Koko Jazz Club was awarded with the JAMU prize 2014 by Jazzmuusikot ry (Finnish Jazz Musicians association). The prize is granted to any person or body in recognition of their contribution to the status of jazz music in Finland.
“There are top-notch concerts on offer regularly at Koko Jazz Club, and the wide selection of live music has proven to be a lure for old and new jazz enthusiasts alike. Koko Jazz Club, which operates jointly with KokoTeatteri (Koko Theatre), has become the most significant jazz club in Finland”, says guitarist Risto Toppola, the President of Jazzmuusikot ry.
Koko Jazz Club organises almost one hundred jazz concerts every year and they are hosted by the facilities of KokoTeatteri in Kaisaniemi, Helsinki. Musicians Timo Hirvonen and Jussi Lehtonen are in charge of the artistic line of the programme. Since the club’s initiation in 2010, both the biggest household names of Finnish jazz and a number of international stars have been seen on the Koko stage. Also, the club has been an important arena for young Finnish talents. In summertime, the house band invites well-known artists from other spheres than jazz to perform at the club.
Last year the JAMU Prize was given to Veli-Pekka Heinonen, a producer for YLE (The Finnish Broadcasting Company). From 2008 to 2012 the prize bore the name “Vuoden Jazzdiggari” (The Jazz Enthusiast of the Year), and it has been received by President Tarja Halonen and Ilkka “Emu” Lehtinen, the owner of the record shop Digelius Music, among others.
“After six people it felt only natural to award a jazz club. Facing an audience is a vital part in the career of any jazz musician when it comes to both the development of the playing skills and the music itself. The live performance with improvisation is an essential factor in the appeal of jazz”, Toppola says.
Jazzmuusikot ry was founded in 1997 in order to promote the status of jazz musicians and jazz music in Finland. The association belongs to the Finnish Jazz Federation and it has approximately one hundred members.