The fourth and last edition of the summer’s We Jazz club series, taking place at mbar terrace in the heart of Helsinki, presents a rare audio-visual experiment, a brainchild of drummer Teppo Mäkynen’s. Mäkynen has assembled a group especially for the occasion, a group which is composed of saxophonist Jukka Perko, guitarist Teemu Viinikainen and bassist Ville Herrala. Visuals will be conjured up by the magicians of National RGB VJs and the grooviest picks of recorded jazz are brought to us, as always, by the We Jazz DJs.
We Jazz, one of the moment’s most innovative forces in the Finnish jazz scene, organises a new club series this summer at mbar terrace with a special focus on fine and fresh Finnish jazz. The last concert in the series falls under a concept that was first experienced at the We Jazz 2013 Festival, We Jazz Loft Sessions, led by drummer Teppo Mäkynen. Loft Sessions is a mutable group, this time formed by the members of Jukka Perko Jazztet: saxophonist Jukka Perko, guitarist Teemu Viinikainen and bassist Ville Herrala. An additional dimension to the improvised music comes from 3D visuals, created by the Emma-awarded VJ collective, National RGB VJs. The audience will be provided with 3D glasses. The show starts at 9:30PM, after and before of which the happy brotherhood of We Jazz DJs entertains us with the treasures of their record bags.
“The 3D concert met with a positive reaction at the first We Jazz Festival in December 2013, and since that we have been looking for a chance for round two. We gave the 3D visuals a try in the darkness of the night after our July club edition and can quite confidently say that the experience will be one of a kind. It will also be completely different from its 2013 brother, now that the surrounding metropole will become an essential part of the show. What lies at the heart of the concept is giving an unusual context for live music and making visuals an integral part of the concert experience", tells Matti Nives, the artistic director of We Jazz.
The group itself has been called together especially for the occasion. Outside the 3D concept, the very same constellation is, in fact, known as Jukka Perko Jazztet. They have released one album (the 2012 Jukka Perko Streamline Jazztet) and they appear on stage regularly, but this time the programme will be something else. The shape-shifting We Jazz Loft Sessions is never the same twice, taking up different forms depending on a milieu and line-up. Not surprisingly, improvisation plays an extensive role and adds to the joyful fluidity of Mäkynen’s group.
We Jazz Loft Sessions in 3D Teaser:
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 on Bassoradio and the latter the show Jazz kiinnostaa on Radio Helsinki. Expect rare jazz pearls and sturdy swing!
We Jazz Summer Jazz Club Series
with Espiritu Libre
mbar, terrace (Lasipalatsi Square, Helsinki)
Free entry!
Tue 18 August at 7PM-02AM
We Jazz Loft Sessions in 3D, vol. 2 (showtime at 9:30PM)
We Jazz DJs
National RGB VJs
Free entry!
http://facebook.com/wejazz
http://mbar.fi
Photo: Maarit Kytöharju.