2016, the 50th anniversary year of the Finnish Jazz Federation, saw the organisation launch a comprehensive history, assemble a star-studded jubilee orchestra and exhibit the Yrjö Jazz Prizes.
In 2016, the Finnish Jazz Federation, the umbrella organisation of Finnish jazz celebrated its 50th anniversary. The anniversary year featured a number of special projects that shed light on both the colourful history of Finnish jazz and its present strong currents toward internationalisation. Officially the anniversary year was kicked off in April at the April Jazz Festival where a comprehensive history of the Federation’s birth and development was launched on 22 April 2016. Edited by researcher Janne Mäkelä and composed not only of historically significant text but image and audio as well, the history was published online and is available on http://jazzfinland.fi/jazzliitto50/tiivistelma. In compiling and presenting the material, the Finnish Jazz Federation collaborated intimately with Music Archive JAPA and the Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE’s Elävä arkisto.
April Jazz Festival 2016 also played host to the stage debut of the Finnish Jazz Federation Jubilee Orchestra, led by saxophonist Mikko Innanen. In addition to Innanen, the Jubilee Orchestra was composed of some of the most recent Yrjö-knighted artists: guitarist Teemu Viinikainen, pianist Kari Ikonen, bassist Ulf Krokfors and drummer Teppo Mäkynen. The orchestra toured Finland during the anniversary year, stopping at Pori Jazz on 16 July, Turku Jazz Festival on 19 August, Porvoo Jazz Festival on 1 October and Tampere Jazz Happening on 4 November. Approximately 2 500 listeners attended the concerts in total. On tour, the core group was joined by different Yrjö-winning guest soloists, including veteran saxophonist Eero Koivistoinen at Pori, pianist Seppo Kantonen at Porvoo, drummer Reiska Laine at Pori and Porvoo and the most recent Yrjö-winner, saxophonist Esa Pietilä at Tampere. In the launch concert at April Jazz, a host of Yrjö-colleagues reinforced the orchestra, including Eero Koivistoinen, Seppo "Paroni" Paakkunainen, Severi Pyysalo, Antti Sarpila and Anna-Mari Kähärä – winners from all five decades of the prize. YLE recorded the concert on spot and it is now available as a two-part radio programme on Yle Areena on http://areena.yle.fi/1-3769866.
At the Tampere Jazz Happening towards the close of the year, the Finnish Jazz Federation awarded the Jazz Artist of the Year with the annual Yrjö Jazz Prize. The 49th Yrjö Jazz Prize went to saxophonist Esa Pietilä (b. 1964), whose original, genre-defying work in the field of avant-garde jazz recommended him as the Yrjö awardee 2016. The prize itself is a work of art commissioned from a different artist each year: this time it was a comic from the pen of Tampere-based visual artist Ville Pirinen. The Finnish Broadcasting Company Yle’s Varjo-Yrjö Prize was rewarded for notable contribution to the Finnish jazz culture at the same event. The recipient was long-standing photographer Maarit Kytöharju who has captured memorable Finnish jazz moments for many decades. TV channel Yle Teema will broadcast the Jubilee Orchestra’s show at Tampere Jazz Happening later this year.
The anniversary year also spotlighted the physical Yrjö prizes. Opened at the April Jazz Festival, roughly 50 Yrjö Jazz Prizes were put on display in the comprehenisive, touring art exhibition, Noin 50 Yrjöä. From Espoo, it went nomad, stopping at different jazz festivals with and without the Finnish Jazz Federation Jubilee Orchestra. The cavalcade of Yrjös returned Helsinki’s Kirjasto 10 (Library 10) just before Christmas. The exhibition shed light on the history of the prize and showed the remarkable range of artists and works of art that compose the 49-year history of the prize.
Amid all the festivities, the Federation continued to work on its core activities, such as tour production for Finnish jazz artists, throughout the anniversary year. Indeed, the year saw Jorma Tapio & Kaski and Pauli Lyytinen Machinery, Kasperi Sarikoski & Nuance, Nina Mya and Alexi Tuomarila Trio go on a Finnish Jazz Federation -produced tour, and in addition the organisation co-produced tours for Théo Ceccaldi Trio and Pepa Päivinen & Good Romans, Elena Mindru & Rom Ensemble, Fifth Avenue, Mirja Mäkelä Trio and Teddy's West Coasters. Additional flavour to the tour year brought the 20th anniversary year of the jazz agency Free Voices, Free Sounds – an important collaborative force to the Feberation, led by Charles Gil. To celebrate the double anniversaries, the two players co-produced two double-header concert series in autumn 2016, focussing on Finnish and French improvised music.
Founded in 1966, the Finnish Jazz Federation is the umbrella organisation of Finnish jazz and the largest body to promote the interests of Finnish jazz culture in Finland and to represent Finnish jazz in national cultural and political debates. It hosts the website Jazz Finland, Finland’s most significant jazz medium, database and concert calendar. The most recent projects launched by the Federation include Jazz Finland LIVE, which seeks to establish a new support system to develop Finland’s jazz club network, and the export project Jazz Finland International to support and assist Finnish jazz organisations to carry out their export strategies.