News -page consists of current topics and interesting articles about jazz in Finland.
At Savitaipale Soi festival, Maarit Hurmerinta and Aili Ikonen, the scintillating singers, will shine as the stars of Saturday’s outdoor concert. On Sunday in a church milieu, Jukka Perko with a special guest, Verneri Pohjola, will blow new life into traditional hymns.
The American saxophonist Lenny Pickett and the Finnish all-star big band, UMO Jazz Orchestra, will release a collaborative album. "The Prescription" is due to come out in the United States on 10 June. The album is the second for the Tower of Power saxman and the Saturday Night Live band director, Pickett, whose career spans over 40 years.
Porvoo Jazz Festival, organised for the first time last year, found its way to the audience’s heart immediately. This year, the festival will come again in September 11 to 14, inviting people to enjoy high-standard jazz music at Kulttuuritalo Grand and a number of restaurants in the old town. A dazzling and topical array of Finnish and international artists and a wide co-operation with different partners guarantee that the cosiest festival in Finland has come to stay.
This summer, saxophonist Timo Lassy will be as busy as ever. In addition to the upcoming concerts in Finland, he visited Germany last week and the next stop in the Continent is Brindisi, Italy. At a number of gigs the sax man is joined by Joyce Elaine Yuille on vocals, and he will also give duo performances with pianist Georgios Kontrafouris. Also, a new album is the making.
The first Beatwave Festival of the year at mbar will be a memorable one; the festival will host the biggest names in its history this June. Beatwave Festival’s partner is Red Bull Music Academy, and in co-operation with mbar will present three hot artists, Ladi6 (NZ), Onra (FR) and FaltyDL (US) first time in Helsinki. At the same weekend, on Sunday, mbar will also host the Söndag Jazz jam sessions.
The Erik Lindström Foundation will award the annual Erik Lindstöm grant this Tuesday at Restaurant Laulumiehet at 7PM. The evening’s live music will be provided by Trio Urho, two of whose members have previously received the grant. The concert is part of the jaZZanti concert series.
New Baltic Sea Jazz Orchestra, founded by Finnish, Swedish and Latvian musicians will perform their first concerts at the Turku Baltic Sea Days event in the beginning of June.
Naantali, the hometown of the Moomins, is also a home of jazz this weekend as the new festival, Naantali Jazz Weekend, is organised for the first time. The festival occurs at the same time with a more marine happening, namely the Naantali Boat Show.
Jyväskylä's cradle of jazz, Poppari, hosts a new club night starting from 27 May. The monthly Summer Jazz Club runs all summer, introducing each time two promising Jyväskylä-based jazz groups.
It can be said that joining forces is often a good idea. For Flame Jazz and Turku Jazz it definitely was so, as in August 2014 the new Turku Jazz In Flames will bring one of the living legends of jazz to the old capital of Finland; namely, the honourable Dave Liebman. In the happening, Liebman will give a concert with a group formed by top-notch Finnish jazz musicians.
