Eero Koivistoinen (born 13 January 1946, in Helsinki) is a Finnish jazz musician and

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

player, who started his career in the mid-1960s. Koivistoinen has worked as a musician, composer, arranger, conductor, producer and educator. He first heard jazz from the records his sailor brother had brought in from his travels. As a youngster Koivistoinen studied classical violin, saxophone and also composition at the

Sibelius Academy The Sibelius Academy ( fi, Taideyliopiston Sibelius-Akatemia, sv, Sibelius-Akademin vid Konstuniversitetet) is part of the University of the Arts Helsinki and a university-level music school which operates in Helsinki and Kuopio, Finland. It al ...

, and later jazz at Berklee College of Music in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. His first line-up featured the drummer

Edward Vesala Edward Vesala (15 February 1945 – 4 December 1999), born Martti Vesala, was a Finnish avant-garde jazz drummer. Career Born in Mäntyharju, he began playing jazz and rock in the 1960s, in such bands as Blues Section and Apollo. In the 1970 ...

and bassist Pekka Sarmanto. Koivistoinen was also a member of the seminal Finnish rock band Blues Section in the years 1967 and 1968. In 1968 he released his first solo album, a "literary record" called ''Valtakunta'' which featured songs composed to the texts of such poets as

Pentti Saarikoski Pentti Saarikoski (Impilahti, now in the Republic of Karelia September 2, 1937 – Joensuu August 24, 1983) was one of the most important poets in the literary scene of Finland during the 1960s and 1970s. His body of work comprises poetry and ...

Jarkko Laine Jarkko Laine (17 March 1947 – 19 August 2006) was a Finnish poet and a writer of prose and plays. He also translated American literature to Finnish. Jarkko Laine was born in Turku, Finland. He became known from the 1960s underground movement, d ...

Tuomas Anhava Tuomas Anhava (5 June 1927, Helsinki – 22 January 2001, Helsinki) was a Finnish writer and recipient of the Eino Leino Prize in 1989. Anhava's works closely follow the mold of modernist tradition of Ezra Pound and T. S. Eliot. Anhava was a ...

and Hannu Mäkelä; interpreted by the vocalists

Vesa-Matti Loiri Vesa-Matti "Vesku" Loiri (4 January 1945 – 10 August 2022) was a Finnish actor, musician and comedian, best known for his role as Uuno Turhapuro, whom he portrayed in a total of 20 movies between the years 1973 and 2004. According to Yle Ne ...

, Eero Raittinen and

Seija Simola Seija Saara Maria Simola (25 September 1944 Helsinki – 21 August 2017 Vantaa), married Franzén, was a Finnish singer. She began her career musical in the mid-1960s in the band Eero Seija & Kristian Trio, and her debut solo album was released in ...

. Eero Koivistoinen's later solo albums such as ''Wahoo'' (1972) enjoy a considerable international reputation. His hip hop-influenced 2006 album ''X-Ray'' features such people as the vocalists Charles Salter and Bina Nkwazi, DJ LBJ (also known as Jonas Verwijnen) and the rap artist

Redrama Lasse Mellberg (born 2 October 1977), better known by his stage name Redrama, is a Finnish rapper. He made a breakthrough in 2003. Redrama, who performs primarily in English, but also in Swedish and Finnish was part of a hip-hop group Alien Allie ...

(also known as Lasse Mellberg). Eero Koivistoinen was one of the founder members of the

UMO Jazz Orchestra 250px, UMO Jazz Orchestra UMO Jazz Orchestra is a Finnish big band. It was founded in 1975 by jazz musicians Heikki Sarmanto and Esko Linnavalli. UMO is an abbreviation of "Uuden Musiikin Orkesteri" (New Musical Orchestra). Since 1984 UMO has bee ...

where he played from 1975 to 1990 and worked as its artistic director from 1996 to 1998. He has also composed music for radio and theatre. Koivistoinen has received the Yrjö prize of the Finnish Jazz Association in 1967, his quartet won the band competition at

Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annual ...

in 1969, and Koivistoinen also won in 1981 the prize for the best arrangement with his piece "Ultima Thule" at the Nordring competition of European broadcasting companies, held in

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the l ...

Discography

* ''Blues Section'' (1967) * ''Valtakunta'' (1968) * ''Odysseus'' (1969) * ''For Children'' (1970) * ''Original Sin'' (1971) * ''Muusa ja Ruusa'' (1971) * ''Wahoo!'' (1972) * ''3rd Version'' (1973) * ''Front Is Breaking'' (1976) * ''Labyrinth'' (1977) * ''Live at Belmont Jazz Club'' (1977) * ''Ultima Thule'' (1983) * ''Picture in Three Colours'' (1983) * ''Sea Suite'' (1983) * ''UMO Plays the Music of Koivistoinen and Linkola'' (1985) * ''Kallista on ja halvalla menee'' (1988) * ''Pahan Kukkia'' (1990) * ''Altered Things'' (1992) * ''Dialog'' (1995) * ''Electrifying Miles'' (1997) * ''UMO Jazz Orchestra'' (1997) * ''Senegalese Drums'' (1998) * ''Helium'' (1999) * ''Some Time Ago'' (1999) * ''Zone'' (1999) * ''Mozambique Relief'' (2000) * ''UTU'' (2001) * ''Venancio Mbande Orchestra'' (2001) * ''Timbila'' (2002) * ''Suomalainen'' (2003) * ''Galaxy'' (2003) * ''The Five Corners Quintet'' (2005) * ''X-Ray'' (2006) With

Ted Curson Theodore Curson (June 3, 1935 – November 4, 2012) was an American jazz trumpeter. Life and career Curson was born in Philadelphia. He became interested in playing trumpet after watching a newspaper salesman play a silver trumpet. Curson's fath ...

*'' Ode to Booker Ervin'' (EMI Columbia, 1970)

External links

The official Eero Koivistoinen WebsiteEero Koivistoinen's ''Valtakunta'' @ pHinnWebHistorien om klubb Filips del 1. (The history of club Filips pt. 1)Historien om klubb Filips del 2. (The history of club Filips pt. 2)Jazz Finland

References

* Maarit Roiha, ''Ilman soittamista elämä olisi kurjaa'' (Eero Koivistoinen's 60th birthday article in ''Aamulehti'', 13 January 2006) * Harri Uusitorppa, ''Koivistoinen katsoo tulevaisuuteen'' (Koivistoinen's 60th birthday article in ''Helsingin Sanomat'', 12 January 2006) {{DEFAULTSORT:Koivistoinen, Eero 1946 births Living people Finnish male musicians

Discography

See also

External links

References