Tampere Jazz Happening treats friends of music for the 35th time on 3 – 6 November 2016. Committed to delivering the best of modern jazz, the festival presents 24 music acts, eight of which are Finnish.
Unarguably, one of the most interesting guests will be Donny McCaslin Group. The band backed David Bowie on his last album, Blackstar, and just before hitting the stage at Tampere, McCaslin’s new solo album, Beyond Now, will be out. The disc is dedicated to the late superstar of rock, Bowie. Another headlining name is saxophonist Charles Lloyd, who established himself at the vanguard of jazz already in the early 1960s. Dubbed the Joean Miró of music, this living legend has made a dauntingly long and versatile career. His live charisma in all its vitality is still strongly there, carrying all the way to the last row.
One special theme of this year’s festival is the adventurous mixing of genres. One of these will surely be the encounter of jazz and opera, and what makes it even more unusual, is that this Tenor Battle is fought between two instruments of the same man, tenor saxophonist and vocalist, Norwegian tenor Håkon Kornstad. His fellow countryman, the phenomenally gifted saxophonist Marius Neset, will also be conjuring up rich, fascinating soundscapes. Neset and his quintet will be performing alongside the winner of the Nordic Music Prize, cellist Svante Henryson.
Sly & Robbie Meet Nils Petter Molvær will be another team-up of unlikely genres and musical giants. The Norwegian trumpeter, known as a chameleonic master of numerous genres, including pop, rock, funk and modern jazz, will be joining the pair of veritable elder statesmen of dub, Jamaican Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare. Prepare yourself for futuristic dub, airy free jazz and electronic experimentation. More exotic sounds will be in store for us when the Icelandic improvising powerball AdHd and Australian veteran group The Necks take to the stage.
As to the Finnish guests, the emphasis will somewhere in the middle ground between jazz and prog. It is not unreasonable to expect that the most emotional moment of the festival will be Verneri Pohjola’s tribute concert to his late father, Pekka Pohjola. Two generations, two different genres will meet when the son interprets his father’s music.
Masterful bassist Lauri Porra will be treating us to new experimental Finnish music. The multitalented musician has a flair for crossing and mixing genres in his art and taking his listener through big, cinematic soundscapes to tender and more minimalistic atmospheres.
In addition, the programme will include two free concerts. The festival will be opened by three Swedish bands lead by women: Naoko Sakata Trio, Susanna Risberg Trio and Nuaia. The final concert, also free, will present the Danish Kalaha with their energy-bursting electro jazz.
Read more on www.tamperemusicfestivals.fi/jazz
Photo: Lisbeth Holton.