TUMfest12 - THE BEST OF FINNISH JAZZ!

TUMfest12 brings the best of Finnish jazz to the Savoy Theatre and Temppeliaukio Church this February. TUMfest12 will once again present many of the top names in Finnish jazz as well as the new 22-piece orchestra TUMO, performing under the leadership of trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith.

Starting on Friday, February 17, TUMfest12 will bring to Helsinki one of the true masters of improvised and creative music: trumpeter and composer Wadada Leo Smith. The three-day festival will also feature the duo of two Finnish jazz icons, saxophonist Juhani Aaltonen and pianist Heikki Sarmanto, saxophonist Hepa Halme´s group Halme Prospekt, trombonist Jari Olavi Hongisto, bassist Teppo Olavi Hauta-aho and drummer Olavi Louhivuori´s Olavi Trio performing with some of their best friends, pianist Esa Helasvuo playing solo, and Helsinki Summit, featuring trumpeter Verneri Pohjola, saxophonist Mikko Innanen and pianist Seppo Kantonen together with TUMO´s visitors from abroad.

Wadada Leo Smith (b. 1941) has been a prominent trailblazer in modern jazz and improvised music for almost five decades. He has played together with saxophonist Anthony Braxton, guitarist Derek Bailey as well as drummers Ed Blackwell and Jack DeJohnette, among many others. Since the beginning of the 1970s, Smith has been leading his own ensembles and, in December 2011, he celebrated his 70th birthday by giving two concerts with six different ensembles at New York´s Roulette Theatre. These included his Golden Quartet and Silver Orchestra along with Mbira, whose first album (Dark Lady Of The Sonnets) TUM Records released last fall.

At TUMfest12, Wadada Leo Smith will perform at two concerts. On Saturday, February 18, on the Savoy Theatre stage he will be leading the new 22-piece orchestra TUMO, featuring not only some of the top musicians in Finland but prominent guests from abroad, including Swedish saxophonist Fredrik Ljungkvist, American bassist John Lindberg and Danish drummer Stefan Pasborg. TUMO will perform compositions by Wadada Leo Smith including "Occupy the World: For Freedom", which received its world premier by Smith´s Silver Orchestra in New York last December. After TUMfest12, Wadada Leo Smith and TUMO will also record the compositions performed at the concert.

Of the other performers, Juhani Aaltonen and Heikki Sarmanto´s duo (Conversations) and Olavi Trio & Friends (Trilogia) released their new albums on TUM Records last year. Halme Prospekt and pianist Esa Helasvuo, whose debut recording was released 40 years ago this year, are in turn currently preparing their new albums.

On Sunday, February 19, Wadada Leo Smith and the rock of Finnish jazz Juhani Aaltonen will conclude the festival with a shared solo concert at the Temppeliaukio Church, famous for its atmospheric acoustics.

TUMfest12 will take place at Helsinki´s Savoy Theatre and Temppeliaukio Church on February 17-19, 2012. The festival is organized by TUM Records Oy.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17 AT 7:00 PM - SAVOY THEATRE
Juhani Aaltonen & Heikki Sarmanto
Halme Prospekt
Olavi Trio & Friends

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18 AT 7:00 PM - SAVOY THEATRE
Esa Helasvuo Solo
Helsinki Summit
Wadada Leo Smith & TUMO

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 19 AT 7:00 PM - TEMPPELIAUKIO CHURCH
Juhani Aaltonen Solo
Wadada Leo Smith Solo

TICKETS
Savoy Theatre one concert € 38/25; two concerts € 60/35
Temppeliaukio Church € 18/12

ADVANCE
Lippupalvelu
Savoy Theatre
Digelius Music

ARTIST PROMO IMAGES
www.tumrecords.com/tumfest12/photos

MORE INFO
TUM Records
www.tumrecords.com/tumfest12
Mobile +358 50 412 9496, Risto Nevanlinna