Trumpet player Jukka Eskola (b. 1978) has delighted the Finnish jazz scene with his music for twenty years. Eskola has played dozens of times with UMO’s trumpet section but now that Eskola is celebrating his 20-year long career in music he plays his first concert as the soloist of the orchestra. In the last lunch concert of the spring season, UMO presents compositions from Eskola’s exhaustive list of recordings in soul and bossa nova. The conductor of the concert, Mikko Hassinen, has made fresh big band arrangements of these compositions.

– It brings water to my mouth to think about this collaborative concert. I already know the orchestra and its fantastic musicians very well, and I’m very happy to be finally able to play my own music with them. I’m confident that the new versions of the songs will sound fabulous. It’s an even greater honour to celebrate my jubilee year with UMO, Eskola enthuses.

In addition to his own bands Jukka Eskola Soul Trio, Jukka Eskola Quintet and Jukka Eskola Orquestra Bossa, the busy trumpeter has played in the groups Five Corners Quintet and Ricky-Tick Big Band. Eskola has six solo albums, about 200 album tracks, Pori Jazz Artist of the Year award, several Emma nominations, theatre productions and many teaching posts under his belt. Eskola also plays in orchestras of various television programs.

The concert is played at Savoy Theatre at 12–1 p.m. and is free of charge. It is possible to book a ticket for free from the outlets of City of Helsinki Cultural office (Savoy Theatre, Vuotalo, Malmitalo, Stoa or Kanneltalo) or for a fee of €1 from Lippupiste.

Lunch is served next door at restaurant Presto before and after the concert (from €10.30). The meal is not compulsory, so you can just walk in and enjoy the concert.

Production: UMO Jazz Orchestra, Savoy Theatre, and restaurant Presto.