Jarmo Savolainen (24 May 1961 – 11 June 2009) was 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 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 m ...

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

and composer. He was born in

Iisalmi Iisalmi (; sv, Idensalmi) is a town and municipality in the region of Northern Savonia in Finland. It is located north of Kuopio and south of Kajaani. The municipality has a population of (), which makes it the second largest of the five towns ...

Eastern Finland Eastern Finland ( fi, Itä-Suomen lääni, sv, Östra Finlands län) was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of Oulu, Western Finland and Southern Finland. It also bordered Russia to the east. History On Septemb ...

, and first studied classical piano. He later turned his attention to

and studied at Berklee College of Music (starting in 1980).

Selected discography

As leader

* ''Jarmo Savolainen Nonet'' (1985) * ''Jarmo Savolainen Quartet: Blue Dreams'' (1987) * ''Make Lievonen: Loru'' (1988; with Make Lievonen (bass)) * ''Phases'' (1989; with Seppo Kantonen (keyboards)) * ''Songs for solo piano'' (1990) * ''Jarmo Savolainen Quintet: First Sight'' (1992; with

Wallace Roney Wallace Roney (May 25, 1960 – March 31, 2020) was an American jazz ( hard bop and post-bop) trumpeter. He has won 1 Grammy award and has two nominations. Roney took lessons from Clark Terry and Dizzy Gillespie and studied with Miles Davis fr ...

(trumpet),

Rick Margitza Rick Margitza (born October 24, 1961) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Biography Margitza's paternal grandfather, a Hungarian Gypsy violinist, taught him to play the violin at the age of four. His father also played violin with the Detro ...

(sax),

Ron McClure Ron McClure (born November 22, 1941) is an American jazz bassist. Early life McClure was born in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. He started on piano at age five, and later played accordion and bass. McClure studied privately with Joseph I ...

(bass), and Billy Hart (drums)) * ''Jarmo Savolainen Quartet & Quintet: True Image'' (1995; with

Dave Liebman David Liebman (born September 4, 1946) is an American saxophonist, flautist and jazz educator. He is known for his innovative lines and use of atonality. He was a frequent collaborator with pianist Richie Beirach. In June 2010, he received ...

and Sonny Heinilä (sax),

Tim Hagans Tim Hagans (born August 19, 1954) is an American jazz trumpeter, arranger, and composer. He has been nominated for three Grammy Awards: Best Instrumental Composition for "Box of Cannoli" on ''The Avatar Sessions'' (Fuzzy Music, 2010); Best Contem ...

(trumpet), Ron McClure (bass), and Billy Hart (drums)) * ''Jarmo Savolainen Quintet: Another Story'' (1997; with

(trumpet), Sonny Heinilä (sax), Anders Jormin (bass), and Markku Ounaskari (drums)) * ''Jarmo Savolainen Trio: John's Sons'' (1998; with Uffe Krokfors (bass) and Markku Ounaskari (drums)) * ''Jarmo Savolainen Trio with Eric Vloeimans: Grand Style'' (2000; with Uffe Krokfors (bass), Markku Ounaskari (drums), and Eric Vloeimans (trumpet)) * ''Jarmo Savolainen Trio with Eric Vloeimans: Times like These'' (2002; with Uffe Krokfors (bass), Markku Ounaskari (drums), and Eric Vloeimans (trumpet)) * ''Soloduotrio'' (2004; with Sonny Heinilä (sax, woodwinds), and Maria Ylipää (vocals)) * ''Jarmo Savolainen Trio: Songs for Trio'' (2006; with Uffe Krokfors (bass), and Markku Ounaskari (drums))

As composer and/or sideman

* Finnforest – ''Demon Nights'' (1979) * Eero Koivistoinen – ''Kallista on...'' (1988) * ''Markku Johansson & Friends'' (1988) * Antero Jakoila – ''La Morena'' (1991) * ''UMO Jazz Orchestra: Plays BAT Jazz in Finland'' (1992) * Jukka Linkola – ''Sketches from Karelia'' (1992) * Antero Jakoila – ''Guitar'' (1993) * Jukka Linkola – ''The Tentet'' (1994) * Antero Jakoila – ''Guitar Tangos'' (1995) * ''UMO Plays New Finnish Music'' (1998) * Klaus Suonsaari – ''Something in Common'' (1998) * ''UMO Plays Electric Miles'' (1998) * ''Zone'' (1999; Soul Note 121294–2) * A-Records All-Stars – ''edition 2000'' (2000) * Jukkis Uotila – ''Hunters and Gatherers'' (2000) * UMO Jazz Orchestra – Transit People (2001) * Suhkan Uhka – Suhka (2003) * Julian F. Thayer – Zaku (2007)

References

* ''International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002'', p. 453. Europa International Who's Who in Popular Music, Routledge, 2002. * Ian Carr, Digby Fairweather, Brian Priestley. ''The Rough Guide to Jazz'', third edition. Rough Guides, 2004.

External links

Keep Swinging: Jarmo Savolainen passed away
1961 births 2009 deaths Berklee College of Music alumni Finnish jazz pianists People from Iisalmi Finnish jazz composers 20th-century pianists 20th-century jazz composers 20th-century Finnish composers {{Jazz-pianist-stub