News -page consists of current topics and interesting articles about jazz in Finland.
Pori Jazz has selected bassist, composer, and bandleader Kaisa Mäensivu as its Artist of the Year 2026. Her own band, Kaisa’s Machine, performs at festivals and clubs around the world. In addition to leading her own groups, Mäensivu has appeared alongside some of jazz’s most acclaimed artists, including guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel, pianist Dave Kikoski, and trumpeter Tim Hagans.
The 37th edition of the Raahen Rantajatsit festival will take place on 23–25 July. This year, Rantajatsit celebrates not only the 100-year history of Finnish jazz, but also Oulu's European Capital of Culture year. As part of the official Oulu2026 programme, the festival has the opportunity to bring both sustainable and more unconventional ideas to life.
The Odysseus Festival, dedicated to adventurous music, will be experienced this summer in a new format in Helsinki’s Torikorttelit district on July 15–17. Over the course of three evenings, music will be heard at free events held on three different summer terraces. The event is produced in collaboration by We Jazz and Helsingin Kaupunkitilat.
The band 100 – Mäkynen/Mannila/Koivistoinen/Antila/Mäensivu, led by drummer Teppo Mäkynen, will perform in 12 cities across Finland. Come and enjoy jazz with the whole family!
Summer at Alppipuisto once again offers communal and relaxed urban culture – six events that bring funk, punk, folk music, afro, psytrance, and rock to the park’s lawns. Each event adds its own colour to the summer at Alppipuisto and invites visitors to become part of a celebration of cultures, rhythms, and people.
Sointien Kalasatama, organized by the Sointi Jazz Orchestra, is a new free urban culture event series that brings jazz music, participatory poetry events, and multisensory experiences to public spaces in Kalasatama during July–August 2026. The event culminates on 29 August in a spectacular jazz parade and a family park concert.
I have been simultaneously fascinated and amused by the story of the arrival of the ship Andania which brought jazz from New York to Helsinki on the 4th of June 1926. It paints an irresistible picture: the restless optimism permeating the capital of the nation still recovering from a civil war, the smell of the sea and coal, the metallic rumbling of trams, and in the harbour, men in their white straw hats stopping in amazement by the steam ship to witness the unloading of a gigantic wooden crate from where worldly and carefree American Finns emerge, blowing out a swinging tune, a wondrous sound of the free new world.
Kino Regina’s programme features the Summer Jazz season, taking audiences on a journey through the history of jazz, its legendary figures, and memorable concert performances. The series also celebrates a significant milestone: this year marks one hundred years since jazz symbolically arrived in Finland aboard the steamship Andania.
Legendary American guitarist Bill Frisell returns to Finland on February 16, 2027, and will perform at Savoy Theatre in Helsinki with his trio. Having sold out his previous Helsinki concert, the Bill Frisell Trio brings the guitarist together with bassist Thomas Morgan and drummer Rudy Royston, and the trio’s long-refined ensemble playing is magical to hear in a live setting.
The summer’s most anticipated maritime concert experiences are just around the corner. The Archipelago Sea Jazz festival series offers world-class jazz in historic settings, the tranquillity of the archipelago, international guest artists and unique musical encounters by the sea. Explore the programme and reserve your place now at tiketti.fi/archipelagoseajazz. When purchasing tickets, you can also make a donation to John Nurminen Foundation in support of its important work to protect the marine environment.
