Some of Finland’s most prominent and promising jazz musicians are preparing a jazzy treat for your ears and feet for Helswingi’s Sunday party.
Jukka Perko and his partners in jazz, alias the PreBoppers , will play true footpattin’ music that has the high-end quality to be enjoyed by a sitting or dancing audience alike.
Musicians:
Jukka Perko – saksophone
Tomi Kettunen – guitar
Arto Ikävalko – piano
Eero Seppä – bass
Teppo Mäkynen – drums
WATCH THEM PLAY
MUSICIANS’ SPOTLIGHT
Arto Ikävalko (b. 1992) is an upcoming jazz pianist with Master's degree from the prestigious Sibelius Academy. Arto’s talents are utilized at several different ensembles and he has performed with some of the best Finnish musicians (e.g. Jukka Perko, Jukka Eskola, Kalevi Louhivuori). He has a strong concept of improvisation and a delicate sense of accompanying. Alongside of being intense group player and soloist, he has a fresh compositional style.
Eero Seppä (b.1990) is a jazz bass wizard from Tampere. Eero started playing electric bass at the age of 11 and moved to jazz music when he became enthusiastic about the double bass at the age of 16. Also he studied jazz in the jazz department of the Sibelius Academy. He can also be heard in the bands Sami Saari and Jazzpojat and Pepe Willberg & Jukka Eskola Statement.
Tomi Kettunen (b. 1982) started his musical journey at a very young age. Meanwhile his neighbor drummer was practising in the garage nearby, Tomi gathered his mom’s pans and pots to the terrace and tried to compete with him. Soon he found himself taking lessons for drumming and guitar. Since then, he has become one of the top Gypsy Jazz guitar players in Finland performing at festivals, clubs and different groups like Hot Jazz Oh La La, Jukka Perko PreBoppers, Tomi Kettunen Trio, Wanha Swengi, Django Collective Helsinki, Modern Gypsy Jazz Caravan and The Ginger Sisters.
Teppo Mäkynen (b.1974) is a soulfully swinging phenomenon in our latitudes. He has drummed in countless Finnish bands, like Jukka Perko's Hurmio Orchestra, Manu Dunkel's Quartet and Finland’s most successful jazz bandl The Five Corners Quintet. Mäkynen's own bands and projects Teddy Rok Seven, Stance Brothers and 3TM have achieved international success, some of them thanks to their danceability even outside traditional jazz circles. Teppo is also a DJ, composer and record producer.
Jukka Perko (born 1968) got attention from a big audience already in 1986 when he performed at Pori Jazz festival at only eighteen years of age. His performances were praised and his talent compared to the young Charlie Parker, and his career got an unexpected kick-start.
Already one year later the bebop skills of the young talent were put to an incredible test : legendary Dizzy Gillespie recruited the young Perko into his big band. He travelled and performed as sideman of the band for two years in Europe and the US. Since that tour he has played both as soloist and with his numerous bands on all continents in more than 30 countries.
Perko has roots in classical music and jazz music alike. Since 2002 Perko is also the artistic leader of Viapori Jazz, the jazzfestival organized in Suomenlinna, Helsinki. Besides being one of Finland’s leading jazz musicians, he is also a sought-after teacher, speaker and lecturer.
For Jukka Perko, music is existence. He learned to play as he learned to speak, by listening and mimicking. Perko approaches music from silence and describes his attitude towards playing and composing as balancing between perfectionism and coming to terms with incompleteness. That is perhaps the reason why his notes ring with what some might call grace.