Vibrafonist Severi Pyysalo (b. 1967) made his final breakthrough in 1984 at the Pori Jazz Festival when singer Sarah Vaughan and saxophonist Paquito D’Rivera invited him to perform with them. Since then, Pyysalo has performed with various groups in Finland and abroad, including with Swedish bassist Anders Jormin and Danish pianist Thomas Clausen as well as with Finnish bands The Five Corners Quintet and Perko-Pyysalo Poppoo. Pyysalo was awarded the Yrjö prize in 1988 and in 1993 he was honoured as the European jazz soloist of the year and the Young artist of the year of the Pori Jazz Festival.

Aside his career in jazz, Pyysalo’s compositions have been played by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra. He has also composed music to Grimm’s fairy tales. Pyysalo has collaborated with UMO as a soloist, composer and arranger.

In this concert, Pyysalo and UMO play mostly the soloist’s own compositions. The conductor of the concert is Mikko Hassinen.

The concert is played at Savoy Theatre 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.