Saxophonist Esa Pietilä received the Yrjö award on Friday 4 November at Tullikamarin Pakkahuone, Tampere Jazz Happening. Awarded annually by the Finnish Jazz Federation, the Yrjö is the most prestigious jazz prize in Finland. The Varjo-Yrjö prize, granted by the Finnish Broadcasting Company, Yleisradio, was given to photographer Maarit Kytöharju.
The Yrjö Jazz Prize is an annual award given to a Finnish jazz artist in acknowledgement of his or her outstanding contribution to Finnish jazz music. Awarded by the Finnish Jazz Federation, the umbrella organisation of Finnish jazz, the Yrjö was launched in 1967, the year that the Federation was founded. This year’s winning artist was saxophonist Esa Pietilä (b. 1964), whose original, genre-defying work in the field of avant-garde jazz recommended him as the Yrjö awardee 2016. In 2015, the prize was given to bassist Ulf Krokfors.
– Pietilä is known as a fearless improviser and musical visionary. His repertory is extremely versatile, including collaborations with classical orchestras. Moreover, he has brought not only Finnish but also international critics to their knees: the influential jazz magazine New York City Jazz Record shortlisted the debut album of Pietilä’s group Liberty Ship among the albums of 2013, explains Petteri Klintrup, the Chair of the Finnish Jazz Federation board.
The prize itself is a work of art created by a different artist each year. This year, the Yrjö is a art piece from the pen of Tampere-based visual artist Ville Pirinen. The piece, entitled “Snake Charmer”, was commissioned specifically for Pietilä. Pirinen – also a musician himself – has become known for his comic character Ornette Birks Makkonen, whose adventures have appeared as comic books and on the pages of music magazine Soundi.
The Finnish Broadcasting Company Yleisradio’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.
– Having started her career as a professional photographer at Tampere Jazz Happening, Kytöharju has captured countless memorable Finnish jazz moments for almost three decades. Her photographs convey the essence of jazz – the living and improvising in the fleeting now – in a remarkable way, describes Markus Partanen, journalist and the host of the Yle Jazzradio.
The year 2016 has seen the Finnish Jazz Federation celebrate its 50 th anniversary. This has meant that the Yrjö Jazz Prize, too, has been awarded for half a century, and as a part of the anniversary celebrations the Yrjö’s have been touring Finland this year. The exhibition Noin 50 Yrjöä (Roughly 50 Yrjö’s), which tells the story of the Yrjö prize, can still be witnessed in two locations: at Tampere’s Telakka during Tampere Jazz Happening, on 3 - 6 November, and at Helsinki’s Library 10 on 28 November - 18 December.