April Jazz: Jatkojamit,Original Sokos Hotel Tapiola Garden, espoo25.4. At 21:00
After the concerts at Espoo Cultural Centre join us at the official afterparty jam session at Original Sokos Hotel Tapiola Garden! Jam sessions hosted by April Jazz Houseband.
Free entry!
April Jazz Houseband
Manuel Dunkel, Jam Host, tenor saxophone (25.-26.4. klo 22 ->)
Mirja Mäkelä, vocal (25.-26.4.)
Tuomo Dahlblom, guitar (24.-26.4.) / Sami Linna, guitar (27.7.)
Markus Niittynen, piano
Joonas Tuuri, bass (24.-26.4.) / Filemon Von Numers, bass (27.4.)
Rami Eskelinen, drums
April Jazz: F-Musiikki Stage,Espoon kulttuurikeskus, espoo25.4. At 18:15
KAPOW! Five
Young musicians playing on the F-Musiikki Stage at the lobby of Espoo Cultural Centre from Wednesday to Saturday. Free entry!
Metropolian Musiikki
klo 18.15 –19.00 KAPOW! Five
klo 19.15 – 20.00 KAPOW! Five
April Jazz: Peter Evans Being & Becoming, RKDIA,Espoon kulttuurikeskus, espoo25.4. At 20:00
Peter Evans – Being & Becoming
RKDIA
7:30pm doors
8pm Peter Evans Being & Becoming
approx. 9:15pm intermission
approx. 9.45 RKDIA
Tickets €36/31 + order fees (from €1.50), Lippu.fi
Duration approx. 3 h with intermission
Peter Evans has been active in avant-garde music for over twenty years, moving freely between jazz, improv and contemporary art music. He does almost impossible things with his trumpet, always looking for limits and often breaking them. Evans is without a doubt one of the most innovative and popular musicians of his generation and his music does not care about genre boundaries. Peter Evans has collaborated with, among others, Jeff ‘Tain’ Watts, Jim Black, Anthony Braxton, George Lewis, John Zorn, Peter Brötzmann, Pauline Olivieros and Brian Ferneyhough.
The band features some of the most virtuosic and forward-thinking young musicians in jazz and contemporary music today. Vibraphonist Joel Ross is a Blue Note recording artist who previously performed on our stage with Marquis Hill. Bassist Nick Jozwiak has played with Ravi Coltrane and Dave Liebman, among others. Drummer Michael Shekwoaga Ode studied with Billy Hart and collaborated with Theo Croker and Isaiah Collier.
Peter Evans, trumpet (US)
Joel Ross, vibraphone (US)
Nick Jozwiak, bass (US)
Michael Ode, drums (US)
If you are into M83, Nils Frahm, Radiohead, DeadMau5, Tycho, Brad Mehldau, Pink Floyd, Kraftwerk and Genesis then godspeed into RKDIA (pronounced "Arkadia").
Morten Schantz and Anton Eger have recevied world wide critical acclaim with artists such as JazzKamikaze, Phronesis, Marius Neset as well as their own solo projects. Together the keyboards and drums duo has toured the world since the mid 00’s carving out their very own niche within the realms of jazz and club music expanding the possibilities of known genres.
Armed with technical brilliance and a penchant for the epic, the duo spin up forceful and hypnotic works that inject the free kinetic of jazz into synth-based electronica and cascading power pop. It’s a sound of its own. One minute it goes to the body in pulsating blows like house music, the next, it envelops you in warm- blooded synth-pop pathos.
Morten Schantz, synth, vocals (DK)
Anton Eger, drums (SE)
UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra – Flamenco Big Band,Tanssin talo, helsinki25.4. At 19:00
The UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra will bring a breath of Spain to April Jazz Festival. Full size big band, top flamenco music and flamenco dance experts from Spain, and a flamenco dance group of young Finns join their forces and show their talent at the gigantic stage of the Dance House Helsinki.
The Flamenco Big Band concert brings together fiery flamenco with cool, swinging modern jazz. Perico Sambeat, one of Spain’s top jazz musicians, performs as saxophone soloist and conductor together with UMO and three top class flamenco musicians: the singer Alba Carmona and the cajónista David Domínguez from Spain, and a flamenco guitarist Joonas Widenius from Finland.
The UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra is known for breaking new ground, but never in the long history of the orchestra has it performed together with flamenco dancers. In this multi-sensory concert, UMO performs together with the Spanish top flamenco dancer José Manuel Álvarez and the flamenco group of the dance school ToeStar from Lohja. The choreographer is Kirsi Kannas, a dancer, teacher and pioneer of Finnish flamenco. Together, the immensely detailed footwork sections of the dancers, the dark and expressive flamenco singing and the traditional big band form a great rhythm machine, melting the last of the sleet of the Finnish April.
The album Flamenco Big Band from 2008 is Perico Sambeat’s most ambitious effort to combine flamenco elements from Andalusia with the musical language that is closest to his heart, American jazz. Beginning in the middle of the 1990s, Sambeat’s music has been influenced by flamenco and Flamenco Big Band is his first attempt to carry out this vision in the context of a large jazz orchestra. Along with music from the album, the concert programme also contains new music by Sambeat, composed for this performance.
Note! In the Erkko hall, the auditorium stand is a convertible telescope. Since the structure of the stand is not fixed, it may occasionally feel like the stand is swaying. The stand complies with all safety standards, and the feeling of swaying is the least in the lowest rows.
Doors open at 6:30. Duration 2 h, including intermission.
Blue Pepper
Free entry
Paris in Töölö Blue Pepper is a Helsinki-based ensemble that plays acoustic traditional jazz & swing. Their music takes you form the streets of Töölö to the beat of Paris. Together with the tasty food of Linko, the night will be a romantic experience for you and your company.
Showtime 19.00. Band plays two sets.
Manala Afterwork Trio,Manala Bar & Restaurant, helsinki25.4. At 17:00
Manala Afterwork Trio
Free admission
Welcome to enjoy relaxed and lively Afterwork jazz this Thursday, April 25th, at Manala, where the club's own house band trio will be performing! Expect a pleasantly laid-back yet creative atmosphere, perfect for lifting your spirits on a Thursday evening! Watching these three musicians play together is a delight.
Arto Ikävalko - piano
Ville Luukkonen - drums
Joonas Tuuri - bass
For more information about spring visitors and more, visit Manala's website: https://www.manala.fi/en/afterwork-jazz/
Supported by the Music Promotion Foundation MES
April Jazz: Ledisi,Kulttuuritehdas Korjaamo, helsinki25.4. At 21:00
Ledisi
8pm doors
9pm showtime
Tickets 45/40 € + order fees (from. 1,50 €), Lippu.fi
Duration approx 1h 30min, no intermission
In February Ledisi dropped her new single, “Sell Me No Dreams”, the follow-up to her #1 single “I Need To Know,” which soared to the top of the Billboard R&B Charts, off her highly anticipated 2024 album.
Undeterred by the pandemic, she launched her own label, Listen Back Entertainment, and unveiled “The Wildcard” LP, featuring the #1 Grammy Award-winning hit “Anything For You”, which secured her win in the “Best Traditional R&B Performance” category. The album’s success catapulted Ledisi into sold-out shows in the United States.
A vocal powerhouse, Ledisi’s venture into jazz with “Ledisi Sings Nina” garnered acclaim, with The New York Times hailing her bravura self-assurance. With 14 Grammy nominations, 3 Soul Train Music Awards, and 19 NAACP Image Award Nominations, Ledisi’s impact spans music, film, and television.
A seasoned presence in film and television, Ledisi made her mark with roles in George Clooney’s “Leatherheads,” the Oscar-nominated “Selma,” and the impactful “The Tale Of Four.” Transitioning to television, she portrayed Patti LaBelle on BET’s American Soul and shone in FX’s “POSE” and “Twice Bitten” on BET Plus. In 2022, she wowed fans as Mahalia Jackson in “Remember Me” and embodied the essence of Gladys Knight in the biopic “Spinning Gold.”
An author and entrepreneur, Ledisi is a creative force redefining the entertainment landscape. As she prepares to launch more groundbreaking projects, Ledisi, a black woman, wife, bonus mom, daughter, sister, storyteller, advocate, and businesswoman, owns her lane like never before. It’s not just music; it’s a journey, and Ledisi is at the helm of this exciting new chapter!
Ledisi, vocals
Dr. Brandon Waddles, piano, keys
Antone “Chooky” Caldwell, bass
Greg Clark jr., drums
Jazz Jkl Live: Héctor Lepe Quartet,Vakiopaine, jyväskylä25.4. At 19:00
Tickets €15/€10
Héctor Lepe is a jazz guitarist who grew up in Mexico and later settled in Helsinki. The debut album of Lepe's Finnish quartet, Pedro's Dream, takes listeners on a journey through the mystical tales and landscapes of Mexico.
In the Héctor Lepe Quartet, alongside the bandleader are Finnish jazz virtuosos from the younger generation: saxophonist Max Zenger, bassist Juuso Rinta, and drummer Teemu Mustonen. The band subtly blends Latin American elements into the language of modern jazz. The result is a refreshing combination of fresh music, leaving space for each member's personality to shine.
The compositions on their debut album, released last spring, draw inspiration mainly from Mexican folklore, literature, and art.
For the Jyväskylä performance, Jussi Kannaste will elegantly step in for Zenger.
