Tampere Jazz Happening programme published

The 44th international Tampere Jazz Happening will be held from 30 October to 2 November 2025.

Due to renovation work on the Tullikamari venue, the Jazz Happening has now been partly moved to new premises: the international concerts will be held at Paja Kongressi, which is part of Hotel Torni Tampere, and the Small Auditorium of Tampere Hall. As usual, the Finnish jazz contingent will perform at Telakka.

The three concerts to be held at Paja Kongressi – one on Friday and two on Saturday – are full of current jazz names. Mary Halvorson from the United States was chosen as the 2025 Guitarist of the Year and her ensemble, Amaryllis, was chosen as the 2025 Group of the Year in the traditional DownBeat magazine Critics Poll. Her compatriot James Brandon Lewis, who will be performing in Tampere with his quartet, was named the Artist of the Year and Tenor Saxophonist of the Year in the same poll.

Representing the younger end of the American musicians, saxophonist Tomoki Sanders, whose father was Pharoah Sanders, is a high-profile figure in the next generation of New York jazz. Drummer Hamid Drake, who played with Pharoah Sanders when Tomoki was still a small child, will this time be performing together with Finnish guitarist Kalle Kalima and German trombonist Conny Bauer. This marks the first time these three musicians have appeared together.

The Paja Kongressi programme is complemented by European ensembles Rob Luft Quartet, Daniel Erdmann‘s Organic Soulfood and How Noisy Are the Rooms, Japanese-French Ukiyoto, and The Five Corners Quintet, a pioneer of Finnish jazz at the beginning of the millennium.

On Sunday, the Small Auditorium of Tampere Hall will be filled with the sounds of international jazz. At the Raulin–Bekkas–Biayenda trio concert, you will hear, among other things, the traditional North African guembri lute. French Émile Parisien will take the stage with his long-time quartet, and Swedish trumpetist Goran Kajfeš brings will be performing in Tampere with his band Tropiques.

Finnish Jazz generations gather at Telakka

Four concert events will be held at Telakka. Tahmela Six will kick off the entire festival concert programme on Thursday. Admission to the group’s record release concert is free of charge. Even before this, festivalgoers can get a head start on things at a showing of the film Every Note You Play at the Arthouse Cinema Niagara. The director of this music documentary, Mika Kaurismäki, will be present at the screening.

On Friday, you can catch venerable old-guard artists and the most intriguing new names of Finnish jazz in the friendly confines of Telakka. The former is represented by Juhani “Junnu” Aaltonen, who turns 90 this year, and the latter by Helmi Antila, who was born in 2000 and will be performing with her quartet immediately after Aaltonen. The evening’s programme will culminate with a performance by the Iro Haarla Ouranos Ensemble.

Pianist and musical multi-tasker Olli Ahvenlahti’s very first Tampere Jazz Happening performance will kick things off at Telakka on Saturday, when he and his new quintet take the stage. Emma-award winning multi-instrumentalist Pauli Lyytinen will be performing his comprehensive work Lehto/Korpi, which is a tribute to the diversity of Finnish nature. The evening will end with the saxophonist Pepa Päivinen and his group, Peacepipe.

On Sunday, the final concert of the festival will be performed by guitarist Lauri Kallio and his ensemble, which released its second album in the spring. Admission to the concert is free of charge.

Finnish Jazz Federation rewards top talent

The most prestigious recognition given to jazz musicians in Finland, the Yrjö Award, will be presented by the Finnish Jazz Federation at the Tampere Jazz Happening. The Finnish Jazz Federation’s annual Taimi Award will be awarded for the third time to a young musician, who passionately develops their own musical expression. In addition, Yle Jazz Radio’s “Shadow Yrjö” recognition will be awarded at the event.