Aili Ikonen - vocals
Antti Kujanpää - piano

Singer Aili Ikonen and pianist Antti Kujanpää have been collaborating as a duo for over twenty years. Their membership in the band Kvalda, founded in 2002, made them jazz professionals. Everyone surely remembers Kvalda's concert at the 2005 Kerava Jazz Festival at Wanha Kino!

Since Kvalda's performance, Aili Ikonen has performed at Kerava Jazz as a member of the band Hereä. Antti Kujanpää has had multiple performances at the festival, including with bands such as Auteur Jazz and Reporters, and as a duo with Joakim Berghäll. Kujanpää's most memorable project was at the 2017 festival with the band GI/AN/T, along with drummer Tuomas Timonen and Norwegian singer Gine Gaustad Anderssen.

Over the years, Aili Ikonen has developed into a radiant, international level singer, composer, and lyricist. Her exceptionally broad career includes four solo albums in Finnish, numerous collaborative albums, big band productions, Ella Fitzgerald interpretations, and jazz pop songs.

Ikonen performs widely with top contemporary artists. She has been heard as a soloist with numerous orchestras, including the Radio Symphony Orchestra, UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra, Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, Norrbotten Big Band, Tampere Philharmonic, and Dallapé.

Aili Ikonen is also known today as a member of the vocal ensemble Rajaton.

The concert promises sophisticated music from two top professionals!

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Kadi Vija - vocals
Mikael Saastamoinen - bass
Ville Luukkonen - drums

Kadi Vija 3 is a fresh Helsinki-based band whose music embodies jazz. The band's lineup and Vija's compositions are reminiscent of the traditional trumpet/saxophone - double bass - drums combination. Singer Kadi Vija, double bassist Mikael Saastamoinen, and drummer Ville Luukkonen manage to create an environment that exudes musical joy, freedom, and room for experimentation.

The band's musicians are solid jazz professionals. Kadi Vija, described as a phenomenal singer known for her instrumental vocal style, has gained fame through soloist guest performances with the UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra, collaborations with pianist Seppo Kantonen and vibraphonist Arttu Takalo, as well as her own bands, Kadi Vija Key Project and Kadi Quartet.

Double bassist Mikael Saastamoinen plays in, among others, Linda Fredriksson's Juniper, Olavi Louhivuori's Superposition, and OK:KO.

Drummer Ville Luukkonen plays in Anna Inginmaa's band, the Arto Ikävalko Trio, and has been running the Manala Afterwork club in Helsinki for years.

Varre Vartiainen - guitar
Timo Lassy - saxophone
Mikko Helevä - Hammond organ
Roni Vartiainen - drums

Varre Vartiainen's organ trio, Organ Freemen!, joins musical forces with top saxophonist Timo Lassy. In addition to pieces from the guitarist's album "Almost Standards," the quartet's repertoire includes selections from Lassy's extensive body of work and some of the band's yet-to-be-released material.

On stage, the musical worlds of two artists merge!

In addition to Vartiainen and Lassy, the lineup includes organ virtuoso and jazz doctor Mikko Helevä, and on drums, Vartiainen's own son, Roni Vartiainen.

"Just got a change to listen Almost Standards album from Varre. Beautiful! Varre plays his ass off! Wonderful guitar playing! The tunes are beautiful and the band is smoking!" (Mike Stern)

"Guitarist Varre Vartiainen brings together the best domestic talents in jazz music on his surprise album. The result is a fascinating double-exposure effect. A fresh and organic musical play of the familiar and the unfamiliar." (Harri Uusitorppa, Hs)

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Houseband:

As part of the Kerava Jazz Festival, traditional jam sessions are organized where musicians gather to immerse themselves in the world of jazz standards.

The house band is led by guitarist Lasse Keso, who also acts as the jam host.

MARK FRANSMAN HOMAGE TRIO:

Mark Fransman - tenorsaxophone, flute, piano, compositions
Tapani Varis - double bass
Simo Laihonen - drums

Tenor saxophonist, pianist, bandleader, and composer Mark Fransman (b. 1976) hails from Cape Town, South Africa. He graduated in 2000 from the performing artist program of the University of Cape Town's jazz program.

Fransman is a prolific composer. In recent years, he has developed an astonishing playing technique that allows him to play the tenor saxophone and piano simultaneously - the former with his right hand and the latter with his left! This technique serves artistic expression rather than technical gimmickry. Fransman's musical style is typically South African, characterized by captivating melodies and expressive (poly)rhythms.

Mark Fransman has performed with globally renowned artists such as Pharaoh Sanders, Abdullah Ibrahim, and Manu Dibango, as well as many notable figures in South African jazz, including Johnny Clegg, Nduduzo Makhathini, Louis Moholo-Moholo, and Winston Mankunku Ngozi. He has appeared at international festivals: The North Sea Jazz Festival (NLD); Edge of Wrong Festival and Vadsø International Festival (NOR); Swedish Jazz Celebration (SWE); and Euro De Afrique Festival (ITA). In 2023, Fransman spent two months in Chicago and New York with the support of The Transatlantic Jazz Exchange (NY) program. He performed at The Chicago Jazz Festival and The Englewood Jazz Festival with the renowned saxophonist Ernest Dawkins.

As a producer, Mark has twice won the prestigious SAMA (South African Music Award). His latest album, "Introducing Sonik Citizen and Cape Tone," was awarded the best contemporary jazz album of 2023 in South Africa (Mzantsi Jazz Award).

In Finland, Mark Fransman presents the program of his Homage Trio. As the name suggests, it includes new compositions dedicated to South African jazz composers and instrumentalists. He is joined by double bass player Tapani Varis and drummer Simo Laihonen. The rhythmic and melodic expression of Varis and Laihonen brings new nuances to Fransman's compositions.

Musiikkinäyte:

SOINTI JAZZ ORCHESTRA W/ IVO NEAME:

approx. at 6.30pm

Sointi Jazz Orchestra will be joined by British pianist-composer Ivo Neame for a unique joint concert at the Kerava Jazz Festival! The concert will feature Neame's jazz orchestra compositions, written last year as the composer-in-residence for the German Cologne Contemporary Jazz Orchestra, as well as pieces from his own 12-member ensemble's "Glimpses of Truth" album (2021). The versions performed at the concert will be arranged for the Sointi Jazz Orchestra's lineup.

Ivo Neame is an internationally renowned pianist, composer, and bandleader who has established himself as one of the most innovative figures in the contemporary jazz scene. Neame has collaborated with the Frankfurt Radio Big Band and the London Sinfonietta. In addition to his own ensemble, he is especially known for his work with Phronesis and the Marius Neset Quintet, as well as collaborations with Hermeto Pascoal and Kenny Wheeler. Neame's music has been described as an astonishing blend of virtuosity, sophistication, and playfulness.

The compositions to be performed in the concert are characterized by rhythmic richness and harmonic sophistication. They draw influences from various styles, including South Indian classical music, West African music, and contemporary European jazz and classical music. Neame has found inspiration in the writings of authors Roger McGough and Douglas Adams.

Sointi Jazz Orchestra is an innovative 17-member ensemble that, over its 10-year history, has become accustomed to presenting new works tailored specifically for it. The band's unique sound arises from its unusual instrumentation, which makes use of interchangeable instruments. The ensemble specializes in performing primarily new music composed in the 21st century and has collaborated with many distinctive international and domestic guest soloists, such as Mathias Eick, Anders Jormin, Maria Faust, Marius Neset, and Juhani Aaltonen. The ensemble has released five studio albums, one of which, "Kolibri" (2020), was nominated for the 2022 Teosto Award.

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Joonas Haavisto - piano
Kęstutis Vaiginis - saxophones

In the music of Tuusula-based pianist Joonas Haavisto and Lithuanian saxophonist Kęstutis Vaiginis, crystal-clear melodies blend with Baltic melancholy, creating the foundation for a dynamic dialogue. The duo's sound ranges from sacred spaces to wild torrents.

The debut album Moon Bridge was recorded at Oslo's legendary Rainbow Studio and released worldwide by the Japanese label Eight Island in the spring of 2024.

Haavisto and Vaiginis met at the after-jam sessions of Lithuania's largest piano competition, Jazz Improvizacija, in 2006. A musical connection was effortlessly established, and since then, the friends have toured together as a duo, a quartet, and even with a chamber orchestra.

Both musicians have built prominent international careers with their own ensembles. Vaiginis has collaborated with the likes of David Kikoski and Mike Stern. Vaiginis will also perform later in the evening as a member of the Piotr Schmidt Quintet at the festival's main concert.

Haavisto, a Steinway artist, has toured the world with his trio, performing at venues such as the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York and the Tokyo Jazz Festival in Japan.

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