The 42nd International Tampere Jazz Happening will take place on 2-5.11.2023. The festival will bring artists from the United States, Australia, Germany and South Africa to Tampere. A domestic highlight will be the release concert of Verneri Pohjola’s Monkey Mind album.
Top names of international jazz at the Pakkahuone
The Pakkahuone four concert events – one on Friday, two on Saturday and one on Sunday – will be filled with top international jazz. Each event will feature three ensembles.
The most distant artists this time come from Australia, South Africa and the United States. The Sydney-based trio Brekky Boy is now coming to Finland for the first time. Pianist Nduduzo Makhathini already captivated the Finnish audiences last summer with his sympathetic performance at Pori Jazz. There will be three US line-ups: Marcus Strickland Twi-Life, José James and Joel Ross “Good Vibes”.
German artists will be represented by Daniel Erdmann’s Velvet Revolution and Julia Hülsmann Quartet, as well as Kuu!, led by Kalle Kalima, a Finn who has lived in Berlin for a long time. British talent is represented by saxophonist Camilla George, whose music combines jazz, hip hop and Afrobeat, and the Ukrainian-British Alina Bzhezhinska HipHarp Collective.
The programme is completed by Nordic jazz, which is represented by Goran Kajfeš Subtrobic Arkestra, who is now performing for the first time in Finland, and the launch gig of Verneri Pohjola’s long-awaited Monkey Mind album.
Spotlight on Germany
The Tampere Jazz Happening’s theme country, Germany, is particularly visible in the free concerts. The festival opens at the Klubi with Thursday’s event, the Spotlight on Germany concert featuring singer Kira Hummen and her band, and the Dudek, Hauptmann, Goller & Berger quartet. One of the artists of the evening, Salomea, has had to cancel her performance due to illness.
The festival admission is also free for the Sunday closing concert, where X NOSACRUM led by trombonist Janning Trumann will take to the Telakka stage.
Finnish jazz at Telakka, afro-rhythms at the Klubi
Domestic jazz will be played above all at the Telakka. Friday’s concert will be launched by Uusi Aika conducted by Otto Eskelinen. Alongside the Laurell & Sun Dog duo formed by Valtteri Pöyhönen and Eeti Nieminen, the Happening will see a host of familiar guests. The evening will end with the jazz fusion band Peela. On Saturday, Telakka will host the original and personal Silva Kallionpää Quartet, Max Zenger Globus, who delights with the richness of his sound, and multi-instrumentalist Jimi Tenoria and his band.
The eight-piece London Afrobeat Collective and the French-Ethiopian Kutu will be performing for the jazz crowd on the late weekend nights at the Klubi.
The Finnish Jazz Association rewards excellence and talent
The special recognition given to Finland’s most appreciated jazz musician, the Yrjö Award – granted by the Finnish Jazz Federation – is to be presented for the tenth time as part of the Tampere Jazz Happening. The Jazz Union’s new annual Taimi Prize is awarded to a young musician who is passionate about developing his musical expression. With this award – being presented for the first time in 2023 – the Finnish Jazz Federation wishes to encourage young people in the search for their own voice and in bringing it to the fore.
Photo: Nduduzo Makhathini © Simone Addari
