UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra tackles the music of its new Artistic Director and Chief Conductor, Ed Partyka, for the first time in a full-length concert! The programme will focus on Partyka’s newest albums Kopfkino and In The Tradition which he has recorded with his own group, Ed Partyka Jazz Orchestra. Jazz vocalist Nina Mya debuts as UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra’s soloist in this concert series.

Trombonist, composer, arranger and conductor Ed Partyka (b. 1967) was born in the United States but removed to Europe almost 30 years ago. Today based in Austria, he acts as UMO Helsinki’s Artistic Director and Chief Conductor in 2020–2021. He has collaborated with a number of renowned European big bands, including the German hr-Bigband and NDR Bigband and worked as a guest conductor, artistic planner and arranger for the Vienna Jazz Orchestra and Zurich Jazz Orchestra. Besides leading his own group, the Ed Partyka Jazz Orchestra, Partyka has collaborated with the likes of Bob Brookmeyer, Carla Bley, Robben Ford and even the Finnish pop-rock group Sunrise Avenue. He is the department chairman of the Jazz Institute at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz and teaches composition in the University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Lucerne, Switzerland. Partyka is known as a first-class orchestra leader and expert on orchestral musicianship.

Nina Mya is a rewarded Finnish jazz singer, composer and vocal teacher. She has published three albums as a band leader: Flying Solo (2012), Our Time (2014) and Closure (2016), which was also published and praised in Germany. She has performed all around the world in big arenas, festivals and clubs. Besides of her own band she has performed and recorded also as a featuring artist with many big names in the music industry, such as Frank McComb, Tia Fuller, Iiro Rantala and Jukkis Uotila. Mya has a dark, technically impressive voice and she is a soulful and strong interpreter who combines jazz, soul and gospel influences in a unique way.

”Ed Partyka’s imagination and skills range far across the expectations of customary big band arrangements. Where others would write flatly, he combines with a fine sense strong rhythms, voluminous wind instruments, precise breaks and tender interludes with complex voice leading.” Werner Stiefele, Journalist

”Two most recent albums [of Ed Partyka Jazz Orchestra] reflect a distinct musical personality and, often, his relaxed and refreshing approach to serious music.” Artsjournal.com