The eight-day We Jazz festival presents a wide range of jazz music in Helsinki from November 26 to December 3. Several performers will be heard in Finland for the first time, and there will also be numerous bands performing publicly for the first time. In addition, the program includes many new collaborations between visiting and domestic musicians, as well as new venues. This year, there is also a performance concept aimed at children, open discussions for the audience and films.
The eight-day We Jazz festival will fill Helsinki with new music starting from this Sunday. In addition to the already announced program, the event will feature film screenings, discussion programs, and a performance concept aimed at children.
The tickets for the tenth We Jazz event are on sale at Tiketti.
DISCUSSION PROGRAM
On Saturday, December 2, at the Korjaamo Culture Factory, the festival's longest day will begin with an interesting discussion program starting at 11 am. The festival's resident artist, American alto saxophonist and composer Darius Jones, will discuss with We Jazz's artistic director Matti Nives about his music, recent album, and the influence of the Fluxus movement on his art. The second discussion in the morning will focus on the Swedish saxophonist Bengt "Frippe" Nordström (1936–2000), in whose honor a series of 13 solo performances, compiled in collaboration with saxophonist Mats Gustafsson, will be heard at Korjaamo. In addition, Antoine Prum's Frippe film will have its premiere in a free screening at Korjaamo on the same day at 5 pm. Prum, Gustafsson, and the Swedish percussionist Sven-Åke Johansson, who will also perform at the festival, will participate in the discussion. After the day's discussions, Petter Eldh and Otis Sandsjö, who will perform at the festival as part of the Post Koma band, will hold a workshop discussing the genesis of their recent Koma Saxo album and their artistic process.
CHILDREN'S CONCERT
The Korjaamo daytime program also includes a children's concert featuring the Finnish-Danish JAF Trio. The band will perform its music in a "child-friendly format," playing short sets during which it is possible to discuss with the musicians and get to know the instruments. In addition, there will be a workshop where visitors can draw their own album covers for We Jazz's "white label" records, i.e., test pressings of upcoming releases. Each album cover artist will receive a unique copy to take home.
FILMS
In the afternoon, Korjaamo Kino will screen two films, which are free for the audience. Director Antoine Prum's Blue for a Moment (2017) tells the story of the unique artist, Swedish Sven-Åke Johansson (b. 1943), who will perform at the festival with one of the central visionaries of experimental electronic music, Jan Jelinek. The second Prum film is Bengt FRIPPE Nordström, a portrait, which will have its world premiere at the We Jazz festival. The first screening of the film begins at 3 pm, the second at 5 pm. The director and other contributors will be present to answer questions from the audience after the screenings.
Matti Nives, the artistic director of the We Jazz festival, talks about this year's event:
"We Jazz festival continues its adventure with inspiring jazz music. As is characteristic of our festival, many of the performers are unfamiliar to the audience. This opens up the opportunity to discover and be surprised by something new, to live in the moment, and to be authentically present. Without specific expectations, one can find something powerful that one didn't even know one was longing for.
At the same time, We Jazz naturally engages in a conversation about the significance of experience and what music and art more broadly can bring to our everyday lives. As broader societal and political discourse touches on the significance of art and education, it seems that the relevance of these themes is not diminishing.
The artists performing at the We Jazz festival have a genuine opportunity to bring us together. The selected performers for the festival embody positive, forward-moving energy in their art. Each one does it in their own voice and style, and we, in turn, want to extend an open invitation to all visitors to encounter the event from their own perspectives, with curiosity."
Highlights from the recently announced lineup include the Norwegian drummer Gard Nilssen's 17-member Supersonic Orchestra, which brings together a significant gathering of new-generation, active Norwegian and Swedish musicians, the Brooklyn saxophonist Jonah Parzen-Johnson's home concerts, the highly anticipated return of Teppo Mäkynen's beloved alias The Stance Brothers to the stage after over 10 years, and the new duo formation of saxophonist Timo Lassy and accordionist Niko Kumpuvaara. Free jazz star Mats Gustafsson, on the other hand, will curate a series of solo performances to be announced later and introduce his new trio formation IF A NAME.
We Jazz 2023
Helsinki 26.11.–3.12.
#wejazz2023
wejazz.fi/2023
Event on Facebook
Tickets sales via tiketti.fi/wejazz2023
The full We Jazz 2023 programme can be found at the festival's website.
Performers (A-Z)
Anni Kiviniemi Trio
Borderlands Trio
Darius Jones Helsinki Accord
Emma Salokoski & Ilmiliekki Quartet
Eskola/Puolitaival/Seppä/Mäkynen Quartet
Gard Nilssen's Acoustic Unity feat. Møster
Gard Nilssen's Supersonic Orchestra
IF A NAME
Jan Jelinek & Sven-Åke Johansson
JAF Trio
Jazz kiinnostaa
Jonah Parzen-Johnson You're Never Really Alone
Kiri Ra!
Laihonen & Salmi
Magnetia Orkesteri
Mauricio Takara & Carla Boregas
Mats Gustafsson Presents: Solos For Frippe
Phardah
Post Koma
Timo Lassy & Niko Kumpuvaara
The Stance Brothers
Topias Tiheäsalo
Valtteri Laurell Nonet
VIRTA
We Jazz DJs & Friends
+ secret gig
Venues (A-Z)
G Livelab
Harju 8
Jacitan koti
Johanneksen koti
Kahvila Sävy
Kalliosali
Kulttuuritehdas Korjaamo
Kuudes Linja
Peloton Cycling Eatery
Radisson RED
Solo Sokos Hotel Torni
+ secret venue
Partners: Fat Lizard Brewing Co., Pop Media, Radio Helsinki, Radisson RED Helsinki, Solo Sokos Hotel Torni, Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki
Supporters: Gesellius Fond, City of Helsinki, Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation, Finnish Music Foundation, Robert D. Bielecki Foundation, Finnish Cultural Foundation, Arts Promotion Centre Finland, Thurings Foundation
Gard Nilssen's Supersonic Orchestra © Anna Niedermeier