Jazz Finland Live

Sara Correia’s Finnish debute!

Sara Correia eponymous debut album (2018) saw her being hailed as the voice of a new generation of fado singers. Her 2020 release, Do Coração, was nominated for a Latin Grammy and won at Portugal's PLAY awards.

Both joy and sorrow flow in Sara Correia's intense and passionate voice, and the music opens up a view of the Portuguese soul. In addition to traditional fado and its modern, lighter form, Correia's singing style is also influenced by the French chanson.

Sara Correia was just 13 years old when she won the Grande Noite do Fado – a major fado festival and singing competition. Soon after her victory, she was invited to sing at one of Lisbon's most important venues for fado, the Casa de Linhares, where she sang and learnt from some of the greatest voices in fado, Celeste Rodrigues, Jorge Fernando and Maria da Nazare. She grew up listening to and learning from Amalia Rodrigues, "the ultimate fadista" who inspired her deeply on the path she's lead.

Sara Correia vocals (PT)
Diogo Clemente, acoustic guitar (PT)
Ângelo Freire, Portuguese guitar (PT)
Frederico Gato, bass (PT)

Tickets €45/39 + order fees (from €1.50), Lippu.fi
Duration approx. 1h 30min, no intermission

Open event

Till Brönner & Espoo Big Band

Espoo Big Band proudly presents a concert with Germany’s leading jazz trumpeter Till Brönner! Brönner is known for his outstanding virtuosity. Brönner studied jazz trumpet at the College of Music, Cologne. Among his prominent teachers are Prof. Malte Burba and the American jazz trumpeter Bobby Shew. His first album, Generations of Jazz, with Ray Brown, Jeff Hamilton, Frank Chastenier and Grégoire Peters, was released in 1993. Immediately it won the ‘Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik’ (German Records Criticism Award). From then on he played with international greats such as Dave Brubeck, Tony Bennett, Mark Murphy, James Moody, Monty Alexander, Nils Landgren as well as Klaus Doldinger and Joe Sample.

Till Brönner, trumpet (DE)
Espoo Big Band

Sullivan Fortner

For the past decade, Sullivan Fortner has been stretching deep-rooted talents as a pianist, composer, band leader and uncompromising individualist. The GRAMMY Award-winning artist out of New Orleans received international praise as both key player and producer for his collaborative work on The Window (Mack Avenue, 2018), alongside multi-GRAMMY winner, vocalist-composer Cecile McLorin Salvant. As a solo leader, he has released Moments Preserved (Decca, 2018) and Aria (Impulse!, 2015) to critical acclaim, and he’s only getting started. Now based in New York, Fortner has earned recognition in multiple DownBeat Critics Poll categories, winning first place in Rising Star Piano and Rising Star Jazz Artist.

In addition to associations with such diverse voices as Wynton Marsalis, Paul Simon, Diane Reeves and John Scofield, Fortner’s frequent and longtime collaborators have included Ambrose Akinmusire, Cecile McLorin Salvant and Dee Dee Bridgewater. Recent collaborations include GRAMMY-nominated releases Dear Love (Empress Legacy) and Generations from leaders Jazzmeia Horn and The Baylor Project, respectively.

Playing solo or leading an orchestra, Fortner engages harmony and rhythmic ideas through curiosity and clarity. Within phrases, he finds universes, and listeners often hear how he’s moved by each note he explores.

”An artist with his own distinct style.” – The New York Times

Sullivan Fortner, piano (US)

Tickets €35/29 + booking fee (from €1,50), Lippu.fi
Duration appr. 3 h, incl. intermission

7.30PM Doors
8PM Sullivan Fortner
intermission
9.45PM Till Brönner & Espoo Big Band

Open event

€39/€35 + order fees (from €1.50), Lippu.fi
A lobby service fee of €3.50 is collected at the door

19.30 Doors
20.30 Judith Hill

The dazzlingly luminous R&B singer, songwriter and guitarist Judith Hill is a Los Angeles-based artist and raised in a Japanese-African-American musical family. She became famous as a backing singer for several iconic artists such as Michael Jackson, John Legend and Josh Groban. Hill took part in the popular television show The Voice and was also involved in the Oscar-winning documentary film 20 Feet From Stardom about the world's best singers. Her critically acclaimed debut album Back in Time (2015) was made in collaboration with Prince.

Judith Hill's latest album is the self-produced Baby, I'm Hollywood (2021), which ambitiously documents Hill's journey to self-discovery. The album's rich 60s Soul sounds, strong blues influences and amazing psychedelic funk draw from the annals of black music; of the past, present and future.

Judith Hill, vocals, keyboards, guitar
Michiko Hill, keyboards
Peewee Hill, bass
John Staten, drums

Duration approx. 1h 30min, no intermission

Open event

Tickets 20/11/8 €
Duration approx. 2 h (incl. intermission) 
RioLive cloakroom fee: 3 €

Kadri Voorand is a vocalist, pianist and composer who creates music through strong emotional storytelling, combining catchy rhythms with a completely unique way of blending improvisational pop, jazz and folk elements. Voorand is a well-established vocalist whose original music and expression have brought her a number of prizes and performances in Estonia as well as abroad, and she has has toured in many countries during her career.

Award-winning Mihkel Mälgand is one of the most active bass players in Estonia. He has also collaborated with jazz stars like Kurt Elling, Nils Landgren and Dave Liebman. Mälgand also appears as an arranger and occasional co-writer on the Voorand’s latest album “In Duo with Mihkel Mälgand”.

Voorand’s and Mälgand’s strong sense of each other’s musical rhythm and improvisational moments result in a tight duo. The pop-like melodies are combined with virtuosic improvisations and skilled technique. They perform heartbreaking power ballads next to hip grooves, accompanied by a totally unique twist in the sound and unexpected, daring lyrics.

Kadri Voorand | voice and piano
Mihkel Mälgand | double bass

Open event

Tickets 20/25 €

Street Level is Jukka Gustavson's new group founded in 2017. The group has released the album Natural High in 2021. The music is based on Jukka's compositions and some old favourites from the 70's re-arranged.

Dawda Jobarteh, kora
Stefan Pasborg, drums

Street Level
Jukka Gustavson, vocals & keyboards
Jan-Olof Strandberg, bass
Thomas Törnroos, drums

Open event

Tickets 27 €

For more than 15 years Alexi Tuomarila has been quietly building a considerable reputation as one of the finest pianists of his generation in Europe, described by Jazz Times as 'one of the next big deals on jazz piano' and selected as one of the New Future Names of International Jazz by distinguished British jazz journalist Stuart Nicholson in the Observer newspaper.

Alexi Tuomarila Trio is simply quite brilliant, bringing together strong melodic, driving, rhythmical soloing, Finnish melancholia and some of the finest musicianship to emerge from any Nordic small ensemble. It has a wonderful freedom within the structure of its memorable compositions.

Open event