Jukka Jorma Tolonen (born 16 April 1952) is a Finnish

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 ...

guitarist.Lönnqvist, Niclas.
Jukka Tolonen är musikern av Guds nåde
(in Swedish), Hufvudstadsbladet, August 3, 2018. Tolonen became famous as guitarist for the

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. In ...

band Tasavallan Presidentti (which means "president of the republic"). He had grown up playing the piano, but received his first guitar at age eleven. From 1966 to 1967 Tolonen, at age fourteen, played guitar with Arto Sotavalta and the Rogues. Their first single, recorded in 1967, was "Ei maitoa tänään," backed by "Lady Jane." For several months in 1969 he was a member of Eero Raittinen's band Help, which eventually split up. Then Tolonen and drummer Vesa Aaltonen founded the group Tasavallan Presidentti, with whom he toured and recorded several albums from 1969 to 1974. Their third album, ''Lambertland'', reached number seven on the Finnish charts in 1972, followed by ''Milky Way Moses'', which peaked at number twelve in 1974. Tolonen also played on albums '' Tombstone Valentine'' (1970) and '' Fairyport'' (1971) by

Wigwam A wigwam, wickiup, wetu (Wampanoag), or wiigiwaam (Ojibwe, in syllabics: ) is a semi-permanent domed dwelling formerly used by certain Native American tribes and First Nations people and still used for ceremonial events. The term ''wickiup' ...

. His first solo album, ''Tolonen!'', recorded and released in 1971 while he was nineteen years old, displayed his prowess on both guitar (electric and acoustic) and piano, and instrumental songwriting which comfortably segues between classical, jazz, folk, blues, and rock. ''Tolonen!'' peaked at number six on the Finnish charts in 1971, winning the Finnish Broadcasting Company's Album of the Year disk. In 1972 he married Taija Sippola, his girlfriend of several years, and studied piano and 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 ...

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

while continuing to perform and record. Tolonen's guitar solo on "Paratiisi", a hit single from Rauli 'Badding' Somerjoki's 1974 album ''Näin käy rock & roll'', made it the most played song on Finnish radio for three subsequent years. Tasavallan Presidentti broke up in 1974 just before it was to embark on a US tour in support of Kraftwerk. "Windermere Avenue", a song from Tolonen's 1975 '' Hysterica'' album, became a minor radio hit in the USA. Also in 1975 he was asked to join

ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group ...

as a touring musician, but he declined, due to the birth of his first child, Dimitri, and his concurrent solo career. Tolonen is a virtuoso guitarist, who is highly respected in his native Finland as well as in Sweden, where he has lived for long periods. Among Tolonen's side projects are Guitarras Del Norte, Trio Tolonen, and Jukka Tolonen Band (JTB). He has used many different guitars over the years, such as the

Gibson Gibson may refer to: People * Gibson (surname) Businesses * Gibson Brands, Inc., an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and audio equipment * Gibson Technology, and English automotive and motorsport company based * Gi ...

ES-335 The Gibson ES-335 is the world's first commercial semi-hollowbody electric guitar, sometimes known as semi-acoustic. Released by the Gibson Guitar Corporation as part of its ES (Electric Spanish) series in 1958, it is neither fully hollow nor fu ...

and

Ibanez is a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki were one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United States and Europe, as ...

Artist. Since the 1990s he has used Finnish handmade instruments by

Ruokangas Guitars Ruokangas Guitars builds solid-body and semi-hollow electric guitars, including models such as Duke, VSOP, Mojo, Hellcat and Unicorn. The company builds guitars using traditional methods – no modern computer-controlled machinery or serial produ ...

(electric) and Lottonen Guitars (acoustic). Despite his earlier successes, Tolonen was eventually twice divorced, homeless, and drug-addicted. In May 2008 Tolonen was found guilty of stabbing his girlfriend and was sentenced to 27 months in jail for aggravated assault.Ekholm, Kjell.
När kokainet blev till choklad - toppgitarristen Jukka Tolonen knivhögg sin flickvän och blev frälst
(in Swedish), Svenska YLE, October 10, 2018. When released in 2010, he told the media that he was quitting guitar playing due to

osteoarthritis Osteoarthritis (OA) is a type of degenerative joint disease that results from breakdown of joint cartilage and underlying bone which affects 1 in 7 adults in the United States. It is believed to be the fourth leading cause of disability in the w ...

.Jokinen, Juha Veli.
Kitaristi Jukka Tolonen tuomiostaan: Tein rikokset huumepsykoosissa
(in Finnish), Iltalehti, September 13, 2015. While in prison Tolonen dedicated his life to

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

, and in 2011 he released ''Juudan Leijona'' ("Lion of Judah"), a CD of traditional Finnish hymns, in which he sings and plays piano, occasionally accompanied by other instruments and voices. He continues to perform live concerts of Christian music on piano along with other musicians and vocalists. On 2 May 2014 Gateway Films released ''Tolonen'', a career-spanning documentary. A concurrent ''Tolonen'' CD was issued, featuring many young Finnish jazz and rock musicians' interpretations of Tolonen's songs. In autumn 2014 he played guitar for the first time in many years (and sang) on the album ''Sokea Joe'' by

Kari Peitsamo Kari Juhani Valdemar Peitsamo (born 26 August 1957) is a Finnish musician whose style has changed over the years from acoustic avant-garde pop to electric rock. His best-known song is probably "Kauppaopiston naiset" (Business College Women) from ...

. The same year he began to receive a State Arts Pension in Finland for meritorious activities of a creative or performing artist. Tolonen is actively involved with the Salem Pentecostal Church in Helsinki, and has enrolled in a local Bible Institute. In 2017 he began to perform on bass guitar in live concerts as part of the Ramblin' Jazz Quartet in Finland. In December, 2019 Jukka Tolonen alternated between bass guitar and piano for two concerts in Helsinki celebrating the 50th anniversary of Tasavallan Presidentti along with several of his old bandmates and additional personnel.

Discography

* Tasavallan Presidentti - ''Tasavallan Presidentti'' (1969) *

- ''Tombstone Valentine'' (1970) * Wigwam - ''Fairyport'' (1970) * Tasavallan Presidentti - ''Magneettimiehen kuolema'' (With Pekka Streng) (1970) * Jukka Tolonen - ''Tolonen!'' (1971) * Tasavallan Presidentti - ''Tasavallan Presidentti (II)'' (1971) * Tasavallan Presidentti - ''Lambertland'' (1972) * Jukka Tolonen - ''Summer Games'' (1973) * Rauli "Badding" Somerjoki - ''This is Rock and Roll'' (1974) * Tasavallan Presidentti - ''Milky Way Moses'' (1974) * Jukka Tolonen - ''

The Hook The Hook, or The Hookman, is an urban legend about a killer with a pirate-like hook for a hand attacking a couple in a parked car. In many versions of the story, the killer is typically portrayed as a faceless, silhouetted old man wearing a rai ...

'' (1974) *

Charlie Mariano Carmine Ugo Mariano (November 12, 1923 – June 16, 2009) was an American jazz saxophonist who focused on the alto and soprano saxophone. He occasionally performed and recorded on flute and nadaswaram as well. Biography Mariano was born in ...

- ''Reflections'' (1974) * Nordic Jazz Quintet - ''Nordic Jazz Quintet'' (1975) * Jukka Tolonen - '' Hysterica'' (1975) * Eero Koivistoinen - ''The Front is Breaking'' (guitar solo on "Mean Meat Blues") (1975) * Jukka Tolonen - ''Crossection'' (all previously released tracks) (1976) * Jukka Tolonen - ''Impressions'' (all previously released tracks) (1977) * Jukka Tolonen Band - ''A Passenger to Paramaribo'' (1977) * Jukka Tolonen/Christian Sievert - ''After Three Days'' (1977) * Jukka Tolonen - ''Mountain Stream'' 1978 * Jukka Tolonen Band - ''Montreux Boogie Live'' (1978) * Jukka Tolonen - ''High Flyin'' (1979) * Jukka Tolonen Band / JTB - ''Just Those Boys'' (1979) * JTB - ''Dums Have More Fun'' (1980) * Jukka Tolonen/Coste Apetrea - ''Touch Wood'' (1980) * Jukka Tolonen - ''In a This Year Time'' (1981) * Tolonen/Apetrea - ''Blue Rain'' (1982) * Oreo Moon - ''Walk Don't Scream'' (1983) * Remu - ''Live at Cafe Metropol'' (1985) * Bill's Boogie Band - ''Live and Lively at Cafe Metropol Helsinki'' (1985) * Jukka Tolonen - ''Radio Romance'' (1985) * Tolonen/Christian Sievert - ''Still Friends'' (1986) * Piirpauke - ''Zerenade'' (1987) * Jukka Tolonen Classics - ''The Rarest'' (1989) * Jukka Tolonen Trio - ''Last Mohican'' (1990) * Tasavallan Presidentti - ''Classics'' (compilation) (1990) * Jukka Tolonen Trio - ''Big Time'' (1994) * Jukka Tolonen Trio - ''Mr. Big Foot'' (1995) * Pedro's Heavy Gentlemen - ''Reggae'' (1996) * Jukka Tolonen - ''On the Rocky Road - A Retrospective'' (1997) * Tasavallan Presidentti - ''Still Struggling For Freedom'' (2001) * Guitarras del Norte – ''Guitarras del Norte'' (2004) * Jukka Tolonen - ''Cool Train – Tolonen plays Coltrane'' (2004) *

Eddie Boyd Edward Riley Boyd (November 25, 1914 – July 13, 1994)Dahl, Bill. Eddie Boyd: Biography AllMusic. Retrieved October 13, 2016. was an American blues pianist, singer and songwriter, best known for his recordings in the early 1950s, including the ...

in Finland – ''Mello' Hello!'' (rec. 1970–1984, rel. 2005) * Tasavallan Presidentti - ''Tasavallan Presidentti Six'' (2005, EP) * Tasavallan Presidentti - ''Six Complete'' (2006) * Jukka Tolonen - ''Juudan Leijona'' (2011) * (composer only) - ''Tolonen'' (2014) * Kari Peitsamo - ''Blind Joe'' (2014)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tolonen, Jukka 1952 births 20th-century guitarists 21st-century guitarists Finnish male guitarists Musicians from Helsinki Living people Finnish jazz guitarists 20th-century male musicians 21st-century male musicians Male jazz musicians Criminals from Helsinki Finnish expatriates in Sweden People convicted of assault Sonet Records artists