Jazz Finland Live

The National Local Heritage Conference will be held in Kotka from September 8th to 10th, 2023.

The theme of the conference is derived from the values of Kotka's city strategy: "Our Local Heritage: Boldly, Fairly, and with Love".

As part of the program, Kotka Jazz ry is organizing the "Masters and Apprentices" jazz concert at the legendary maritime restaurant Kairos. You can't get much closer to being Kotkan than this!

The concert will be hosted by Antero Kekkonen.

Performers:
Pertti Metsärinne – piano
Heikki Kauppinen – clarinet
Elina Kardén – vocals
Tobias Schenk – piano
Jussi Hovilainen – bass
Arttu Huopainen – drums

Open event

Captivating audiences with her debut album A Vision of a Garden, singer and composer Riikka Keränen and her quartet embarks on a tour across Finland from September 6th to 16th. Initiating the Jazz Federation’s autumn season, this tour spans nine performances, reaching from Oulu to Espoo.

Presenting her modern vocal jazz with a refreshing pop sensibility, Riikka Keränen and her quartet traverse Finland from September 6th to 16th. The tour commences on Wednesday, September 6th in Oulu and includes stops in Raahe, Oulainen, Joensuu, Savonlinna, Kotka, Kuopio and Espoo. The tour concludes with a final concert in Turku on Saturday, September 16th.

In Riikka Keränen’s music, elements of post-bop jazz intertwine with tones and delicacy influenced by a more pop-oriented approach. With her quartet established in 2019, Keränen delivers atmospheric, modern jazz from her acclaimed debut album A Vision of a Garden released by Flame Jazz Records in February 2022. The English-language narratives traverse from emotional introspection to the rainforests of Cameroon, and even back in time to the era of pharaohs and Queen Nefertiti.

In addition to the album’s tracks, the concerts will feature unreleased compositions from the upcoming release. Through these new pieces, listeners will dive deeper into Keränen’s musical world and catch a glimpse of her unique creative process. Complementing Riikka Keränen’s ensemble are accomplished jazz musicians: pianist Juho Valjakka, bassist Jori Huhtala, and drummer Anssi Tirkkonen. Over the years, the band has evolved into a tightly-knit unit, breathing new life into the material from the A Vision of a Garden album.

Hailing from Oulu, Keränen is known not only for her solo career but also from jazz ensemble Signe and the groovy children’s music group Megasakki, which earned an Emma Award for their debut album in 2022. A graduate of the Sibelius Academy with a master’s degree in jazz music, Keränen has also studied jazz vocals at the Guildhall School of Music in London and the Malmö Academy of Music.

Riikka Keränen
Riikka Keränen – vocals
Juho Valjakka – piano
Jori Huhtala – bass
Anssi Tirkkonen – drums

Open event

Free entry

Jazz singer Ewa Kaarela and textile artist FM Aleksandra Paavola offer a Polish cultural evening. The event combines timeless love songs with textile art.

Singer Ewa Kaarela and pianist Saku Järvinen perform love songs by Polish pianist, composer, and author Wladyslaw Szpilman. Outside of Poland, Szpilman is best known as the protagonist of the film The Pianist, which is based on Szpilman's memoir of the same name and deals with the Holocaust and Szpilman's own survival.

Szpilman's songs tell stories of love, romantic experiences, and the suffering and uncertainty brought by love. The lyrics of the songs are timeless.

The concert starts at 18:00 at the main library Metso's music department. The event is free of charge. Welcome!

The event will be streamed by Metso STUDIO and can also be followed remotely on Tampere City Library's YouTube channel.
https://www.youtube.com/@TampereenKirjasto 

Aleksandra Paavola's felted works are also on display at the main library Metso's music department. In Paavola's developed technique, images are painted with wool on fabric. The felting technique is multi-stage and uses high-quality wool, silk, and linen. The exhibition is open from September 6th to September 23rd during the library's opening hours.

Open event

Max Zenger - woodwinds
Mikael Myrskog - keyboards
Samuli Kivelä - guitar
Fredator - drums

The opening concert of Flame Jazz celebrates the release of Freezer band's debut album! The music, composed with the imagination of Max Zenger and jazz lizard Fredator, combines intricately flowing swing, beautiful tones of woodwinds, and colorful surges of synthesizers. Freezer has developed a unique sound that creatively explores the possibilities of an exceptional lineup. Mikael Myrskog's keyboards and Zenger's low woodwinds seamlessly alternate between the roles of bassist and soloist, while Fredator complements the wind phrases with meticulously tuned drums. In the live lineup, the cool and composed Samuli Kivelä plays the guitar as the fourth member. Freezer's music, rooted in jazz traditions, is narrative, captivating, and full of surprises, where every sound is an opportunity.

TICKETS: Tiketti
Regular ticket: 22 €
Senior ticket: 20 €
Student ticket: 12 €

Age limit: 18+

Tickets are also available at the door of Bar Ö on the concert day starting from 6 PM, unless the event is sold out in advance.

Open event