Mikko Hassinen

"The Ilkka Heinonen Trio operates with a broad and downright electrifying range of colours."

"For some years jazz fusion (broadly defined) has seen something of a revival in Finland. Drummer and composer Mikko Hassinen’s new band and album Elektro GT evidently belongs in this rising stack."

2015 has been a milestone year for the 40-year-old UMO Jazz Orchestra. We invited three key figures to look back on the history of the internationally acclaimed big band.

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.