Aurora Hentunen Quintet

In spring 2018, the recording career of pianist-composer Aurora Hentunen (b. 1991) got off to a promising start, but the timing of what followed was unfortunate – albeit through no fault of her own. Hentunen’s second ensemble album Frost (2019), which was more balanced than its predecessor, was released just six months before the COVID-19 pandemic put a long halt to touring, including two already agreed upon European tours. Because of the unavoidable delays, Hentunen is only now coming out with her third album Little Further, five years after the second and just in time for Tampere Jazz Happening.  

Moving little further, at last! And now also with the help of a star guest. One of the tracks on the upcoming album, Gray Waves, features Grammy winner Linda May Han Oh on double bass, a familiar face from several top ensembles.

The album title hides another message, as Hentunen, a long-time Netherlands resident, is also moving forward musically from the frosty “Nordic jazz” of her previous record, which was heavily inspired by pianist-composer Esbjörn Svensson. 

So don’t be surprised if the new album reveals hints of her long-standing interest in electronic indiepop, which was the music of her youth in her hometown of Lappeenranta. Hentunen delves even deeper into the pop side of things with her other band Meow Piglet, which released its debut album Deeper last year with her also on vocals. 

Hentunen, who started playing the piano at the age of five, only became interested in jazz later during her student exchange in the Netherlands. Before that, she had already graduated as a musician from the Kuopio Conservatory and has since completed a degree in music pedagogy at Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences.