Sointi Jazz Orchestra's 10th-anniversary year culminates in a celebratory concert at Korjaamo in Helsinki on November 1st. Additionally, the orchestra will perform with Anders Jormin and Anni Elif at G Livelab in Tampere on September 20th and in Helsinki on September 21st. They will also have a concert collaboration with saxophonist Joakim Berghäll at Lappeenranta's Nuijamies on November 8th.
Sointi Jazz Orchestra, founded by Rasmus Soini ten years ago, can be considered a unique ensemble in many ways both in the Finnish music scene and internationally. This 18-member professional jazz orchestra has revitalized and diversified the big band tradition by fearlessly blending different musical styles. The ensemble, which primarily focuses on new music, annually performs specially tailored new concert programs. These programs consist of individual commissioned works, premiere concerts, and repertoires built around guest soloists featuring new arrangements.
Throughout its ten-year journey, the orchestra has accumulated over a hundred concerts, released five albums, received a Teosto Prize nomination for the Kolibri album, and achieved international competition success.
In spring, the orchestra performed in collaboration with the world music duo VILDÁ during a three-concert tour, organized Sid Hille's composition concert at Helsinki's Temppeliaukio Church, and held a premiere concert at Helsinki's Malmitalo, featuring new compositions by Teemu Eerola and Aleksis Liukko. In addition, the ensemble appeared at the Saimaa Jazz Festival in Savonlinna in collaboration with Joakim Berghäll and at Helsinki's Etno-Espa with accordionist Kaisa Ristiluoma and singer Maja Mannila.
The 10th-anniversary year has been marked by diverse and characteristic activities. Rasmus Soini, the founder of the orchestra, describes it as follows: "The spring composition concerts and premiere concerts, genre-blurring collaborations, and guest soloists who have never performed with a jazz orchestra before are all enriching cultural activities that characterize us and that we want to engage in. The autumn guest soloists, with their own compositions, and the 10th-anniversary concert, complement this offering in a grand way. The anniversary concert itself is like a comprehensive production of Sointi condensed into one evening. I expect a very warm and somewhat spectacular concert."
In September, the orchestra will be joined by the legendary Swedish double bassist Anders Jormin as a guest soloist. The Songs and Elegies concerts, dedicated to Jormin's music, will be held at G Livelab in Tampere and Helsinki on September 20th and 21st. The concerts will also feature one of today's most exciting singers, Anni Elif, who also plays the cello.
On November 1st, the atmosphere will be electric when the orchestra gathers for a 10th-anniversary concert at Helsinki's Korjaamo. Several guest soloists who have collaborated with Sointi in previous years will perform, including Matti Johannes Koivu, Stina Koistinen, Aili Järvelä, Juhani "Junnu" Aaltonen, and Kaisa Ristiluoma. The concert will also feature the premiere of Iro Haarla's composition dedicated to Sointi Jazz Orchestra.
On November 8th, the orchestra will visit Nuijamies in Lappeenranta in collaboration with Joakim Berghäll. The program will include Berghäll's six-part composition Turta, which was released in the summer as an album by the Berghäll Brothers Big Band.
In November, the orchestra will also record its sixth studio album, to be released in 2024.
Sointi Jazz Orchestra's 10th-anniversary program for autumn 2023:
September 20th: Sointi Jazz Orchestra & Anders Jormin & Anni Elif at G Livelab Tampere.
September 21st: Sointi Jazz Orchestra & Anders Jormin & Anni Elif at G Livelab Helsinki.
November 1st: Sointi Jazz Orchestra 10th Anniversary Concert at Korjaamo, Helsinki.
November 8th: Sointi Jazz Orchestra & Joakim Berghäll at Kulttuuritila Nuijamies, Lappeenranta.