The Finnish Jazz Federation Tours start their spring season with Mikko Hassinen's Elektro GT.
Elektro GT play jazz, for sure, but their variant has been spiced up with a generous amount of electronic elements and compelling rhythms. With each member coming from a slightly different musical background, the heterogeneity of the band's influences becomes even greater.
Drummer Hassinen has made a long career in the fields of jazz, art music and electronic music, while Louhivuori is perhaps known first and foremost as a jazz artist. Rissanen's musical roots, in turn, spring from a firmly classical soil, whereas Kämäräinen's comfort zone lies somewhere in the middle of jazz and rock. Porra, then again, comes from heavy metal circles, having also plenty of experience in composing music for the TV and cinema. On tour, Porra is substituted by the soul-funk bassist Heikki Laine. As pigeonholing is of no use here, one might as well lay back and let Elektro GT's "electro shock jazz" wash over. The group's debut album came out on Texicalli Records in September 2014, which also saw them perform at Jazz Finland Festival and Tampere Jazz Happening.
Mikko Hassinen (b.1971) is much more than your average drummer. He is a conductor, a composer of acoustic and electronic music and a producer of jazz and classical music. As a jazz drummer Hassinen first appeared on saxophonist Jari Perkiömäki’s 1997 album Shades. He is also a sought-after studio musician: Riitta Paakki Trio and Pepa Päivinen Trio/Quartet have entrusted the drummer’s duties with Hassinen on their recordings since the millennium. In the past dozen years Hassinen has played on more than 30 albums of groups led by such veterans as saxophonist Eero Koivistoinen, vocalists Vesa-Matti Loiri and Maarit Hurmerinta and such younger-generation pop and jazz musicians as Jimi Tenor and Ninni Poijärvi.
Mikko Hassinen – drums, electronics
Kalevi Louhivuori – trumpet
Aki Rissanen – keys
Timo Kämäräinen – guitar
Heikki Laine – bass
On tour:
Wed 11 Feb - Oulu, 45 Special at 9pm, 15/10€
Thu 12 Feb - Tornio, Musiikkitalo at 7pm
Fri 13 Feb - Kajaani, Kaukametsän Kouta-sali at 7pm, 15/10€
Wed 18 Feb - Lappeenranta, Ravintola Kolme Lyhtyä at 8pm
Thu 19 Feb - Jyväskylä, Poppari at 9.30pm, 10/8€
Fri 20 Feb - Kuopio, Musiikkikeskus, Jazzklubi at 9.30pm, 15/10€
Sat 21 Feb - Joensuu, Teatteriravintolan terassi at 9.30, 15/10€