This week, there is no want of first-rate jazz in Oulu, as Jarmo Saari Republic performs at 45 Special on Thursday 8 May at 7PM. The concert is part of the group’s ongoing Finnish Jazz Federation tour. On the following day, Friday 9 May, the Luleå-based Norrbotten Big Band, conducted by Lars Möller takes the stage at Valve hall.
Oulu Music Festival and Jazz 20 co-produce jazz concerts, part of Finnish Jazz Federation tours, in Oulu. Jarmo Saari Republic, a new supergroup built on the praised solo project Jarmo Saari Solu, will be seen on stage at 45 Special this Thursday.
Musician, composer and producer, Jarmo Saari dreamed about realising this dream team for ten years, before it finally came into being in 2012. The drummers, Sami Kuoppamäki, Olavi Louhivuori and Abdissa “Mamba” Assefa, need no introductions either; their groups speak for themselves: Kingston Wall, Oddarrang, Giant Robot, Kimmo Pohjonen, Fat Beat Sound System, Ilmiliekki Quartet, Tomasz Stanko, Nuspirit Helsinki, Tuomo, Anssi Tikanmäki Filmiorkesteri and Von Hertzen Brothers.
Jarmo Saari Republic at 45 Special.
On the following day, the Swedish Norrbotten Big Band will take the stage at Valve hall on Friday 9 May with a special guest, the Danish saxohphonist, composer and conductor, Lars Möller. Möller, who initially got the kick for his career from American jazz, is one of the key figures of today's modern Scandinavian jazz.
In the concert we will hear Möller's compositions that draw upon an interesting source, "The Rite of Spring" by Igor Stravinsky. Möller has the talent to mix the American jazz tradition with African and Indian music and filter them through the Scandinavian melodic tradition.
As an instrumentalist, Möller can be characterised as both deeply expressive and rhythmically compelling. He has collaborated, among others, with Jimmy Cobb Group, Hermeto Pascoal, Jon Balke, Bobo Stensson, Anders Jormin, Martial Solal, Maria Schneider, Jim McNeely, Tom Harrel, Toots Thielmans, Katrine Madsen, Kasper Villaume Quartet, Sound of Choice Ensemble and The Danish Saxophone Quartet. Today, he is the artistic director of Aarhus Jazz Orchestra.
Luleå-based Norrbotten Big Band is one of the highest-esteemed big bands of the world. Active since the 1980s, the orchestra had its breaktrough in 1995, with Tim Hagans at the helm. Norrbotten Big Band's collaborations include such giants as David Liebman, Joe Lovano, Randy Brecker, Rufus Reid, Maria Schneider, Carla Bley, Toots Thielemans, Kurt Elling and Dee Dee Bridgewater. Currently, saxophonist Joakim Milder.acts as the Grammy-winning group’s artistic director.
Norrbotten Big Band & Lars Möller at Valve hall.