Mikko Aleksi Innanen (born 28 February 1978 in Lapinjärvi,

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 a Finnish

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

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 ...

. Innanen graduated in 2003 from 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 als ...

, the only university level music academy in Finland. Innanen spent one year of his studies in Copenhagen, Denmark, at the

Rhythmic Music Conservatory The Rhythmic Music Conservatory ( da, Rytmisk Musikkonservatorium) is a music conservatoire in Copenhagen, Denmark. The RMC was founded in 1986 as an independent institution of higher education under the Danish Ministry of Culture and is the only sc ...

. Over the last few years, he has played with a number of groups, including several groups with other Finnish jazz musicians such as Nuijamiehet, Gourmet, Mr Fonebone and Mikko Innanen & Innkvisitio as well as Delirium (with Danes Kasper Tranberg, Stefan Pasborg and Jonas Westergaard), Triot (with Pasborg and Nicolai Munch-Hansen), as a featured guest of the French trio Triade (Cedric Piromalli, Sebastian Boisseau and Nicolas Larmignat), The European Jazz Youth Orchestra, drummer Teppo Mäkynen's Teddy Rok 7, Itchy (Jakob Dinesen, Jeppe Skovbakke, Rune Kielsgaard), Ulf Krokors - Iro Haarla Loco Motife, Ibrahim Electric, Espoo Big Band and the UMO Jazz Orchestra. He has also performed with Han Bennink, Jaak Sooäär,

John Tchicai John Martin Tchicai ( ; 28 April 1936 – 8 October 2012) was a Danish free jazz saxophonist and composer. Biography Tchicai was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, to a Danish mother and a Congolese father. The family moved to Aarhus, where he st ...

, Ingrid Jensen, Anders Bergcrantz, Marc Ducret, Tim Hagans, Chris Speed, Barry Guy, Juhani Aaltonen, Liudas Mockunas, Hiroshi Minami, Lelo Nika, Billy Cobham, Andre Sumelius, Marcus Shelby, Dayna Stephens and many others, including virtually all of the musicians currently active on the Finnish jazz scene and a growing number of international artists. Innanen was awarded a one-year artist's grant by the Finnish State's Arts Council in 2003, the best soloist's prize at the International Competition for Jazz Groups in Getxo, Spain, in 2000 and the first prize at the first Jukka Perko saxophone competition in 2001. In 2004 Finnish jazz journalists voted Innanen as the runner-up alto, soprano and baritone saxophone player of the year 2003 and 2004.

Selected recordings

*Delirium: ''Eclexistence'' (2005, TUM Records) *Gourmet: ''Six Acres of Broken Hearts'' (2004, Fiasko Records) *Triot with John Tchicai: ''Sudden Happiness'' (2004, TUM Records) *''Delirium'' (2002, Fiasko Records) *Gourmet: ''Glamour & Decadence'' (2001, Fiasko Records ) *Mr. Fonebone: ''Live featuring Ingrid Jensen'' (2000, Texicalli) *''Nuijamiehet'' (2000, Fiasko Records) *''Mr. Fonebone'' (1997, Antti Rissanen)

References

External links and sources

Profile at Fiasko Records
1978 births Living people People from Lapinjärvi Finnish saxophonists Male saxophonists Finnish composers Finnish male composers Sibelius Academy alumni 21st-century saxophonists 21st-century male musicians {{Finland-musician-stub