EBB - ESPOO BIG BAND
Espoo Big Band - EBB - is one of Finland's leading large jazz orchestras. EBB has performed at several of the world’s most famous jazz festivals - including North Sea Jazz, Detroit, Montreaux and Paris - and released eleven albums. Numerous big stars, such as Freddie Hubbard, Ray Charles, McCoy Tyner and Joe Henderson, have performed with the band as soloists at the April Jazz Festival in Finland, hosted annually by EBB. The band is conducted by Marzi Nyman.
Mikko Innanen + Espoo Big Band + Selma Savolainen
Thu 26th of September at 7 pm
Louhisali, Espoo cultural centre
The internationally acclaimed and multi-awarded Finnish saxophonist Mikko Innanen has arranged a selection of new and old compositions for Espoo Big Band. The vocal soloist of the concert Selma Savolanen is an up-and-coming artisti who was awarded this year's Emma-prize for the bes jazz album. Marzi Nyman will conduct theconcert.
Tickets €31/26 + order fees (from €1.50), Lippu.fi
April Jazz 2024:
Immanuel Wilkins & Espoo Big Band
One of the brightest stars of the new generation of American jazz, saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins performs with Espoo Big Band!
Sat 20th of April at 8pm
April Jazz Festival, Espoo, FInland
The music of saxophonist and composer Immanuel Wilkins is filled with empathy and conviction, bonding arcs of melody and lamentation to pluming gestures of space and breath.
In the latest critics’ referendum of the prestigious American jazz magazine Downbeat, Immanuel Wilkins was voted Best Alto Saxophonist, Best Emerging Composer, and Best Emerging Jazz Group of 2023. An award that seals the young saxophonist’s meteoric career.
Immanuel Wilkins burst onto the music scene in 2020 with the release of his Blue Note recording debut, “Omega”. Although he was just 22 years old at the time of his release, his quartet had been playing together for more than four years, and their cohesion and musicality were reflected in both the maturity of Wilkins’ sound and the sophistication and depth of his compositions. Press accolades and awards soon followed, the record was named the best jazz record of 2020 by the New York Times, the best debut jazz album by NPR radio. The 7th Hand, the follow-up to his critically acclaimed Omega, was included among the 10 Best Jazz albums of 2022 by The New York Times.
Merry, Merry Christmas:
Espoo Big Band feat. Sami Pitkämö & Marika Tuhkala in a swinging Christmas athmosphere
Wed 15 Nov 2023 Tuulensuun Palace, Tampere
Tue 28 Nov 2023 Savoy Theatre, Helsinki
Sat 9 Dec 2023 Tapiola Hall, Espoo
Espoo Big Band, consisting of the country's best and most sought-after musicians, will perform on the Merry, Merry Chiristmas tour with singers Marika Tuhkala and Sami Pitkämö as soloists. Conductor Marzi Nyman has arranged the songs in a swinging form suitable for Espoo Big Band and the soloists.
Some of the songs can be found on EBB's Christmas album, where the band's soloists were Aili Ikonen, Sami Pitkämö, Maria Ylipää and Maarit Hurmerinta. The album also featured guest appearances from American singers Kurt Elling, Ruthie Foster and saxophonist Lenny Pickett.
Honey B & T-Bones 40th Anniversary & Espoo Big Band
Honey B & T-Bones is a classic of Finnish rhythm music. The band recently reached its 40-year milestone, and shows no signs of slowing down, but celebrates the event with, among other things, two different album releases and an audiobook. Qualitatively reliable and always suitably coarse, HBTB develops like a good wine and is always ready to surprise.
Now Honey B & T-Bones join forces with another titan, Espoo Big Band. Honey B & T-Bones in their parade lineup, i.e. as a quartet, will perform with the Espoo Big Band. The material is a mix of completely new material and a carefully selected pieces from along HBTB's career. The new big band arrangements are made by Kirmo Lintinen, Mikko Hassinen, Markus Fagerudd and Timo Hietala, who also acts as the concert's conductor.
VOUTILAINEN, KANNISTO, SIPPOLA
– EBB plays Laura Sippola’s music in Espoo and Porvoo
Espoo Big Band dives into the world of Laura Sippola's songs in two concerts with singers Laura Voutilainen and Jouni Kannisto. The program features Sippola's earlier and newer compositions arranged for EBB and the soloists. Sippola herself joins the Espoo Big Band as a pianist and Marzi Nyman is the conductor
Duration approx. 2h, including intermission
Tickets from €32/€26 + order fee (from €1.50), lippu.fi
Wed 29.3.2023 at 7 pm Tapiolasali / Espoo cultural centre, Espoo
FB Event
Sat 1 April 2023 at 7pm Avanti Hall / Art Factory, Porvoo
FB Event
EBB & LINDA FREDRIKSSON IN ESPOO!
Kerkko Koskinen’s instrumental recording Agatha was released in 2007. The album jumped into the top ten of Finland's official chart the week of its release, and its release concert at the Helsinki Festival was sold out in no time.
In 2022 the legendary composition got a sequel – Agatha 2! The acclaimed jazz musician, saxophonist Linda Fredriksson shines as the soloist of the Espoo Big Band.
Blood Red album release concert in Espoo!
Espoo Big Band feat. Verneri Pohjola
Music by Mikko Hassinen
Thu 16 September 7PM, Espoo Cultural Centre
Tickets from 40/29/24 € + delivery cost (from 1€), Lippu.fi
Espoo Big Band’s 12th album, “Blood Red”, will be released by Galileo Music in both digital and physical (CD) format in September 2021.
Blood Red, composed by Mikko Hassinen, is a kind of soundtrack to a fictional story taking place in late 16th-century Istanbul.
”The inspiration for the composition comes from the wonderful book My Name is Red written by the Nobelists Orhan Pamuk. The music doesn’t describe or explain the story or the characters. Rather, it reflects different feelings evoked by the novel,” Hassinen explains.
The compositions are influenced by both Arbian and Persian music. The influences of Persian music are involved in nuances related to the shapes, scales and rhythms of the songs. The use of live electronics spices up the big band’s already colorful sound.
“I have been interested in Arabic music for a long time and therefore it seemed natural to combine the influences I got from it with jazz. Verneri Pohjola is a great jazz improviser, but he was a natural choice as a soloist also because of his strong lyrical playing style,” says Mikko Hassinen.
The New York City Jazz Record’s Best of 2020 Honorable mention for EBB’s ”Espoo Suite” album
The New York City Jazz Record presents their list of the best albums of 2020. We are super proud of the Honorable Mention for our latest album! Check out the the digital issue for the full list (p.22-23).
Upcoming Concerts
Mikko Innanen + Espoo Big Band + Selma Savolainen
Thu 26 Sep 2024 Espoo Cultural Centre, Espoo
See all concerts here.