The acclaimed trio will hit the road this winter on a tour co-produced by We Jazz and the Finnish Jazz Federation. The group will play five shows in Finland and one in Estonia.
A trio of big names, Aki Rissanen Trio, will go on a tour that starts this year 28-30 November and finishes in mid-January 2015. The programme consists of music that Rissanen has composed for the animated film, Amorandom, directed by Tuula Leinonen and Antti Peränne. A musical narrative that tells the story of an encounter of two people, Amorandom is an unusual jazz experience. The six-concert tour is co-produced by the Helsinki-based creative office, We Jazz, and the Finnish Jazz Federation, and it sees the trio play live at six different venues: Vuotalo in Helsinki, Åbo Svenska Teater in Turku as a part of the concert series Flame Jazz, Sellosali in Espoo, Kuopio Music Centre in Kuopio and Wanha Kasino in Savonlinna. In addition they will cross the Gulf of Finland for the popular Estonian jazz venue, Philly Joe’s Jazz Club.
The audio-visual concert is realised together with video artist Petri Ruikka. Amorandom (2012) is a short film, directed by Tuula Leinonen and Antti Peränne. It was the last film for Peränne, one of the pioneering animators in Finland, who passed away the same year. Amorandom recounts the story of an encounter of two people, exploring such themes as destiny and the unpredictability of life. The eight-minute film will be screened before the concert, after which the jazz trio and the video artist deconstruct it and create another, alternative world, giving birth to a new story, governed by different laws. The trio takes some musical cues from Aki Rissanen’s 2013 album Aleatoric.
Aki Rissanen describes the composition process as follows: “Tuula Leinonen requested me to compose music for film that does not have any dialogue or other sound effects. Music would be present the whole duration of the film. What she has in mind was something similar to my solo album La Lumière Noire. I was extremely pleased to be involved in the project, which, however, which was not without challenges. The pieces acquired their shape within the time period of roughly one year and they bear some traces of older jazz music and French impressionism.” The film will be screened first with Rissanen providing the original music solo, after which he will be joined by the rest of the crew for reinterpretation of both the visual and the aural material. “We aim at taking the audience as deep into the world of the film as possible, while, of course, offering a musically ambitious concert.
Aki Rissanen Trio is composed of pianist Aki Rissanen, bassist Antti Lötjönen and drummer Teppo Mäkynen. Aki Rissanen’s star has risen quickly and today he is one of the most acclaimed jazz pianists of the country. Rissanen’s trademark is his distinctive style that fuses classical shades with jazz. He is a member in several Finnish and international groups, among which we can find the likes of Esa Pietilä Liberty Ship, Elektro GT and Jori Huhtala 5. Bassist Antti Lötjönen is unarguably among the most sought-after jazz bassists in Finland. Lötjönen is a familiar face from SUN Trio, Ilmiliekki Quartet, NYConnection and Serenity Ensemble. On the drummer’s seat sits Teppo Mäkynen, already a canonical figure in the Finnish jazz. Mäkynen has proven his magical skills with the ride and composer’s quill time after time in such groups as the Five Corners Quintet, Jo Stance, Timo Lassy Band and Teddy’s West Coasters.
Aki Rissanen, piano / Antti Lötjönen, bass / Teppo Mäkynen, drums / Petri Ruikka, visuals
AKI RISSANEN TRIO: AMORANDOM TOUR 2014-2015
Fri 28 Nov at 20 Kuopio, Musiikkikeskus, Kamarimusiikkisali
Sat 29 Nov at 21 Tallinna, Philly Joe’s Jazz Club
Sun 30 Nov at 18 Espoo, Sellosali
Thu 15 Jan at 20 Savonlinna, Wanha Kasino
Fri 16 Jan at 21 Turku, Flame Jazz, Åbo Svenska Teater
Sat 24 Jan at 19 Helsinki, Vuotalo
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