Heikki Veli Uolevi Sarmanto (born 22 June 1939) is a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

jazz pianist Jazz piano is a collective term for the techniques pianists use when playing jazz. The piano has been an integral part of the jazz idiom since its inception, in both solo and ensemble settings. Its role is multifaceted due largely to the instru ...

and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

. Sarmanto was born in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, Finland, and began to play

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

during the 1960s. He studied first at the Sibelius Academy and later at the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

in Boston between 1968 and 1971. In 1970 he was chosen as 'Jazz Musician of the Year' in Finland and, the following year, he won top prizes at the

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 both piano and combo categories. Sarmanto has released around 40 recordings, numerous published scores, and songbooks, as well as having several film scores to his credit. He has collaborated with jazz musicians such as

Sonny Rollins Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, he has recorded over sixty albums as a ...

Art Farmer Arthur Stewart Farmer (August 21, 1928 – October 4, 1999) was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He also played flumpet, a trumpet–flugelhorn combination especially designed for him. He and his identical twin brother, double ...

Helen Merrill Helen Merrill (born Jelena Ana Milcetic; July 21, 1930) is an American jazz vocalist. Her first album, the eponymous 1954 recording '' Helen Merrill'' (with Clifford Brown), was an immediate success and associated her with the first generation ...

, George Russell and Jeannine Otis; in addition to his work in the classical arena with baritone

Jorma Hynninen Jorma Kalervo Hynninen (born 3 April 1941) is a Finnish baritone who performs regularly with the world's major opera companies. He has also worked in opera administration. Hynninen was born on 3 April 1941 in Leppävirta, Finland. He studied fro ...

, the

Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (Finnish: ''Radion sinfoniaorkesteri'', Swedish: ''Radions symfoniorkester'') is a Finnish broadcast orchestra based in Helsinki, and the orchestra of the Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yle). The orchestra prima ...

and the Tapiola Children's Choir. In September 1998, Sarmanto was appointed Artistic Director of the UMO Jazz Orchestra.

Pekka Sarmanto Pekka Eerik Juhani Sarmanto (born February 15, 1945 in Helsinki) is a Finnish jazz bassist. Heikki Sarmanto is Pekka's brother. Pekka Sarmanto first studied classical violin at the Sibelius Academy from 1958 to 1964 before he switched to upright ...

, who is also a jazz musician, is Sarmanto's brother.

Discography

* ''Flowers in the Water'' (1969) * ''Counterbalance'' (1971) * ''Like a Fragonard'' (1971) * ''Everything Is It'' (1972) * ''Onnen aika (Time of Happiness)'' (1973) * ''Open Ear'' (1975) * ''No Comments'' (1975) * ''Our Latin Friends'' (1976) * ''Syksy ja muita lauluja (Autumn and Other Songs)'' (1976) * ''Moment Musical'' (1978) * ''New Hope Jazz Mass'' (1979) * ''Magic Song'' (with Jeannine Otis) (1980) * ''The Voice/Maija'' (1981) * ''Song for my Brother'' (1982) * ''Kuutamo Metsässä (Moonlight in the Forest)'' (1983) * ''Suomi, A Symphonic Poem for Orchestra'' (1984) * ''Betonimylläri (Concrete Mixer)'' (1987) * ''Man with a Sax'' (1987) * ''Taina: Scene from a Trance'' (1987) * ''Felix the Great'' (1988) * ''Northern Pictures'' (1989) * ''Salakuljetettu ikoni'' ("Smuggled Icon") (1989) * ''Pan Fantasy'' (1990) * ''Distant Dreams'' (1990) * ''The Traveler'' (1991) * ''Tales of Max: An Odyssey in Jazz'' (1991) * ''Kalevala Fantasy'' (1992) * ''Evergreen Love Songs'' (1993) * ''Hearts'' (1995) * ''Nocturne'' (1996) * ''Perfect Harmony'' (1996) * ''Carrousel'' (1997 * ''Hellyys'' (1997) * ''Meet the Composer'' (1997) * ''Déjà Vu'' (2000) * ''Rise'' (2001) * ''Horizons - A lua luará'' (2003) * ''The Touch Of Your Voice'' (2004) * ''Carola & Heikki Sarmanto Trio'' (2004) * ''The Song Of Extinct Birds'' (2005)

References

External links

Profile by Petri Silas in the Finnish Music Information Centre

Profile by All About Jazz

Jeannine Otis – Heikki Sarmanto – Magic Song

Last.fm profile
1939 births Living people Finnish composers Finnish male composers Musicians from Helsinki Finnish jazz composers Male jazz composers {{finland-composer-stub