News -page consists of current topics and interesting articles about jazz in Finland.
Steve Gadd, one of the most influential drummers of all time, is to perform in Finland twice towards the end of January with his trio Blicher/Hemmer/Gadd. The group will play live at Koko Jazz Club on Friday 29 January and star the Flame Jazz Cruise, casting off on Saturday 30 January.
The president has granted master of music Kaija Viitasalo the honorary title of Music Counsellor (fin. “musiikkineuvos”) on 11 December 2015. Viitasalo’s achievements as an award-winning choral conductor, pioneering figure in the field of women’s choral music and versatile music pedagogue were seen strongly in her favour.
Released this autumn, UMO Jazz Orchestra and sax legend Michael Brecker’s collaboration album 'Live in Helsinki' 1995 has hit the jackpot with jazz critics. Especially in the U.S., the album has been noted – with special warmth: Down Beat – the Bible for any fan of jazz – rewarded the album with 4 ½ stars out of 5 in their January issue, and JazzTimes has only positive things to say about this “stellar archival find”.
The best party of the New Year’s Eve takes place in Savoy Theatre this year when the jazz/funk/afrobeat/ powerball Helsinki-Cotonou Ensemble takes the stage. This success story began when a group of Finns went to Benin and joined forces with local virtuoso musicians. What followed was the Ethno Album of the Year in 2014 and a number of concerts around the world. The winning music of guitarist Janne Halonen and singer/percussionist Noël Saïzonou never fails to gain them new fans, wherever in the world the band goes.
The Finnish Jazz Federation produces or supports tours for 11 bands or artists in 2016. The spring programme starts in January, and now also the fall season is published.
Jazz Finland LIVE is a new support form for promoting professional jazz concert organizers around the country. The goal is to provide support for sustainable jazz concert series. The Finnish Music Foundation MES granted 139 000 euros for the pilot project in 2016.
Eero Koivistoinen, one of the pioneers of Finnish jazz and popular music, turns 70 on 13 January 2016. The anniversary year brings some great news to fans of Koivistoinen, as Svart Records, the publisher of Koivistoinen’s latest release Hati Hati, will embark on an ambitious venture: to release all Koivistoinen's albums on vinyl in chronological order. First in the pipeline will be, naturally, the 1967 debut, Valtakunta.
In this concert brought to us in collaboration by Flame Jazz and Turku Jazz Orchestra, the latter will show us how Ellington sounds in Finnish. "Ellington in Finnish" sees two great composers' repertory interpreted by two bands. The first half sees Panu Savolainen Toivo and Yona perform Finnish Toivo Kärki's evergreens, followed by Turku Jazz Orchestra and Juki Välipakka in the second half with their new, Finnish interpretations of the Duke's hits.
The renowned New York City Jazz Record magazine and its managing editor Laurence Donohue-Greene have selected Liberty Ship's second album, "Wide Open Suite & Noises At Sea", among the best albums of 2015 with an Honourable Mention.
Turku Jazz Orchestra, Webaitio and Aamuset will collaborate on streaming online the dress rehearsal of TJO’s upcoming concert. A sneak peek at TJO’s Ellington & Kärki -themed concert will be available on the website of Aamuset on Tuesday 15 December at 8:00PM.
