Vocalist Aija Puurtinen and pianist Seppo Kantonen join UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra in October, tackling the poetic works of Finnish writer Tyyne Saastamoinen. So far, Saastamoinen’s poems have never been set to music on this scale before. Written by Puurtinen and Kantonen – both together and separately – all the compositions to be heard have been penned specifically for the occasion. The arrangements and orchestrations are courtesy of Kantonen and Sampo Kasurinen, and Mikko Hassinen will take the conductor’s podium.

The arrangements for the concerts are exceptional: tickets are sold for only 200 people, and the audience is seated in the Savoy’s auditorium for 750 people with fair safety intervals. There are only single,  double and quartet ticket packages on sale, which can be purchased only at Lippu.fi online store. The seats are positioned so that the audience does not come into close contact with each other or the performers. Duration about 75 minutes, no intermission. Audience safety at concerts >>

Journalist, novelist and poet Tyyne Saastamoinen (1924–1998) was known as a cosmopolite of Finnish lyric and prose poetry. Her delicate and lyrical pieces are often pervaded by dark tones and a mythical ambience, exploring the borderland between dream and reality. Recurring themes include isolation, loneliness, longing, birth, death and Finnish nature. The concert features a selection of poems from different periods of her considerable oeuvre.

Puurtinen and Kantonen may work in different circles when it comes to their own bands but their creative paths have crossed several times before. This project has seen them adopt a particular co-writing method: one has picked up where the other left off – without direction from the other.

– We are conscious that this may result in happy accidents, if you like. On the other hand, these artistic collisions may bring some interesting synthesis to the music, Puurtinen and Kantonen conclude.

Aija Puurtinen (b. 1959) is known as the charismatic singer and leading figure for the group Honey B & T-Bones. Apart from that, she is a composer, song-writer and holds a doctorate in music. She is also a pop and jazz voice lecturer, Head of Music Education Department in the Sibelius Academy and the Artistic Director of the Sibafest 2020. In addition to the 15 albums released with Honey B & T-Bones, she has issued six solo albums. On the newest, the 2019 Lännen maata, she mixes the Finnish and English languages ingeniously with her group Brooklynin Satu. Puurtinen has appeared on stage with the likes of Riku Niemi Orchestra, HumpAvanti, Tuomari Nurmio, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Jyväskylä Symphony Orchestra and as the soloist of Jovanka Trbojević’s contemporary piece Hello, darling – nothing personal. She has written music for cinema and theatre, pieces for choirs, chamber orchestras and classical soloists. Her Sámi song cycle, Beaivi áhčážan, composed for soprano and four cellos, has been performed at numerous Finnish festivals, at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg and at a Slovenian contemporary music festival.

Pianist-composer Seppo Kantonen (b. 1963) is a long-standing Finnish jazz musician with a strikingly versatile career. The keys wizard has played with UMO Helsinki on and off since the mid-1980s, and through his collaborations with such defining names as Eero Koivistoinen, Pekka Pohjola, Mikko Innanen, J. Karjalainen, Ismo Alanko and Remu Aaltonen he has been heavily involved in developing both Finnish jazz and rock music. In addition to his work in the more popular genres, Kantonen is also well-versed in classical music having featured as a soloist for the likes of Chamber Orchestra Avanti!, Oulu Symphony Orchestra and Kymi Sinfonietta. His own groups include Kahden miehen galaksi, Klang and Tokka. He has appeared on roughly 200 recordings and to list all the projects that he has contributed to makes a near-endless CV. Kantonen was only 22 years of age when was decorated with the Finnish Yrjö Jazz Prize.

Photo: Hans Andersson