The program of Jazz & Etno Spring 2023 has been published – featuring folk music from Oulu and dark-toned jazz
The Oulu Music Festival Jazz & Etno Spring 2023 concert series in 25.1.–24.5.2023 includes a diverse selection of jazz and folk music stars from Finland and abroad!
The first concert will be held already in January, when the Olli Hirvonen Trio will hop on the stage of RioLive. The Jazz & Etno Spring 2023 series also features Jukka Linkola, awarded with both Yrjö- and Jussi awards, with his band Tentet, Barlast, a band that glorifies the silence and builds their music from the aspects of it, and Rällä, a folk music band from Oulu. During the spring, we will also hear the beautiful melodies and compositions of the four-person jazz group Joonas Tuuri Quartet, as well as the joint concert of four wonderful world-class jazz artists; Rosenwinkel Blake Mäensivu Peri.
The artistic director of the series is saxophonist Jukka Perko. All concerts of the Jazz & Etno series are organized, as usual, at RioLive in the city center of Oulu.
Jazz & Etno Spring 2023 series will be opened by the raucous jazz group Olli Hirvonen Trio
Originally from Lappeenranta and currently living in Brooklyn, USA, Olli Hirvonen is one of the most distinguished musicians of his generation, whose unique expression draws influences from jazz, experimental and also heavier music. The album Kielo, released in November 2022, deepens Hirvonen's playing and composing with rooting expression. The album's nuanced sound palette consists of modern jazz, earthy Americana and tones of raw folk-rock. The album consists of eight tracks, that bring the expressive power of string instruments into the limelight.
On the tour in Finland 2023, Hirvonen will play with an Irish bassist Simon Jermyn, who is known for his band work with, for example, Jim Black and John Zorn, and with Nathan Ellman-Bell, who can also be heard on the album, and who has recently gained publicity in the band Brass Against, among others.
Folk music from the extremes in the Jazz & Etno Spring: Barlast, who praises silence, and Rällä, who dances!
The Jazz & Etno Spring 2023 series features two very different folk music concerts.
Rällä, who performs in a concert on February 22nd, is a folk music group from Oulu. Rällä plays traditional and rootsy, danceable and swinging folk music, that emerges from the tones of arctic everyday life! In their concert, the group mainly performs traditional songs from the northern region of Finland, but their program also includes a few folk music hits from other parts of Finland.
Representing the other extreme of folk music, the quartet Barlast, founded in Helsinki in 2016, creates new and airy music with silence in the background. All the unnecessary has been stripped away; only the name became ballast.
The concert of Barlast takes you from the sweet chords of the telecaster to the shepherd's call of the mänkeri, and from the hum of the ring drum to a free double bass solo. The moods vary from 18th century ballroom dances to suffocation in a radiation protection suit. Barlast will give a concert in the Jazz & Etno series on April 19.
The concert series features world-class jazz musicians and beautiful jazz melodies
On March 1, two of today's most prominent jazz music trendsetters will meet two representatives of the younger generation, who create careers in New York. In the concert, we will hear original compositions by guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel, saxophonist Seamus Blake, bassist Kaisa Mäensivu and drummer Joe Peri, as well as jazz standards adapted for this special ensemble.
Thursday 11.5. Joonas Tuuri Quartet, playing modern jazz, will take over RioLive's stage. Bassist Joonas Tuuri's band's compositions are written by Tuuri himself. At the center of the music are beautiful and catchy melodies, strong different atmospheres and highly refined ensemble playing and improvisation. Sensitive communication between the musicians makes the music flow in a unique and unpredictable way. The band's debut album "Dimensions" was released in spring-winter 2022.
Award-winning Jukka Linkola's ten-member band charms in the Jazz & Etno series in May
Finnish composer, pianist and conductor Jukka Linkola's Tentet ensemble is one of the top European jazz ensembles. The Tentet band's music alternates between forward-moving rhythmic swing and balladic elements.
Yhtyeen ilmaisussa yhdistyvät ison kokoonpanon sointivärit pienemmän yhtyeen herkkyyteen. Tentet heräsi pitkältä tauoltaan uudella kokoonpanolla konsertoimaan vuonna 2021. The Tentet -ensilevystä on kulunut 27 vuotta. Uuden kokoonpanon tuorelevy “Rumba Liberte” ilmestyy keväällä 2023.
Jukka Linkola Tentet kuullaan RioLivessä keskiviikkona 24.5.2023.
OMJ JAZZ & ETNO KEVÄT 2023 LIPUT
Ticketmaster Finland across the country. A service fee is included in the ticket price. A separate Ticketmaster order fee of 1,50–2,00 € per order is added. Tickets without a service fee from Culture Centre Valve. A limited amount of Kaikukortti-tickets are available.
A seven concert OMF Jazz & Etno Spring 2023 series ticket is available at Ticketmaser and it includes all the Spring 2023 Jazz & Etno concerts. A limited amount of series tickets are on sale until February 22th 2023.