News -page consists of current topics and interesting articles about jazz in Finland.
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.
Alba Records’ new digital release is Masa Orpana Honk with Johnny Gideon’s EP The Big B. The EP is released in digital music streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal. This EP will get a sequel in the fall when another EP Shakin is released in digital platforms as well.
Frekvenssi dives into the world of experimental music and also brings out the views of artists. The first episodes of the program will be heard in March-April on Sunday nights at Yle Radio 1. The first three episodes can now be listened to at Yle Areena.
Power duo Timo Lassy & Teppo Mäkynen will present their new live album in a concert recording from the Espoo Cultural Center. After the cancellation of the Sello Hall's February concert, the concert recording can be seen in the digital city of culture Urban Espoo from March 8 15:00 to March 23, 2021 at urbanespoo.fi/lava.
The 35th April Jazz Festival will move from April to autumn and the event will be held exceptionally at the end of October 27-31 October 2021. There are plans to build a so-called hybrid festival with both live concerts and streamed content. The entire Espoo Cultural Center has been reserved for live events, and lessons have been learned from streaming about the excellent April Jazz Subgrooves festival last year.
In the first week of March, top tier jazz will play online for five festival days! The hottest bands in Finnish jazz from Iiro Rantala Flock to the Kaisa Mäensivu Trio perform on the Keikalla.fi service. During the festival week, the audience will also hear free concerts on Facebook Live and interesting discussion programs.
