www.rajatsi.fi/en/rantajatsit/

Jazz on the Beach (Raahen Rantajatsit), which has now got a new event director, relies on the appeal of Finnish music but of course it features a few international top guests. Monk’s Casino, a quintet led by the legendary German pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach, serves music of another legend, pianist/composer Thelonius Monk (1917-82) from a whole new perspective. Alongside the maestro, Axel Dörner on trumpet and Rudi Mahall on clarinet bring unprecedented soloist power into the group – without forgetting bold humour.

The musicians in the French Marc Ducret Trio are all experienced visitors to Finland, but you always enjoy listening to this groovy power trio. The charming bassist Bruno Chevillon and the inventive drummer Eric Echampard see to it that the versatility of Marc Ducret on guitar comes out as well as possible.

The concert in Fantti will rightfully be opened by a tribute to Pekka Pohjola, who passed away just before last Christmas. His sons Verneri and Ilmari have reassembled the band Vähällä Sähköllä (On Low Electric Power), which was Pohjola’s last active ensemble. The electric bass guitar has now been replaced by Ville Herrala’s upright bass because, according to Verneri ‘father thought there should have been an upright bass in this band’.

The stage of the Bio Huvimylly movie theatre will be taken over by a true Finnish jazz supergroup. Raoul Björkenheim’s and Juhani ‘Junnu’ Aaltonen’s quartet shows that improvised music at its best can be a real packet of energy. Aaltonen (born in 1935), who recently received the Finnish State Award for Music, and Raoul Björkenheim, a guitar wizard working in Helsinki and New York take the listener beyond time and place.

The diverse jazz celebration also features the two-times Emma award winners, the highly popular Five Corners Quintet, Teppo Mäkynen’s sympathetic brother project called The Stance Brothers, the soul band of Janna Hurmerinta from the Hurmerinta family of artists, the lovely Johanna Iivanainen, as well as Black Motor, an energetic trio from Tampere. The local bands Harmaja and Waterhead are going to lift the mood to the top right from the start at Ruiskuhuone and on Härkätori. Children’s jazz in Fantti will be served by Paukkumaissi, a group with eight members. Their ethno- and reggae-influenced music works also for adults.

Let’s meet in Raahe 23-25 July 2009!