Jazz Finland Live

Riitta Paakki Trio's new album, Characters, is just coming out, and the group takes the Koko Jazz Club stage to celebrate the occasion. The new album consists of Wayne Shorter tunes from the 1960 - including the two Blue Note recordings Speak No Evil and Yes Or No -  in Paakki's clever new arrangements. They have also sneaked in "Pinocchio" from Miles Davis Quintet's repertoire.

Riitta Paakki, piano
Antti Lötjönen, bass
Jaska Lukkarinen, drums

Tickets 15 / 10 €

Open event

Tickets 10/5€

Mikko Innanen – baritone and alto saxophones
Joakim Berghäll – tenor and alto saxophones
Aki Rissanen – piano
Jori Huhtala – double bass, compositions
Ville Pynssi – drums
jorihuhtala.bandcamp.com

While having jazz as the red thread and bedrock of their music, Jori Huhtala 5 is not afraid of enriching their sound with some elements of pop and film music. The group’s style ranges from lyrical to cacophonic, traditional to avant-garde and rhythm-driven to pulselessly lingering. At the core, however, lie bassist Huhtala's finely crafted compositions and the band members' outstanding skills of improvisation.

The band’s debut album was released in January on Fredriksson Music. Since the first steps taken together as a group, Jori Huhtala 5 have been followed with interest, and in 2014 they performed at Tampere Jazz Happening, for instance. All the members belong to the new generation of Finnish jazz musicians, whose artistic vision and professionalism are taking them rapidly to the bigger leagues.

The Jyväskylä native Jori Huhtala (b. 1984) graduated from his hometown’s local conservatory as a pop-jazz musician in 2004. He completed his MA degree at the jazz department of the Sibelius Academy in 2014. The academic year 2010-2011was spent studying at Stockholm’s Kungliga Musikhögskolan. Huhtala is involvd in the groups Kvalda, Big Blue, Raoul Björkenheim Ecstasy, Panu Savolainen Toivo and Jussi Fredriksson Jazz Wars.

Open event