The urban and marine Turku Sea Jazz festival brings the hottest rhythms of Finnish and international jazz to the west coast.
Turku Sea Jazz kicks off on Wednesday, July 31, with a free event in the riverside landscape of the Cathedral Park in collaboration with the John Nurminen Foundation. On the Cathedral Park Terrace stage, the duo Ukko Heinonen & Josu Mämmi and the Turku-based funk quartet Puños will perform. During the concert break, there will be a Baltic Sea-related discussion event.
The popular concert trip to Seili island is the highlight of the jazz summer! On Thursday, August 1, a solo concert by vibraphone master Panu Savolainen will be held in Seili Church, and in the main building's yard, the Superposition quartet led by Olavi Louhivuori will perform. The boat transport seats are sold out, but you can also arrive at the concerts with your own transport. Please purchase your concert tickets in advance from Tiketti!
The main concerts at Forum Marinum will be held this summer in the atmospheric Boat Shed of the Kruununmakasiini building, where two bands will perform each evening on Friday and Saturday. On Friday, August 2, the festival evening will start with the much-anticipated The Stance Brothers by jazz visionary Teppo Mäkynen, whose music ranges from Brazilian funk to sample-based hip-hop. Later in the evening, we celebrate jazz legend Olli Ahvenlahti's new album Mirror Mirror and his 75th anniversary year by exploring the world of jazz funk.
On Saturday evening, August 3, we dive into the tones of world music with the brand-new Palestinian-Finnish trio Wishamalii. Pianist Kari Ikonen, oud player and singer Nemat Battah, and percussionist Abdissa "Mamba" Assefa will offer a taste of their debut album to be released in the fall. At the festival's closing concert, we will enjoy singer-pianist Tuomo's soulful interpretations and the astonishing groove of his fresh trio ensemble.
Turku Sea Jazz's most delicious novelty is the concert and dinner package on Saturday afternoon, August 3. For this concert, the tailored trio Kaisa / Gunu / Max will perform at a surprise location in the Forum Marinum area, which the public rarely has access to! After the concert, a three-course Sea Jazz dinner will be enjoyed at restaurant Göran.
In the exhibition spaces of the Forum Marinum maritime museum, you can hear live jazz with a museum ticket from Wednesday to Saturday starting in the morning in the festival's new series of museum musicians. Additionally, on Friday, August 2, at 4 PM, a concert by the Eero Koivistoinen Quartet will be held in the new champagne bar on the museum frigate Suomen Joutsen.
All Turku Sea Jazz concerts are open to all ages.