Two Jazz Suomi 100 events will be organized in Kuopio in May.
Sunday 17 May – Vintagea! - Jazz’s 100 years in Finland
Welcome on a journey back in time to the birth of jazz music! The Vintagea! event celebrates the arrival of jazz in Finland exactly 100 years ago through music, vintage fashion, and dance.
The rhythms of the evening will be provided by the specially assembled Suomi Jazz 100 Rhythm Orchestra, featuring vocalist Sanna Rosberg. The music draws heavily from tradition, jazz schlager, and Finnish jazz standards. Performance times will be confirmed later, but two sets are planned. As the band plays, skirts will swirl when Kuopio swing dance enthusiasts take over the floor for the enjoyment of both the audience and themselves.
As a fascinating special feature, Pekka and Mikko Toivanen will present “From Jatsi to Jazz” — an informal and light-hearted talk by a Master of Jazz and a Doctor of Philosophy on more than 100 years of Finnish jazz history, myths and legends, and its key turning points, all delivered with a twinkle in the eye.
We invite event guests to wear or bring vintage clothing and accessories under the theme CELEBRATION. Put on your finest vintage party attire — whether your own, newly acquired, or inherited — from the 1920s or any other decade, or simply bring pieces with you. A hair and makeup artist will also be on site creating period-inspired hairstyles, and costumes from the 1920s — both authentic garments and productions from the Kuopio City Theatre costume department — will be available to admire. In addition, there will be a small jazz-themed exhibition and reading recommendations from the Kuopio City Library.
Now being organized for the third time, the Vintagea! event is perfect for everyone enchanted by the spirit of past eras, music, dance, and fashion. Let’s celebrate together with fellow enthusiasts our treasures made before the 1990s and the fast-fashion invasion, and bring vintage clothing back into use together!
Admission is free. The event venues are accessible.
Programme changes and additions are possible.
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Wed 27 May – KJB Association’s Jazz Finland 100 Anniversary Concert: Pekka Toivanen Quartet & Jenny Robson – Andania Blues
At the KJB Association’s Jazz Finland 100 anniversary concert on Wednesday 27 May in the chamber hall of the Music Centre, audiences will hear Pekka Toivanen Quartet & Jenny Robson. The concert also celebrates jazz legend Pekka Toivanen’s 65th birthday. The event is organized in cooperation with Savonia University of Applied Sciences.
To mark the 100-year history of Finnish jazz, Pekka Toivanen Quartet and Jenny Robson present a program covering roughly a century of jazz in Finland. Although the arrival of the ship Andania in Finland is often cited as a milestone in the history of Finnish jazz, jazz had in fact already been played here before that event. However, the example set by Tommy Tuomikoski and Sylvester Ahola made an irreversible impact on Finnish musicians.
Pekka Toivanen has selected jazz compositions from different decades for the program, beginning with the folk tune Suomalainen rapsodia (“Finnish Rhapsody”), arranged and recorded by Yrjö Gunaropoulos in 1929. The program also includes Matti Rajula’s Mesikämmen from 1941 and Toivo Kärki’s Serenade from 1947. More recent Finnish compositions are represented by Åke Granholm’s Love All and Erik Lindström’s Pakaste from 1951. Closer to the present day are Olli Ahvenlahti’s A Day At The Zoo from 1976 (though that too is already nearly 50 years old!) and Aili Ikonen’s Nuori vapaa nainen (“Young Free Woman”) from 2017.
In 2026, Pekka Toivanen celebrates his 65th birthday at the same time as Finnish jazz turns approximately one hundred years old (depending on how one counts). The spirit of Andania nevertheless lives on. Toivanen has gathered around him favorite musicians from various collaborations.
On piano is Janne Maarala, whose uncompromising style leaves no doubt about where the music is heading. A lyrical expressiveness shines through all aspects of his musicianship.
The bass is played by Wade Mikkola, a close collaborator of Toivanen’s for many years. Their shared career includes recordings and performances released under both Toivanen’s and Mikkola’s names, depending on the occasion. On Pekka Toivanen’s debut album, released in 1988, the drums were played by Heikki Sandrén. With the Andania Blues project, the circle comes full circle.
Singer Jenny Robson performed with the Pekka Toivanen Quintet in the 2000s at festivals such as Pori Jazz and April Jazz. At that time, the program focused on the music of Cole Porter. Toivanen and Robson are colleagues at Savonia University of Applied Sciences, and now they perform together again after a long break.
Pekka Toivanen Quartet & Jenny Robson – Andania Blues
- Jenny Robson – vocals
- Pekka Toivanen – saxophone
- Janne Maarala – piano
- Wade Mikkola – double bass
- Heikki Sandrén – drums
Wed 27 May at 19:00
Chamber Hall, Kuopio Music Centre
Tickets: €20 / €15 (regular price / KJB members & students)
Tickets available at the door from 18:00 onward.
Supported by: Savonia, City of Kuopio, MES
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