Harry Kaj Olof Backlund (24 February 1945 – 25 December 2013) was 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 ...

trumpeter, composer, arranger, bandleader,

theorist A theory is a rational type of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the results of such thinking. The process of contemplative and rational thinking is often associated with such processes as observational study or research. Theories may be ...

, and one of the founders of the

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 ...

Pop & Jazz Conservatory and the Jazz Department of

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 ...

. He was also one of the founding members of

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 ...

. He was a contemporary music education pioneer in Finland and a long-running senior music theory teacher in Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. Backlund started playing

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

at the age of seven in a youth brass band led by his father, at the Church of Paavali in Helsinki. At 14 years of age, he founded his first big band, which also included Paroni Paakkunainen, Teppo Hauta-aho, Eero Ojanen, Pekka Pöyry, and

Juhani Aaltonen Juhani Aaltonen (born December 12, 1935) is a Finnish jazz saxophonist and flautist. Born in Kouvola, Finland, he studied at Sibelius Academy and Berklee College of Music. He began playing professionally at the end of the 1950s. He played in a ...

. Later, Backlund had to take a day job as an assistant accountant, but was able to participate in the

Jyväskylä Arts Festival Jyväskylä Arts Festival ( fi, Jyväskylän kesä) is an arts festival celebrated annually at Jyväskylä, Finland since 1956. It has since become one of the biggest arts festival An arts festival is a festival that can encompass a wide rang ...

in 1966 and 1967, where George Russell was teaching. He started to get work opportunities as a session musician from

Yle Yleisradio Oy ( Finnish, literally "General Radio Ltd." or "General Broadcast Ltd."; abbr. Yle ; sv, Rundradion Ab, italics=no), translated to English as the Finnish Broadcasting Company, is Finland's national public broadcasting company, found ...

Radio Dance Orchestra and UMO Jazz Orchestra. In the beginning of the 1970s, Backlund started to arrange

Toivo Kärki Toivo Pietari Johannes Kärki (; 3 December 1915 – 30 April 1992) was a Finnish composer, musician, music producer and arranger. He is especially remembered for his collaboration with Reino Helismaa. Kärki composed approximately 1400 reco ...

's songs. Backlund helped found the Oulunkylä Pop & Jazz school (later Helsinki Pop & Jazz Conservatory) and planned the first

curriculum In education, a curriculum (; : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view ...

of the Sibelius Academy Jazz Department. Kaj Backlund's sons Jari,

Jukka Jukka () is a common Finnish language, Finnish given name for males. History Jukka is an old variant of the name Johannes, a biblical name spread over to Finland through Sweden with the introduction of Christianity. Jukka remained a nickname for ...

, and Tapio are all musicians.

Selected discography

As composer and arranger * Pori Big Band – ''Pori Big Band'' (1974) * UMO – ''Our Latin Friends'' (1976) * Studio Big Band – ''No Comments – Finnish Big Band Jazz'' (1977) * Kulttis Workshop – ''Kulttis Workshop'' (1988) * Various artists – ''Julkaisemattomat vol. 8'' (2001) As trumpeter * UMO, Thad Jones, and Mel Lewis – '' Thad Jones, Mel Lewis and UMO'' (1977) *

Eero Koivistoinen Eero Koivistoinen (born 13 January 1946, in Helsinki) is a Finnish jazz musician and saxophone player, who started his career in the mid-1960s. Koivistoinen has worked as a musician, composer, arranger, conductor, producer and educator. He first h ...

– ''Wahoo!'' (1973) *

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 ...

– ''

Nan Madol Nan Madol is an archaeological site adjacent to the eastern shore of the island of Pohnpei, now part of the Madolenihmw district of Pohnpei state in the Federated States of Micronesia in the western Pacific Ocean. Nan Madol was the capital of t ...

'' (1974) *

Heikki Sarmanto Heikki Veli Uolevi Sarmanto (born 22 June 1939) is a Finnish jazz pianist and composer. Sarmanto was born in Helsinki, Finland, and began to play jazz during the 1960s. He studied first at the Sibelius Academy and later at the Berklee College ...

– ''Everything Is It'' (1972)

Bibliography

* ''Improvisointi Pop/Jazz-musiikissa''. Helsinki: Musiikki Fazer 1983.

References

Finnish jazz musicians 1945 births 2013 deaths Place of birth missing Musicians from Helsinki Finnish music educators Finnish bandleaders {{jazz-musician-stub