The project Jazz Finland Live was launched to enliven Finnish jazz clubs and increase the live jazz offerings around the country. Eight Finnish jazz clubs participated in the project with the support of the Cities of Helsinki, Iisalmi, Kotka, Oulu, Salo, Tampere and Turku. The project brought as many as 80 jazz concerts to these cities, with the total number of visitors topping 8 000 people. Jazz Finland Live aims at setting up a new funding model that sees Finnish cities and local concert organisers co-operate, thus establishing more sustainable preconditions for professional concert activity around the country.
The Finnish Jazz Federation, The Finnish Musicians’ Union and The Finnish Music Foundation collaborate on the project that was launched in late 2015. Through establishing a general funding model in the Finnish music scene, the project strives to enable regular concert production in smaller cities as well as bigger ones, creating more jobs and developing the know-how in the field of arts and culture. The model invites cities to fund their local concert activity, while the local jazz club or concert organiser will apply for a Jazz Finland Live grant from The Finnish Music Foundation. At max, the grant will be double the amount compared to that received from the local city.
The project kicked off with a bang in spring 2016
Eight players were selected to participate in the project from eight different cities around the country. In the assessment process, weight was given to such areas as the level of professionalism, the level of engagement of the local city and the regularity of the concerts. The following eight players qualified: Espoo Big Band ry (Espoo), Flame Jazz ry (Turku), Koko Jazzin kannatusyhdistys ry (Koko Jazz Supporter’s Association, Helsinki), Kotka Jazz ry (Kotka), Oulun musiikkijuhlasäätiö rs (Oulu Music Festival Foundation, Oulu), Restaurant Ylhäinen Oy (Iisalmi), SaloJazz ry (Salo), TTT-Teatteripalvelut Oy (TTT Theatre Services, Tampere).
In total, Jazz Finland Live grant for the worth of 139 000 euros was allocated to local players by the Finnish Music Foundation, with each player receiving not more than double the share given by the local city. The level of involvement of the local cities has been commendable: in total, they have directed 84 000 euros to support the concert organisers within the project. The project has created new, year-round live jazz activity in Espoo, Iisalmi, Salo, Tampere and Kotka; while in Helsinki, Oulu and Turku the number of concerts has increased notably and the concert programmes have become more artistically daring. From the point of view of the participating cities, the project has contributed to the wellbeing of the residents; boosted local, culture-related services and increased the appeal of the city for tourism.
During spring 2016, the project enabled the organisation of 80 jazz concerts with the total attendance of 8 053 people. Thanks to the funding model, the local concert producers have been able to offer the audience a high-level concert experience while keeping ticket prices reasonable. The spring season has also seen the employment opportunities for professional musicians increase by 365 days. The collaboration of Finnish jazz clubs for a nation-wide club network has improved the possibilities of carrying out tours and booking international stars. The international names that the project brought to Finland during the spring included Manuel Dunkel Quartet with Anders Bergcrantz, Finnish-Belgian-French Orchestra Nazionale Della Luna and the long-standing Swedish bassist Anders Jormin.
Further information:
Ami Vuorinen, Executive Director, The Finnish Jazz Federation, ami.vuorinen@jazzliitto.fi, www.jazzliitto.fi