Iro Haarla

The pandemic year brought a record harvest of jazz by women. While Finland prides itself on equality, there’s still a long way to go on the jazz scene, though.

"At times surprisingly groovy, at others surreptitiously enticing, Vodjanoi is free jazz for the future."

"Nevertheless, the shining star of Around Again is undisputedly Iro Haarla. It is her inimitable, spectral touch that carries the music at least as far as it originally travelled in the hands of Carla Bley."

During her long and winding career, Iro Haarla has reinvented herself many times over. She has rolled with the punches and beat all odds to become one of the most original and soulful composers in Nordic jazz.

Ten Finnish songs about or inspired by nature selected by Matti Nives.

Ante Lucem, a four-piece suite for jazz quintet and symphony orchestra, is not only one of Iro Haarla’s brightest artistic statements so far, but also a waypost in Finnish jazz.

The earthy tones of Pepa Päivinen’s saxophone are a cornerstone of Finnish jazz. To date [2003], the man has released three albums as a leader and made himself a name through various projects of differing sizes. He has performed for twenty years in the ranks of the UMO Jazz Orchestra and worked along the way with bandleaders like Jukka Tolonen, Edward Vesala and Anthony Braxton.