Sanni Orasmaa - Voice and Grand Piano

Sanni Orasmaa is a Finnish singer, composer, and educator whose musical world is built on improvisation, the human voice, and interdisciplinary artistic collaboration. Her path travels somewhere between Joni Mitchell, Nina Simone, Karin Krog, and Cassandra Wilson – yet she remains entirely her own.

Over the course of a three-decade international career, Orasmaa has performed at jazz clubs and festivals from New York to Europe and Asia. She has taught jazz vocals at institutions such as the University of Music and Performing Arts in Munich, the University of Tampere, and the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music. Recently, she has focused on developing her SoundByNature® platform, which combines music, education, and nature-based approaches.

At the Kerava Jazz Festival, Orasmaa returns to her roots with a solo concert accompanied by a grand piano. This intimate setting reveals the essence of her musical voice – the sensitivity and strength that have made her one of the most distinctive interpreters of Finnish jazz vocals. The concert is built around presence and spontaneity, with the program shaped by the mood of the evening.

"I firmly believe that every person has their own voice," says Orasmaa. This belief shines through in everything she does – whether reinterpreting jazz standards, performing her own compositions, or in the unique way she connects with her audience.

Music sample:

Sami Pekkola - saxophones
Tuure Tammi - trumpet
Tero Kemppainen - double bass
Simo Laihonen - drums

Known for their energetic live performances, Oaagaada’s concerts shift with the moment and mood. The band’s music flows through a wide emotional range – from powerful surges to meditative calm. At the heart of it all is the timeless joy and power of playing together. The group is deeply committed to exploring new ways of making collective music.

Formed in 2017, the band consists of seasoned musicians and veterans of the free jazz scene. Saxophonist Sami Pekkola, trumpeter Tuure Tammi, double bassist Tero Kemppainen, and drummer Simo Laihonen are based in Hämeenlinna, where they work out of the Odd Funk Records studio.

The American publication Bandcamp Daily featured their debut album Music of Oaagaada (We Jazz Records) on its Best of Jazz – November 2024 list.

"The Finnish quartet Oaagaada runs wild and free, but there’s a gracefulness to their music’s motion" – Dave Sumner / Bandcamp Daily

"Great Nordic free jazz" – One Man's Jazz / All About Jazz

Music sample:

Elina Brooks - vocals, bucket bass, piano
Maija Kurki - vocals, percussion
Saana Trygg-Nevanlinna - vocals, accordion, ukulele
Mikko "Gunu" Karjalainen -trumpet, piano
Veikki Virkajärvi - guitar
Esko Grundström - bass
Sam Ospovat - drums

The sensational seven-member band Mimie Moore Jazz Edition is arriving at Kerava Jazz as part of their 10 Years of Sweetness anniversary tour!

Mimie Moore is a surprising acoustic trio of three women – Elina Brooks, Maija Kurki, and Saana Trygg-Nevanlinna.

Their music wildly gallops between moods, boldly embracing even the kitschiest tones, with rich vocal harmonies roaring across a spectrum of humor and seriousness. Mimie Moore’s unique, rootsy sound – featuring vocals, bucket bass, accordion, and even washboards – gives new music a flavor of the old world. Known for their compelling stage presence, the trio tells deeply human stories through music, navigating life’s emotional waves with both tenderness and fearless honesty.

Over the years, the group has performed at events across Finland and Germany, collaborating with numerous bands and musicians. The trio was awarded in the Basso Radio NOST€ competition and has produced music for projects such as the Finnish national skateboarding team.

In 2025, Mimie Moore celebrates ten years of performing with a special anniversary tour: "10 Years of Honey." For this occasion, they expand into a seven-member ensemble – Mimie Moore Jazz Edition. In this extended lineup, the trio’s bold lyrics, strong melodies, and lush harmonies are joined by the virtuosity of top-tier jazz musicians. With bassist Esko Grundström, trumpeter-pianist Mikko "Gunu" Karjalainen, guitarist Veikki Virkajärvi, and American drummer Sam Ospovat, the band’s self-proclaimed "soul-jazz" sound takes on a captivating new dimension.

The concert is organized with the support of the Arts Promotion Centre Finland.

Music sample:

As part of the festival, Kerava Jazz hosts its traditional jam session, where attending musicians dive into the world of jazz standards. The house band is led by guitarist Lasse Keso, who also serves as the jam session host.

THE WATERCOLORS:

Janne Saarinen - oboe, English horn, compositions
Aino Rautakorpi - violin
Helena Dumell - viola
Saara Viika - cello
Ilkka Uksila - vibraphone
Joonas Tuuri - double bass
Joonas Leppänen - drums

Founded in 2018, The Watercolors is a recently expanded seven-member jazz ensemble performing the compositions of oboist Janne Saarinen. The group’s unique instrumentation includes oboe, violin, viola, cello, vibraphone, double bass, and drums. Their music paints melodic "jazz watercolors" that blend spontaneous jazz improvisation, rich harmonies, and swinging rhythms with the tonal colors and textures often associated with classical music.

The name The Watercolors is no coincidence: the ensemble sounds like a translucent painting where each instrument leaves its own brushstroke on the canvas. Saarinen’s oboe often lingers gracefully along melodic lines, allowing space around it - while also tracing a strong, recognizable thread through the music.

The group’s musicians are well-known from projects such as Sointi Jazz Orchestra, Joonas Tuuri Quartet, Alder Ego, Uksila Exile, Trio Nox, and Café de Ajebas.

Music sample:

AKI RISSANEN HYPERREAL:

approx. at 6.30pm

Aki Rissanen - piano, synthesizers
Verneri Pohjola - trumpet
Robert Ikiz - drums

Hyperreal is pianist and composer Aki Rissanen’s musical vision of an electronic world - a powerful, contemporary trio featuring trumpeter Verneri Pohjola and drummer Robert Ikiz. This trio of top-tier musicians combines Nordic jazz, experimental sound art, and Middle Eastern rhythms into an intense and multifaceted whole.

"Hyperreal’s music is inspired by the era of change we are currently living in," Rissanen explains. "As reality rapidly transforms into AI-created virtual or hyperreality, we need to be aware of this and adapt to distinguish what is real and what is not."

Hyperreal blends the clear tones of Nordic jazz with Middle Eastern instruments and rhythms, electronics, and early ’90s breakbeats. The music originated in France, where Rissanen lived from 2021 to 2022. "The art-saturated, open-minded atmosphere encouraged me to take a leap into something new. I wanted to create music that combines diverse influences - with electronic keyboards and computer-built soundscapes playing a central role."

The band formed naturally from two long-term collaborations: Rissanen has played duo projects with both Verneri Pohjola and Robert Ikiz. Now they meet as a trio, moving fluidly between acoustic sensitivity and electronic power, improvisation and structure, clarity and chaos.

Music sample:

Hildegunn Øiseth - trumpet, goat horn
Per Oddvar Johansen - drums
Espen Berg - piano
Magne Thormodsæter - double bass

Norwegian jazz trumpeter Hildegunn Øiseth (b. 1966) is known for her original way of blending modern jazz with folk music traditions from around the world.

Øiseth’s journey into jazz began with several years playing in the Swedish Bohuslän Big Band. To deepen her musical worldview, she moved to Cape Town for two years, where she immersed herself in local jazz and traditional music. At the same time, she began exploring Sámi music and discovered surprising connections to South African traditions.

Later, during travels to Pakistan, Øiseth compared local raga scales to Norwegian folk music. She found an unexpected link between the two cultures: the goat horn, used both in Norwegian folk tradition and Sufi ceremonies in Pakistan. She has learned to use this instrument’s dark, archaic sound in her own modern jazz, while also treating the trumpet as a contemporary form of the goat horn, utilizing effects to create a new, emotionally powerful voice.

Øiseth’s music naturally and richly combines Nordic folk heritage, jazz, and world music. She is fearless in exploring diverse cultures and sounds, blending them in an original and uncompromising style. Additionally, she is a politically engaged artist who addresses themes such as refugee experiences and the victims of war in her music.

On her latest album, Garden on the Roof (2025), Øiseth takes her unique jazz expression even further - toward a more personal, profound, and culturally layered sound. The album features melodies played on both trumpet and goat horn, moving at the intersection of modern jazz, Nordic folk tradition, and world music.

Hildegunn Øiseth has previously performed in Finland at April Jazz, as a member of the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra and Marilyn Mazur’s Shamania Orchestra.

Music sample:

Kerava Parish organizes a jazz mass alongside the worship service, where the music, communal hymns, and solo performances reflect the true spirit of the jazz world.

Muusikot:

Saku Mattila - guitar,
Teemu Keränen - bass,
Sami Koskela - drums,
Joonatan Rautio - saxophone and piano,
Heli Kaasalainen - vocals

Tuomas Talvi - double bass
Sami Leponiemi - tenor- and sopranosaksophone
Jesse Vilhomaa - altosaxophone
Arttu Huopainen - drums
Pyry Brandt - piano

Tuomas Talvi, who grew up in Kerava and completed his basic studies at the local music institute, is a versatile music professional: composer, bandleader, bassist, teacher, Master of Music from the Sibelius Academy, as well as a partner and all-rounder at Bopcat Records.

Talvi returns to his roots by bringing his own quintet to the stage of Kerava Hall. The band’s repertoire consists mainly of Talvi’s compositions and a few cover pieces by some of his favorite composers.

The band’s style is strongly modern "mainstream" jazz, which nowadays is a broad concept and reflected in the wide range of Talvi’s sources of inspiration. His compositions feature details and highlights from almost all jazz styles, with special mentions including Afro-Cuban jazz, certain avant-garde nuances, and fusion-influenced R&B elements from the 70s and 80s. Additionally, Talvi’s interest in various grooves and rhythms shapes the repertoire.

Sample music: Tuomas Talvi’s first album title track, "I'm Not a Robot".

Helmi Antila - vocals, piano
Tuomo Purhonen - bass
Mooses Kuloniemi - drums
Mikko Antila - vibraphone

Helmi Antila (b. 2000) is a singer-songwriter, pianist, and violinist. In November 2024, she was awarded the Taimi Prize by the Finnish Jazz Federation as a young jazz talent.

"Helmi Antila is a musician who radiates light and inspiration around her. She is a multi-instrumentalist who masters her instruments with confidence and combines technical skill with artistic sensitivity. Helmi’s strong personal voice and determined approach create the impression of someone who does not follow predetermined paths but boldly walks her own way," describes Henriika Steidel-Luoto, a member of the award jury from the Jazz Federation’s board.

The Helmi Antila Quartet, led by Antila and adored by audiences, is a band made up of talented young musicians playing songs composed and written in Finnish by Antila. At the core of the songs lie rich harmonic worlds and honest, personal lyrics dealing with themes of youth, nature, love, and human relationships. The quartet’s players have become known from bands such as Saimaa, Honey B & T Bones, Peela, and Stance Brothers.

Kuohu Records released Antila’s highly anticipated debut album, Kuvia nuoruudesta (Pictures of Youth), on March 7, 2025.

Music sample:

Pentti Lahti - saxophones
Seppo Sundström - keyboards, vocals
Jarmo Hynninen - guitar
Jan-Olof Strandberg - electric bass
Bruno Korpela - drums
Juha Tanninen - percussion

If there were a vote for "the most famous person from Kerava", Pena Lahti would be number one! And rightly so - everyone knows Pena, especially in music circles. Pena is truly a "living legend".

His extensive musical achievements are still well remembered: longtime saxophonist and lead voice in the UMO Jazz Orchestra, frequent performer at festivals with Eero Hämeenniemi’s Nada band, his own projects including Pena-klubi and Baranbara, bands of Maarit, Kirka, Olavi Virta, and many others. Pena has worked hard throughout his career and continues to do so!

David Sanborn is among Pena’s favorite saxophonists. Sanborn’s trademark is the alto saxophone’s powerful, bright, and pure sound with clear articulation. Pena masters all of these qualities, along with many other playing styles.

Music sample:

USA:n länsirannikon beatrunoutta ja jazzimprovisaatioita

Heikki "Mike" Koskinen (Oakland, Kalifornia): sähkötrumpetti
Rent Romus (Richmond, Kalifornia): saxophones ja flutes
Elihu Knowles (Richmond, Kalifornia): koskettimet & drums.
Jazzpastori Markku Salo (Kerava, Suomi): runot

(suomeksi Jack Kerouacia, Lawrence Ferlinghettia, Gregory Corsoa, Gary Snyderiä ym.)

Konsertin ensimmäisessä osiossa trion muusikoiden sävellyksiä ja jälkimmäisessä runoja sekä vapaata improvisaatiota.

Kyseessä on Markku Salon ensimmäisen levytyksen "JazzPreacher and The Otherworld Ensemble" julkaisutilaisuus. Levyn nimi vielä avoin, julkaisija Edgetone Records, Richmond (CA).