The 4th We Jazz Festival is here again! Helsinki's most extensive jazz festival delivers a host of best Finnish and international jazz acts on 4-11 December. This year's international guests include American Mark Turner Quartet, Berlin-based Lucia Cadotsch "Speak Low" and Norwegian Huntsville, while Jukka Eskola Soul Trio, Dalindèo, Jukka Perko Avara and Iro Haarla Trio are among the many Finnish acts to be seen at the festival. There will also be a few collab projects, seeing Finns and international artists join forces: these include Helsinki X Berlin Ensemble, Otis Sandsjö & Friends and Dunstan. Again, the festival will also explore new venues, with concerts taking place at G Livelab, the Finnish National Theatre main stage, El Fant, Lapinlahden Lähde and Helsinki Contemporary.
We Jazz, a well-known pathbreaker in the Finnish jazz scene, organises the fourth annual We Jazz festival in Helsinki on 4 – 11 December this year. Invading a number of venues around Helsinki, the event, now spanning eight days instead of a week, will deliver the best of Finnish jazz topped off with a number of international stars. This year’s programme includes the likes of American Mark Turner Quartet featuring trumpeter Avishai Cohen, bassist Joe Martin and drummer Damion Reid alongside the leader-saxophonist; the Finno-German Berlin X Helsinki Ensemble, led by Finnish saxophone player Timo Lassy and German trumpeter Sebastian Studnitzky; trio Dunstan, formed by American saxophonist Logan Richardson, bassist Antti Lötjönen and drummer Teppo Mäkynen; and quartet Amok Amor, which sees the feisty trio Wanja Slavin–Petter Eldh–Christian Lillinger team up with American trumpeter Peter Evans. Finnish acts to take to the stage during the eight-day jazz carnival include Dalindèo, Oddarrang, Mikko Innanen 10+, Iro Haarla Trio and Jukka Perko Avara. Solo improvisation inspired by the syndromes, “rigid writer’s honour” and “general world pain”, that the famous writer Aleksis Kivi was once diagnosed with will be heard in the former Lapinlahti Hospital. The tickets to all concerts are available for purchase at Lippupiste ticket shops.
In keeping with their forward-looking philosophy, the festival will also offer a number of album launch shows. New releases will be out shortly from from Oddarrang, Dunstan, Mikko Innanen 10+, Mikko Innanen & Simo Laihonen and Jukka Eskola Soul Trio, each of whom will also celebrate their new albums at the festival. Three of these – by Mikko Innanen 10+, Dunstan and Jukka Eskola Soul Trio – will be co-released by Grotto Editions and We Jazz, adding to the series of 10-inches that the two labels launched together some time ago.
”This year sees We Jazz grow almost by stealth,” says the Artistic Director Matti Nives. “It simply turned out that we needed an extra day to accommodate all the artists and new venues to the programme. Thus, there is a very practical reason for the expansion. As to this year’s programme, the steady rise of Finnish jazz is definitely evident, but we were also able to book some of our favourite international artists. Like before, we have wanted to go experimental with certain concert concepts to explore new milieus for live jazz. ”
Another new dimension in the festival will be Berlin. Intimate collaboration with Berlin's jazz scene can be seen in such festival bookings as Berlin X Helsinki Ensemble, Amor Amok, Lucia Cadotsch and the today Berlin-based Finn Markus Pesonen. In addition, a number of respected German media will be present at the festival: these include the leading jazz medium Jazzthetik, national radio station Deutschlandradio and prestigious news weekly Der Spiegel. Only in November We Jazz co-organised the new Scope Festival with the Berlin-based XJazz, and the albums released on We Jazz will be available in Germany at the turn of the year distributed by Herbie Martin Music.
Literary offerings will be provided by M. A. Numminen, the patron of the festival, who will be reading passages from his recent book Jazzin meining. This time the festival will also venture to the field of cinema by screening the 1974 sci-fi epic, Space Is the Place, that illuminates the world of the astro-jazz legend Sun Ra, at Kallio’s new Riviera Cinema Bar.
The Finnish Independence Day will coincide with the festival for the first time this year, and it will be celebrated at a special Independence Day Reception at the Lapinlahti Lähde. This free event sees Milo & Moses take to the stage in the afternoon.
We Jazz 2016 in Helsinki on 4 - 11 December
Further information and programme: http://wejazz.fi/2016
Event on Facebook
Tickets: http://lippu.fi/wejazz2016
WE JAZZ 2016
Helsinki 4 –11 Dec
ALL ARTISTS
Aki Rissanen Trio
Amok Amor (DE/US)
Anni Elif Egecioglu
Berlin X Helsinki Ensemble (DE/FI)
Buba Wii Aa
Dalindèo
Dunstan (US/FI)
Harri Kuusijärvi
Huntsville (NO)
Iro Haarla Trio
Jazz kiinnostaa live
Jorma Tapio & Kaski
Jukka Eskola Soul Trio
Jukka Perko Avara
Katu Kaiku
Lucia Cadotsch "Speak Low"
M. A. Numminen
Mark Turner Quartet (US)
Markus Pesonen
Mikko Innanen 10+
Mikko Innanen & Simo Laihonen
Mikko Sarvanne Hip Company & Beibi P
Oddarrang
OK:KO (We Jazz Rising Star 2016)
Otis Sandsjö & Friends (SE/FI)
Pauli Lyytinen Magnetia Orkesteri
Ville Herrala
We Jazz DJs
VENUES
El Fant
Cinema Andorra
G Livelab
Dubrovnik Lounge&Lobby
Genelec House
Cafe Sävy
The Finnish National Theatre
Lapinlahden Lähde
Riviera Cinema Bar
WHS Teatteri U:NI:ON
PROGRAMME
SUN 4 Dec at 11
El Fant
JAZZ KIINNOSTAA BRUNCH
SUN 4 Dec at 18
The Finnish National Theatre, Main stage
BERLIN X HELSINKI ENSEMBLE (DE/FI)
JUKKA ESKOLA SOUL TRIO
MON 5 Dec at 18
Cafe Sävy
M. A. NUMMINEN: JAZZIN MEINING
MON 5 Dec at 19
Cinema Andorra
MARK TURNER QUARTET (US)
MON 5 Dec at 21
Dubrovnik Lounge&Lobby
DUNSTAN (US/FI)
KATU KAIKU
WE JAZZ DJs
TUE 6 Dec at 14
Lapinlahden lähde / Independence Day Reception
MILO & MOSES
WED 7 Dec at 17
Riviera Cinema Bar
SUN RA – SPACE IS THE PLACE (1974, 82 min)
THU 8 Dec at 18
Cafe Sävy
OTIS SANDSJÖ & FRIENDS (SE/FI)
THU 8 Dec at 19
Genelec House
PAULI LYYTINEN MAGNETIA ORKESTERI
BUBA WII AA
FRI 9 Dec at 18
Cafe Sävy
JORMA TAPIO & KASKI
FRI 9 Dec at 19
Cinema Andorra
MIKKO INNANEN 10+
FRI 9 Dec at 21
Dubrovnik Lounge&Lobby
DALINDÈO
HUNTSVILLE (NO)
WE JAZZ DJs
SAT 10 Dec at 16
Helsinki Contemporary
OK:KO (We Jazz Rising Rising 2016)
SAT 10 Dec at 17
G Livelab
ODDARRANG
SAT 10 Dec at 19
Lapinlahden Lähde
JUKKA PERKO AVARA
MIKKO SARVANNE HIP COMPANY & BEIBI P
MARKUS PESONEN: WATERISTIC
IMPROVISATION IN THE ROOM OF ALEKSIS KIVI:
ANNI ELIF EGECIOGLU, HARRI KUUSIJÄRVI, MARKUS PESONEN, VILLE HERRALA
SUN 11 Dec at 11
El Fant
JAZZ KIINNOSTAA -BRUNCH
SUN 11 Dec at 16
Helsinki Contemporary
MIKKO INNANEN & SIMO LAIHONEN
SUN 11 Dec at 18
G Livelab
AKI RISSANEN TRIO
IRO HAARLA TRIO
http://www.wejazz.fi/2016
#wejazz2016
Partners: Club-Mate, Genelec, GLO Hotel, Goethe-Institut Finnland, Grotto Editions, Helsinki Design Week, Image, Lapinlahden Lähde, Radio Helsinki, Finnish Jazz Federation, Jazz Department of the Sibelius Academy, Unifilm, Web-Veistämö, XJazz Berlin, The U.S. Embassy.
Supporters: City of Helsinki Cultural Office, Finnish Music Foundation, The Arts Promotion Centre Finland.
Tickets available on http://lippu.fi/wejazz2016