Jazz-Espa Anniversary Year Features Concerts for Children
The Jazz-Espa urban festival, organized by the Finnish Jazz Federation, celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. In honor of the celebration, the event's Saturday program on the 3rd of August is designed for the whole family, featuring performances by Screaming Jay & The Bones and Megasakki.
Jazz-Espa's new program feature, Children's Saturday, concludes the event week with a joyful afternoon as two bands known for their captivating and danceable concerts take over the stage:
At 2:00 PM, the stage will be taken by the ensemble Screaming Jay & The Bones, led by trombonist-singer Jay Kortehisto. The concert offers something for the whole family, with the energetic band, famous from festivals and clubs as well as school gigs, performing a repertoire mainly consisting of 1950s rhythm & blues. The band's musicians are top names in the genre and familiar from various contexts; saxophone is played by Pope Puolitaival, known from many jazz ensembles, guitar by Valtteri Pöyhönen, who also leads Dálindeo, bass by Lasse Sirkko, and drums by Thomas Rönnholm. In addition to rhythm & blues, the concert will feature stunning interpretations of jazz classics, spiced with crazy scat solos, creating an atmosphere just like a jazz party!
At 3:30 PM, it's time for the children's music band Megasakki, which skillfully combines jazz and soul. The band won the Emma Award in 2022 for their debut album "Siili beatboksaa". The playful and entertaining concert, filled with storytelling, is brought to life by a magical master band: shining as vocal soloists are Säihky Suojeluskeiju (Annika Tepponen) and Tea Telepaatti (Elina Arlin), bassist Arvo Tarkka (Vesa Ojaniemi) ensures the band's steadiness, and drummer Aake Aikapoika (Anssi Tirkkonen) keeps time and schedules. In addition to old Megasakki hits, the concert will also feature some treats from the upcoming album!
Jazz-Espa's Children's Saturday is organized in cooperation with the Concert Center. For over 60 years, the Concert Center has brought live music to schools and kindergartens. It is important not only to reach children and young people across Finland regardless of their background or place of residence but also to offer them diverse and high-quality musical content. More information about the Concert Center's offerings can be found at Konserttikeskus.fi.
All concerts held at Espa Stage are free, have no age limit, and are accessible. Please note that the soundscape of Jazz-Espa's Children's Saturday concerts may occasionally be loud, and this should be taken into account, especially for the youngest concert visitors.
The full Jazz-Espa program can be found at www.jazzespa.fi.
Pictures:
Megasakki - Jetro Sarín
Screaming Jay & The Bones - Milka Alanen