Jaakko Löytty (born 1955,

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

) is one of the most significant Finnish

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

ians. Löytty spent much of his youth, 12 years, in

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

, where his parents, Seppo Löytty and Kirsti Löytty worked as

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

with the

Finnish Missionary Society The Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission (''FELM'', formerly ''The Finnish Missionary Society''; fi, Suomen Lähetysseura ry; sv, Finska Missionssällskapet rf) is a Lutheran missionary society formed on January 19, 1859, in Helsinki, Finland. ...

. He went to the Swakopmund Finnish School. He himself has been a missionary with the FMS, to

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

, where he developed church music and edited a hymnal in the local languages. Löytty works for Herättäjä-Yhdistys, as a regional worker in

Satakunta Satakunta (in both Finnish and Swedish, ) is a region ( / ) of Finland, part of the former Western Finland Province. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland, Pirkanmaa, South Ostrobothnia and Ostrobothnia. The capital city of the region is ...

Varsinais-Suomi Southwest Finland, calqued as Finland Proper ( fi, Varsinais-Suomi ; sv, Egentliga Finland), is a Regions of Finland, region in the southwest of Finland. It borders the regions of Satakunta, Pirkanmaa, Tavastia Proper, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-H ...

and Tavastia. Since 2008, he has lived in

Ylöjärvi Ylöjärvi () is a town and a municipality in the Pirkanmaa region, northwest of Tampere and north of the capital city Helsinki in Finland. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . ...

, where he also lived as a teenager, after his family returned to Finland from Africa in 1968. Löytty is married to author Kaija Pispa. His brothers Sakari Löytty and

Mikko Löytty Mikko is a Finnish masculine given name and equivalent of the English name Michael, having been borrowed into the Finnish language. The given name Mikko is shared by the following notable people: * Mikko Alatalo, Finnish musician and politician * ...

are also musicians. His youngest brother, Olli Löytty, is an academic. Löytty's musical influences can be found from

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana (music), a genre or style of American music *Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1992 TV series), a documentary series presented by J ...

, in the

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

and

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

, but also in

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

and in

African music Given the vastness of the African continent, its music is diverse, with regions and nations having many distinct musical traditions. African music includes the genres amapiano, Jùjú, Fuji, Afrobeat, Highlife, Makossa, Kizomba, and others. The ...

. He has composed two albums of music inspired by

Senegalese music Senegal's music is best known abroad due to the popularity of mbalax, a development of conservative music from different ethnic groups and ''sabar'' drumming popularized internationally by Youssou N'Dour. Senegalese Musical Instruments List * Bo ...

, ''Helsinki-Dakar'' (1991) and ''Norsunmaitoa'' (1995).

Discography

* '' Asioita, joista vaietaan'' (1974) * ''Jeesuksen ystäviä'' (1975) *'' Etiopiasafari'', single (1976) * ''Kuule meitä'' (1977) * ''Yhteys (1979) * '' Toisen päivän iltana'' (1982) * '' Laulu yhteisestä leivästä'' (1984) * '' Hawash!'' (1984) * ''Missä olenkaan'' (with Jouko Mäki-Lohiluoma and choir, 1986) * '' Sinisen syvyys'' (1987) * ''Lähtölaulut'' (1988) * ''Jaakko Löytty elävänä'' (live, 1989) * ''Vielä mä toivon – matkamiehen iltarukous'' (1990) * ''Helsinki – Dakar'' (1991) * ''Nicolas Sarr & Jaakko Löytty'' (1993) * ''Kuuntelen'' (compilation, 1993) * ''Norsunmaitoa'' (1995) * ''Ristinkantajat – Pettuleipägospelia'' (1996) * ''Omakuva'' (compilation, 1998) * ''Tiikerisusi'' (1999) * ''Nälkämaan lauluja'' (2001) * ''Arkivirsiä'' (2003) * ''Asioita joista vaietaan'' (re-release, 2002) * ''Murhehuone'' (2005)

References

1955 births Living people Finnish male singer-songwriters 20th-century Finnish male singers Finnish harmonica players {{singer-songwriter-stub