Limelighting rising Finnish jazz stars, the July edition of the Summer Jazz Club presents two already-acclaimed young groups: A-P Kauppinen Quintet and trio Katu Kaiku.
Having topped its number of admissions in May and June, Summer Jazz Club is going strong! Next in the pipeline are two talented groups that do not pale in comparison with their international peers: A-P Kauppinen Quintet, led by the eponymous bassist, and Katu Kaiku, the winner of the 2015 Young Nordic Jazz Comets Finnish semi-finals. The July edition takes place on 19 July at familiar locale of Poppari in Jyväskylä. Grab the chance and show up – many of these gifted youngsters will fly off to the Continent after the summer to resume their studies.
Some may remember A-P Kauppinen Quintet from the first Summer Jazz Club series. Back then a quartet, the group grew shortly after into a quintet with the inclusion of the Summer Jazz Club host, keyboardist Antti Lähdesmäki. Other members have garnered playing experience around Europe, including The Hague, Amsterdam and Århus. Now, the quintet returns to Jyväskylä with a new line-up and new music where world music meets jazz fusion. In addition to the leader, the band features drummer Toon Verheyen, saxophonist Ukko Heinonen and guitarist Lauri Kallio, the last-mentioned of whom is a former pupil of the Jyväskylä Conservatory, like keyboardist Lähdesmäki.
Katu Kaiku came into being when three musicians took their instruments to the Kaisaniemi Park, Helsinki, and started jamming. Having forged a mutual harmony between themselves, they started writing original material. The trio plays melodic and energetic jazz with a free jazz mentality, which took them to represent Finland in the inter-Scandinavian Young Nordic Jazz Comets Competition in 2015. Their success in the Finnish semi-finals was followed by an extensive tour around Scandinavia and the release of their debut album, Tokyo/Kuopio. The trio is formed by saxophonist Adele Sauros, drummer Erik Fräki and double-bassist Mikael Saastamoinen.
Listen to Katu Kaiku on Spotify.
Summer Jazz Club is supported by The Finnish Music Foundation and its partners include Omena Hotels, The Jyväskylä University Press, Poppari and Cultural Association TUFF!.
Ticket sale opens at 20:30 at Poppari on the gig day. The first band starts playing at 21:00. Tickets 8/5 €.
Buy pre-tickets on https://mesenaatti.me/summer-jazz-club-2016/