The second night of the fresh club series run by We Jazz invades the cosy milieu of mbar terrace on Tuesday 16 June. This edition features duo Jaska Lukkarinen and Antti Lötjönen reinforced by organist Seppo Kantonen and sax player Mikko Innanen. Visuals will be provided by National RGB VJs and records will be spun by the brotherhood of We Jazz Djs.
We Jazz, one of the moment’s most important pathbreakers of the Finnish jazz scene, organises a new club series this summer at mbar terrace with a special focus on fine and fresh Finnish jazz. Indeed, the club series sees first performances from as many as three entirely new groups. This June, the limelight will be directed at Lukkarinen/Lötjönen+ – a quartet that has been assembled for the occasion specifically. The eponymous leaders, drummer Jaska Lukkarinen and bassist Antti Lötjönen, are joined by organist Seppo Kantonen and saxophonist Mikko Innanen. In addition to live programme, the We Jazz DJs delve in their vinyl collections for the best summery tunes, while stunning visuals will be conjured up by the awarded National RGB VJ collective.
Lukkarinen/Lötjönen+ counts on spontaneous give-and-take without sheets or rehearsal sessions. We will be in for jazz standards but re-coloured completely with, on the one hand, each talented player’s own voice and, on the other, the band’s collective dialogue. Drummer Jaska Lukkarinen is known from such groups as Jaska Lukkarinen Trio, Dalindèo and Ricky-Tick Big Band. Bassist Lötjönen can be seen on stage with the likes of Timo Lassy Band, Verneri Pohjola Quartet and Jaska Lukkarinen Trio, and his own recently-founded band, Antti Lötjönen Quartet East, is making its way to the vanguard of Finnish jazz. Veteran Seppo Kantonen has recently been active with groups Kahden Miehen Galaksi and Mikko Innanen & Innkvisitio. Saxophonist Innanen leads – in addition to the already-mentioned Innkvisitio – such outfits as Mikko Innanen 10+ and Plop.
DJ Collective We Jazz DJs have run a popular club series of their own at Helsinki’s Kuudes linja and provided the best and rarest jazz tracks at a number of other events, including Flow Festival, Helsinki, and XJazz Festival, Berlin. DJs Eero Löyttyjärvi and Matti Nives are each familiar voices from the radio: the former hosts a show named Lauantaijatsit (Saturday Jazz) on Bassoradio and the latter the show Jazz kiinnostaa (Into Jazz) on Radio Helsinki.
The third edition of the We Jazz summer club takes place on 21 July, featuring duo Verneri Pohjola X Tatu Rönkkö. The series culminates in We Jazz Loft Sessions 3D in August, when Teppo Mäkynen with the National RGB VJs present a new take on the commissioned piece that they performed at We Jazz 2013 Festival.
We Jazz Summer Club
with Espiritu Libre
mbar terrace (Lasipalatsi Square, Helsinki)
Free entry!
Tue 16 June at 7PM-2AM
Lukkarinen/Lötjönen+
Showtime at 9:00PM
We Jazz DJs
Tue 21 July at 7PM–2AM
Verneri Pohjola X Tatu Rönkkö
Showtime at 8:00PM
We Jazz DJs
Tue 18 August at 7PM-2AM
We Jazz Loft Sessions in 3D
Showtime at 9:00PM
We Jazz DJs
#wejazzmbar15