News -page consists of current topics and interesting articles about jazz in Finland.
Järvenpää Park Blues, planned for the end of June, will be canceled. The association that organizes Puistoblues, Järvenpään Blues-Jazz Diggarit ry, made a decision on the matter late Tuesday night. The association emphasizes that the solution was necessary from both a safety and financial perspective.
Oulu Music Festival was held for the 31st time on March 14-27, 2021 via stream. A total of seven streaming concerts were held over the two weeks. At the request of the public, the viewing time of paid concert recordings has been extended until the end of the second Easter day 5.4. until 11:59 p.m. Five of the concerts are subject to a fee and two concerts, which have been produced in collaboration with Oulu Symphony Orchestra, have free admission from the Oulu Music Festival website www.omj.fi/stream. Streaming concerts reached audiences from all over Finland, and tickets have also been purchased from abroad. The artistic director of the event since 2013 has been Jaakko Kuusisto, whose term ends this spring. Violinist Elina Vähälä and saxophonist Jukka Perko will start as new artistic directors after the spring.
Flame Jazz will continue online concerts during the spring on the Keikalla.fi platform. Today on Friday, Panu Savolainsen Soiva Trio, which celebrates the release of their album, will take the stage and pamper the listeners with the band's acoustically fresh sound. The concert will be streamed live from Turku Bar Ö and will be available for viewing for seven days.
Elektro GT, a band led by Teosto Award-winning drummer Mikko Hassinen, will release a new album with a renewed line-up. The album Ruma which will be published n March 26, 2021, has been made in collaboration with spoken word artist Paleface. Ruma will be released on vinyl, CD and streaming, and the pre-album single Pudotusajot '86 is now available for streaming.
The first Odysseus Festival will take place in the marine environment of the Lonna island from 24th–25th July. The event will feature e.g. Hailu Mergia, Y-OTIS, Lucia Cadotsch Speak Low, Dalindèo, Timo Lassy, Verneri Pohjola Quartet and Eero Koivistoinen Quartet performing the material of their classic album Odysseus. The daily program will be announced today.
We have persevered through a whole year of exceptional circumstances. The lengthened crisis has forced us to stop, adapt, and adjust our lives and activities to the ever-changing circumstances, where uncertainty is the only constant. Still, this abrupt stop may well lead to something good for a range of disciplines, including the music industry. One such view into a more positive future is provided by the Finnish project KEMUT – Sustainable music industry toolkit.
Oulu Music Festival will now be held for the 31st time. Jaakko Kuusisto has been the artistic director of the event since 2013, and his term ends this spring. During the two week event, chamber music, symphony concerts and varied rhythm music are featured in the program. The concerts will be streamed live and the recordings will be available to watch throughout the festival.
Koma Saxo will release a first taste of the quintet’s upcoming live album today, the stunningly beautiful folk-influenced single Fiskeskärsmelodin. We Jazz Records will release the new album by the band, led by Berlin bassist Petter Eldh, on April 30th.
The quartet, led by drummer-composer Joonas Leppänen, will return with a new full-length album. In addition to Leppänen, Alder Ego consists of trumpet player Tomi Nikku, tenor saxophonist Jarno Tikka, bassist Nathan Francis and guest artist harpist Natalia Castrillón.
Bassist and composer Nathan Francis makes his debut as band leader with his new quartet line-up. The band compiled by Francis includes power figures of Finnish jazz, the legendary tenor saxophonist Eero Koivistoinen, pianist Markus Niittynen and drummer Aleksi Heinola. The album will be released on March 26 on vinyl, CD and digitally.
