Jazz bassists Dave Holland, Christian McBride and Endea Owens, modern folk superstar Rhiannon Giddens and many others will grace the stages of Pori Jazz.
The program for the main concerts of Pori Jazz (July 7 – 15) has been completed. New additions include renowned jazz bassist Dave Holland's New Quartet, which includes saxophonist Jaleel Shaw, pianist Kris Davis and drummer Nasheet Waits. Dave Holland's amazing career started already in the 1960s in the bands of Miles Davis and Stan Getz, among others.
The new line-up of Christian McBride, another top bassist coming to Pori combines jazz, country, blues and modern folk. This trio includes banjo-playing singer Rhiannon Giddens, who is also remembered from the band Carolina Chocolate Drops. The third part of the trio is multi-instrumentalist Francesco Turrisi.
The third jazz bassist coming to Pori is Endea Owens from New York. She tours Europe with her own band The Cookout. In the United States, Endea Owens rose to prominence when she played in the studio band of CBS television's The Late Show. She has also belonged to e.g. Diana Ross and Wynton Marsalis tour lineups.
The top names in domestic jazz will be heard at the festival, e.g. bassist Kaisa Mäensivu's band Kaisa's Machine, who releases a new album in the summer with the American label Greenleaf Music. Pianist Aki Rissanen's Hyperreal trio combines jazz and Middle Eastern rhythms and instruments. The musical idea behind saxophonist Max Zenger's Globus is to transform the world's natural beauty into musical landscapes.
Led by keyboardist Tuomo Prättälä and guitarist Markus Nordenstreng, Tuomo & Markus feat. The Verneri Pohjola combines e.g. soul, jazz, folk, the fusion of which is also called Americana. Trumpeter Verneri Pohjola is part of the lineup.
The band Pekka Laine & The Enchanted will also be heard in Kirjurinluoto. Their music is a token of love for the electric guitar and its cosmic echoes. Guitarist Pekka Laine is better known from YLE's popular music programs and television documentaries.
In July, Pori Jazz will also introduce new singers. British singer and songwriter Paris Paloma combines folk and darker pop in her music. Born in Portugal, Erika de Casier's music is influenced by pop, traditional R&B music and bossa nova. She is also remembered as a member of the R&B vocal duo Saint Cava. Hailing from Rochester, New York, USA, Daniella Ponder sings blues, R&B and rock.
The energetic group Ege Zulu & Swengarit will also perform in Kirjurinluoto. The diverse sound world of the composition is largely based on French music. This "Marseille sound" skillfully combines Afropop and hip-hop.
In addition to the main concerts, Pori Jazz's admission-paid program also includes Cafe Pori Jazz's evening concerts and Kehräämö Jam Sessions.
The area of Cafe Pori Jazz has an entrance fee on July 7–8 and July 12–15 from 7 p.m. Cafe Pori Jazz's paid program features Indica (July 7), Finland's Eurovision representative Käärijä (July 8), Kuumaa from UMK (July 12), modern disco-soul performer Get Me (July 13), one of this year's breakthrough artists rapper Jami Fält (July 14) and the Finnish soul band Funky Finns (July 15).
Kulttuuritehdas in Kehräämö at the Pori Cotton Factory offers in the evenings between July 13–15 jam sessions, where trumpeter Mikko "Gunu" Karjalainen serves as the host as usual. The official house band for the evenings is the Swedish Landaeus Trio, and during the evenings several guest soloists are heard in the jams.
Tickets for Pori Jazz's main concerts and Kulttuuritehdas Kehräämö jams are on sale in Ticketmaster channels nationwide. Tickets for Cafe Pori Jazz's concerts are sold every evening at the gates of the area.
The festival's free admission program will be published in its entirety in the coming weeks.