Jarmo Savolainen passed away

Jarmo Savolainen overleden ( Nederlands) Jarmo Savolainen passed away ( English)

A rather extensive JARMO SAVOLAINEN DISCOGRAPHY

Suomalaisista jazzmuusikoista (1961 - 2009)
JARMO SAVOLAINEN PASSED AWAY
Hans Koert

Last week I heard the sad news about the death of the Finnish piano player Jarmo Savolainen. He passed away on the 11th of June, 2009. He was one of the best Finnish jazz musicians and a sought after accompanist. He had celebrated his 48th birthday on the 24th of May.
I learned about the death of Jarmo on the day that the world mourned about the death of that other musician Michael Jackson – breaking news – heads in the news papers – rumours - specials on all networks; the passing of Jarmo Savolainen compared to the death of MJ. – only noted by the Finnish news papers and Finnish networks YLE Suomi Radio: Jazzmuusikko Jarmo Savolainen kuoli sairauskohtaukseen Helsingissä 11. kesäkuuta. Hän oli 48-vuotias, syntynyt Iisalmessa 24. toukokuuta 1961. Savolainen oli yksi kansainvälisesti menestyneimmistä suomalaisista jazzmuusikoista.

Born in the centre of Finland ( Suomi) he learned to play the piano when he was a kid. He played classical piano, until he became fascinated by great keyboard players like Chick Corea and Keith Jarrett. His first album as a classic piano player was with the Kuopio Symphony Orchestra, but soon he decided to change the direction of his career and became a jazz piano player. Like so many jazz musician he studied at the Berklee College of Music in Boston (US) for two years, before he left the institute. He had played with musicians like Tom Harrell, Bob Berg and Wallace Roney; all three musicians active in modern jazz for years; Bob Berg passed away December 2002.
Love to share with you a live film fragment from the start of his career ( 1979 ) with a Finnish vocalist and guitar player Liisa Tavi, who once sung at the European Song Contest for Finland and developed into a skilled bossa nova vocalist in the 1990s with a group featuring Pekka Tegelman, guitar; Jarmo Savolainen, keys; Raimo Salmiheimo, bass and Seppo Rauteva, drums. Although Jarmo is rather invisible on this pop tune you can hear him playing the keyboards.

In the late 1980s he recorded several albums in Boston, but also in New York ( Nonet – Blue Dreams – First Sight and in 1995 True Image). The rhythm section of the two latter are with Ron McClure on bass and Billy Hart on drums.

A few weeks ago I found at a sale in de Drvkkery in Middelburg, one of the best assorted book / record shops in the south west part of The Netherlands, the album True Image ( A-Records AL 73031). On the album three guests: Tim Hagans, trumpet player, David Liebman soprano sax and Karl Heinilä, a Finnish reed player on the tenor. This album contains eight Jarmo Savolainen compositions, like the title song True Image, Down The line, Inky-Pinky and Inseparable. Jarmo’s compositions are wide ranging and they offer the player a wonderful balance between loose and structured improvisational settings, Liebman writes in the liner notes. On the album two line ups. The first half contains a quintet with Tim Hagans and Karl Heinillä as guest players and the second part contains a quartet with David Liebman. This album was recorded in March 1994 in the year that Jarmo received the Georgie Award by the Finnish Jazz Federation.

Jarmo Savolainen Trio with Alberto Luccas and Markku Ounaskari

In the late 1990s he often played with Scandinavian musicians like Kari Heinila, Anders Jormin and Markku Ounaskari. In our country Jarmo performed with the "other Jarmo", Jarmo Hoogendijk, thanks to his mother of Finnish blood too, which I heard in concert on trumpet in the Porgy en Bess Jazz Club in Terneuzen with Herb Geller and John Ruocco and the Rein De Graaff Trio, October 2002. Jarmo Savolainen belonged to the most important jazz musicians of Finland and was a sought after accompanist, not only for jazz sessions, but also as a classic piano soloist with orchestras like the Finnish National Opera or the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, or the Avanti Chamber Orchestra. He was member for years of the band of Pekka Pohojola, the UMO Jazz Orchestra and the Espoo Big Band.

Love to share with you a solo piano piece, titled Asperine Song, like the second fragment of this blog, recorded in Sao Paulo ( Brasil) a year ago, which shows why I’m fascinated by this great, almost unknown jazz piano player and composer.

A great piano player !

Hans Koert

keepswinging@live.nl

A rather extensive JARMO SAVOLAINEN DISCOGRAPHY

Hans Koert

KUOPIO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: ? ( 1980s)
JARMO SAVOLAINEN NONET: Finnish Jazz ( 1 track) ( 1984)
Nonet ( 1985)
SEPPO KANTONEN-JARMO SAVOLAINEN Phases ( 1987)
Blue Dreams ( 1987)
MAKE LIEVONEN-JARMO SAVOLAINEN Loru ( 1988)
JARMO SAVOLAINEN: Songs For Solo Piano ( 1989-1990)
JARMO SAVOLAINEN QUINTET: First Sight (1991)
JUKA LINKOLA : Sketches From Karelia ( 1992)
ESPOO BIG BAND: EBB plays Carla Bley ( 1993)
JUKA LINKOLA: The Tentet ( 1994)

JARMO SAVOLAINEN QUINTET / QUARTET True Image ( 1994)
ZONE : First Definition ( 1994)
JARMO SAVOLAINEN TRIO : John’s Son ( 1994-1996)
THE CASE : Codes ( 1996)
UMO JAZZ ORCHESTRA : The Electrifying Miles ( 1997)
JARMO SAVOLAINEN QUINTET: Another Story (1997)

JUKKIS UOTILA: Hunters and Gatherers ( 1997)
KLAUS SUONSAARI – Something in Common ( 1998) ( 2 tracks)
UMO JAZZ ORCHESTRA: Day Dreamin’ – The music of Billy Strayhorn (1998)
UMO JAZZ ORCHESTRA: Transit People (2000)
SUHKAN UHKA – Suhka (2002)
JARMO SAVOLAINEN: Solo, Duo, Trio ( 2002)JARMO SAVOLAINEN-MARIA YLIPAA (2004)
JARMO SAVOLAINEN TRIO: Songs For Trio ( 2006)
JULIAN F. THAYER: Zaku ( 2007)


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