News -page consists of current topics and interesting articles about jazz in Finland.
Josefiina Vannesluoma & Mortal Lease, who released their debut album in 2023 and received an Emma nomination, will embark on a Jazz Federation tour from November 1 to 8, 2024. Drawing inspiration from Edith Wharton’s poetry series, the band will kick off the tour with a grand performance at the Tampere Jazz Happening festival on November 1, followed by concerts in Vaasa, Savonlinna, Joensuu, and Porvoo.
Due to high demand, Olavi 360° receives an additional concert on Tuesday, April 8, 2025.
The 43rd international Tampere Jazz Happening will take place from October 31 to November 3, 2024. This year’s festival will bring artists to Tampere from the United States, Portugal, and the United Kingdom, among other countries.
The Finnish Jazz Federation will open the artist application for the summer 2025 Jazz-Espa event on its website on Monday, December 2.
Do you want to submit your album for consideration as an Emma Award nominee?
Jaska Lukkarinen Trio will be performing their new Textures program during the Jazz Federation joint production tour in October and November. The tour begins in Loviisa on October 19th, followed by concerts in Savonlinna, Nurmes, Porvoo, Vantaa, and Kotka. The tour will culminate with a performance at the Tampere Jazz Happening festival on November 2nd.
Accessibility is a key theme in cultural policy, and the Finnish jazz field has many interesting starting points in this regard. For instance, jam sessions are an inherent form of participation in jazz, and jazz concerts are traditionally organized in venues that reach diverse audiences. On the other hand, jazz is often perceived as a “difficult-to-understand” art form, and consuming it can be a way for people to distinguish themselves from others. Increasing the accessibility of jazz music is one of the main objectives of the Jazz Federation’s strategy (2021–2026), and to advance this goal, the Jazz Federation is set to publish its accessibility action plan.
The 11th We Jazz Festival will be held in Helsinki from November 23 to 30. The event is expanding with new artists joining the lineup, including The Separatist Party, Olli Ahvenlahti New Quintet, Heli Hartikainen, Joakim Berghäll & Adele Sauros, and AINON performing in children’s concerts. Tickets are now available on Tiketti.
One of Europe’s most prominent big bands is looking for an inspiring leader.
Olli Ahvenlahti, who has had an exceptionally extensive and versatile career in Finnish music, turned 75 this year and is celebrating it with a national concert tour organized by the Finnish Jazz Federation from October 8th to 13th. The tour will feature the new Olli Ahvenlahti New Quintet – The Poet Vol. 2, performing jazz-funk compositions from Ahvenlahti’s Mirror Mirror album, which was released in the spring of 2024. The tour begins in Joensuu on October 8th, followed by stops in Kuopio, Lahti, Savonlinna, Raahe, and Tornio.
