz-Espa as a trio, takes listeners on a humorous journey into the diverse world of rhythmic music in the company of ants, monkeys, and chickens! The concert offers an experiential afternoon where learning and shared joy go hand in hand.  

The band’s vision is to create high-quality and versatile music primarily for children, but in a way that audiences of all ages can enjoy. Composed and written by singer Elina Brooks, the songs combine catchy rhythms, playfulness, and swing. The performance also features a few gems by Kaarina Helakisa and Jukka Jarvola from the Posetiivi recording.

Elina Brooks – vocals  
Veikki Virkajärvi – guitar, backing vocals  
Kalle Ylitalo – bass, backing vocals 

Jazz-Espa is a city festival focusing on Finnish jazz music produced by the Finnish Jazz Association from 27 July to 1 August 2026. The event aims to present a diverse and current range of top names in Finnish jazz and young future talents to a wide target audience. The concerts are free, accessible and suitable for the whole family. More information at jazzespa.fi and on social media @suomenjazzliitto.

Open event

Open event

Bassist Antti Lötjönen, recipient of the Finnish Jazz Federation’s Yrjö Award 2024 and one of Finland’s most respected jazz musicians, joins forces with guitarist Kalle Kalima, a Berlin-based artist with a strong career in Central Europe. In the music of Lötjönen and Kalima, the experience of thousands of concerts on stages around the world meets the freshness of a new collaboration.

In autumn 2024, the duo recorded the album “Stings, Bites and Scratches,” released by Eclipse Music on January 3, 2025. The duo embarked on a 13-concert album release tour in early 2025. Both live and on record, the music presents a boundless and imaginative journey into the core of jazz and improvised music.

Concert review:
“The album must be excellent, as the concert was absolutely fantastic… This ‘march,’ and everything else created by Lötjönen and Kalima in the concert, was simply astonishing.”
– Pentti Ronkanen, Suomijazz

Album review:
“Double bassist Antti Lötjönen and guitarist Kalle Kalima bow to no one… from clarity to roughness, the journey unfolds with a wild grin. The improvised layers resound unrestrained.”
– Juha Seitz, Ilkka-Pohjalainen

Stings, Bites and Scratches stresses the immediate affinity of these gifted musicians. The music flows patiently and organically, highlighting the original and unorthodox rhythmic and melodic sensibility of Lötjönen and Kalima. Their intimate, conversational dynamics often mimic playful and inventive hide-and-seek games, emphasising their strong-minded voices and often their eccentric sense of humour.
– Eyal Herauveni, salt peanuts*

Photo: Sakari Puhakka

The concert is supported by City of Helsinki, Svenska Kulturfonden and The Finnish Music Foundation.

The concert is part of the Jazz in Finland 100 Anniversary.

Open event

Free entry

UMO's jazz jams return to the summer terrace of Konepaja Biergarten for their sixth consecutive summer – free entry!

The jazz jams are a musical think tank where new ideas are created by building on the past. In summer 2026, the jams take on a special celebratory atmosphere as Finland marks 100 years of jazz and UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra concludes its 50th anniversary season.

The evening begins with a performance by the house band at 6:30 PM, followed by the jams themselves. Musicians and music enthusiasts emerging from the audience form spontaneous ensembles where nothing is predetermined – no one knows what will be played or with whom. The house band lays the foundation, but the direction of the evening is shaped through interaction between performers and the audience. That is exactly what makes jazz jams such a unique and vibrant part of jazz culture.

Throughout the summer, audiences will experience themed evenings and unique ensembles bringing together musicians from UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra, other jazz professionals, and rising talents from the Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki and Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. The jams foster the development of jazz music, connect generations, and create space for new voices.

The outdoor terrace of Konepaja Biergarten (Bruno Granholminkuja 1, Helsinki) offers a relaxed summer setting to enjoy music, good company, a wide selection of drinks, and occasionally also food stalls.

The jams are organized in collaboration with UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra, Konepaja Biergarten, the Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki, and Metropolia University of Applied Sciences.

_{In 2026, it will be 100 years since jazz symbolically arrived in Finland with the ship Andania. The year thus marks a historic centenary celebration for Finnish jazz: Jazz in Finland 100. The anniversary highlights Finnish jazz and its artists both in Finland and abroad, celebrating jazz as part of Finland’s cultural heritage. The Jazz in Finland 100 campaign is coordinated by the Finnish Jazz Federation.}

Open event

Open event

Pärt & Songs was born from this insight: what seems fragile can contain something immense; the points of friction between materials, forms, and memories are fertile. In the hands of Italian composer and pianist Roberto Negro, Arvo Pärt’s piano works become a source, an underground current.

Arvo Pärt is one of the most significant figures in contemporary music and holds a unique position in the global music world. His career, marked by profound aesthetic ruptures, has transformed the way we listen to sound, time, and silence by opening a musical space grounded in resonance, simplicity, and essentials.

In Pärt & Songs, Pärt’s oeuvre becomes a resonant space where new compositional approaches emerge. Roberto Negro approaches the work with a sensitive and personal touch: “There is something incomparably true in Arvo Pärt’s music. Something crystal clear. A combination of calm, silence, strength, and contrast.” Negro adds: “I am searching for continuity, for breath. I am looking for a way in which music can transform its shape seamlessly.”

Roberto Negro’s career is defined by a unique blend of contemporary music and improvisation, from piano solo to large ensembles. His music carries a narrative and visual dimension, supported by a poetic quality in which his Italian heritage subtly appears. This award-winning visionary has established himself as one of the most original and active musicians in French jazz. Negro’s collaborations with saxophonist Emile Parisien have taken him on tour across Europe in various ensembles, including Les Métanuits, an adaptation for saxophone and piano of György Ligeti’s first string quartet. Among his long-term collaborators are also violinist Théo Ceccaldi and drummer Michele Rabbia. In 2023, the renowned Ensemble Intercontemporain premiered his work Newborn. Negro, classically trained, born in Turin and raised in Kinshasa, Congo, studied jazz in France, first in Chambéry and then in Paris.

Photo: Jean-Pascal Retel

Tour support: AJC, Spedidam
In collaboration with: Helsinki Jazz & Vapaat äänet

The concert is supported by City of Helsinki and Svenska Kulturfonden.

Open event

Open event

Free entry

UMO's jazz jams return to the summer terrace of Konepaja Biergarten for their sixth consecutive summer – free entry!

The jazz jams are a musical think tank where new ideas are created by building on the past. In summer 2026, the jams take on a special celebratory atmosphere as Finland marks 100 years of jazz and UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra concludes its 50th anniversary season.

The evening begins with a performance by the house band at 6:30 PM, followed by the jams themselves. Musicians and music enthusiasts emerging from the audience form spontaneous ensembles where nothing is predetermined – no one knows what will be played or with whom. The house band lays the foundation, but the direction of the evening is shaped through interaction between performers and the audience. That is exactly what makes jazz jams such a unique and vibrant part of jazz culture.

Throughout the summer, audiences will experience themed evenings and unique ensembles bringing together musicians from UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra, other jazz professionals, and rising talents from the Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki and Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. The jams foster the development of jazz music, connect generations, and create space for new voices.

The outdoor terrace of Konepaja Biergarten (Bruno Granholminkuja 1, Helsinki) offers a relaxed summer setting to enjoy music, good company, a wide selection of drinks, and occasionally also food stalls.

The jams are organized in collaboration with UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra, Konepaja Biergarten, the Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki, and Metropolia University of Applied Sciences.

_{In 2026, it will be 100 years since jazz symbolically arrived in Finland with the ship Andania. The year thus marks a historic centenary celebration for Finnish jazz: Jazz in Finland 100. The anniversary highlights Finnish jazz and its artists both in Finland and abroad, celebrating jazz as part of Finland’s cultural heritage. The Jazz in Finland 100 campaign is coordinated by the Finnish Jazz Federation.}

Open event

Open event

Singing till the songs come home
Sanni Orasmaa: voice and piano

Villa Hakasalmi was once the home of Aurora Karamzin — a house that pulsed with hospitality and took every arrival into open arms. Tonight, singer Sanni Orasmaa sits down at the grand piano. The concert has a frame but no script: the program takes shape around those who have come, its substance rising from conversation and encounter.

For more than thirty years Orasmaa has carried her voice from the stages of New York to the concert halls of Europe and back to the Finnish landscape. In solo, voice and piano wind into a single, freely breathing arc: familiar songs taken apart and rebuilt, stripped bare and present, a little different in shape each time.

Jazz came to Finland as a guest that was made our own. Orasmaa’s solo continues that same journey: what was carried from far away is sung home.
“Distinctive, open and soulful” — Helsingin Sanomat
“Exceptionally fine” — Jazzrytmit
“Mesmerizing sweetness” — DownBeat

Singer and jazz musician Sanni Orasmaa is one of the pioneers of vocal jazz and jazz pedagogy in Finland. Known for her versatility and gift for improvisation, she has collaborated in Finland with RinneRadio and Mika Pohjola, among others, and internationally with names including Ron McClure and Charlie Hunter. Orasmaa lived in New York from 2000 to 2007, building a career in clubs and festivals across three continents. Alongside her teaching at Finnish institutions, she has taught in the jazz department of the Brooklyn Conservatory and at several universities abroad.

Photo: Hanna Anttila

The concert is supported by City of Helsinki, Svenska Kulturfonden and The Finnish Music Foundation.

The concert is part of the Jazz in Finland 100 Anniversary

Open event

Open event

Open event

Open event

Open event

Known for her open-minded approach to music-making and her compelling use of voice, Selma Savolainen is one of the brightest stars of Finnish jazz. Helsingin Sanomat has described her as an artist who has elevated Finnish vocal jazz to a new level. Her English-language compositions are marked by a captivating blend of modern jazz and alternative singer-songwriter tradition. Savolainen’s debut album Horror Vacui won the Jazz Emma Award in 2024, and in the shade, released in spring 2026, has received widespread critical acclaim.

Helsinki-based pianist and composer Toomas Keski-Säntti has long collaborated with Savolainen and appears on two of her albums. He is also known from several Finnish jazz ensembles, including OK:KO, Adele Sauros Quartet and Jukka Perko PreBoppers. He studied at the Sibelius Academy and the Manhattan School of Music and has performed at clubs and festivals across Europe as well as in New York. Keski-Säntti’s debut solo album Unearth was released in 2025.

The duo of Savolainen and Keski-Säntti performs a program of their jointly composed material as well as pieces from Savolainen’s albums. The concert will also feature selected jazz standards.

Photo: Severi Uusitalo

The concert is supported by City of Helsinki, Svenska Kulturfonden and The Finnish Music Foundation.

The concert is part of the Jazz in Finland 100 Anniversary.

Open event

Open event

Open event

Open event

Open event

Open event

Tickets 17-44€

Two legends of Finnish jazz come together for a celebratory concert at Savoy Theatre.

Saxophonist Eero Koivistoinen and drummer Reino "Reiska" Laine, both celebrating their 80th birthdays, are among the pioneers of Finnish jazz. The actively performing musicians will celebrate their long and diverse careers in a concert at the Savoy Theatre.

The first half of the concert will feature Reiska Laine Sextet, with Koivistoinen and Laine joined on stage by Jari Perkiömäki (saxophone), Mikko "Gunu" Karjalainen (trumpet), Olli Ahvenlahti (piano), and Filemon von Numers (double bass). The program includes Koivistoinen’s own compositions as well as works by jazz greats such as Miles Davis and John Coltrane, also celebrating the centennial year of their births.

After the intermission, the stage will be taken over by the Sibelius Academy Big Band, conducted by Bianca Rantala. Together with Eero Koivistoinen, the ensemble will perform Koivistoinen’s compositions from different decades, as well as his arrangement of John Coltrane’s classic Equinox.

Welcome to celebrate Finnish jazz!

Duration: approximately 2.5 hours, including an intermission.

The stalls section is an over-18 licensed serving area. The balcony is open to all ages and has no alcohol service.

The concert is produced by Savoy Theatre and Helsingin Jazz ry.

_{In 2026, it will be 100 years since jazz symbolically arrived in Finland with the ship Andania. The year thus marks a historic centenary celebration for Finnish jazz: Jazz in Finland 100. The anniversary highlights Finnish jazz and its artists both in Finland and abroad, celebrating jazz as part of Finland’s cultural heritage. The Jazz in Finland 100 campaign is coordinated by the Finnish Jazz Federation.}

Open event

Open event

Open event

Open event