250px, UMO Jazz Orchestra UMO Jazz Orchestra is a Finnish

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...

. It was founded in 1975 by

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 ...

musicians

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 ...

and Esko Linnavalli. UMO is an abbreviation of "Uuden Musiikin Orkesteri" (New Musical Orchestra). Since 1984 UMO has been a professional orchestra which is financed by

Finnish Broadcasting Company 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 ...

, Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture and the city of Helsinki. UMO has been toured in Europe, Canada, and the U.S. and has worked with

Dexter Gordon Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and actor. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians, which included other greats such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gi ...

, Dizzy Gillespie,

Gil Evans Ian Ernest Gilmore Evans (né Green; May 13, 1912 – March 20, 1988) was a Canadian–American jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest orchestrators in jazz, playing an important role i ...

Mercer Ellington Mercer Kennedy Ellington (March 11, 1919 – February 8, 1996) was an American musician, composer, and arranger. His father was Duke Ellington, whose band Mercer led for 20 years after his father's death. Biography Early life and education Ellin ...

McCoy Tyner Alfred McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938March 6, 2020) was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet (from 1960 to 1965) and his long solo career afterwards. He was an NEA Jazz Master and five-time Gram ...

Maria Schneider Maria Schneider may refer to: * Maria Schneider (politician) (born 1923), East German politician * Maria Schneider (actress) (1952–2011), French actress * Maria Schneider (musician) Maria Lynn Schneider (born November 27, 1960) is an Americ ...

Michael Brecker Michael Leonard Brecker (March 29, 1949 – January 13, 2007) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He was awarded 15 Grammy Awards as both performer and composer. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Berklee College of M ...

John Scofield John Scofield (born December 26, 1951), sometimes referred to as "Sco", is an American guitarist and composer whose music over a long career has blended jazz, jazz fusion, funk, blues, soul and rock. He first came to mainstream attention in th ...

, and

Lenny Pickett Lenny Pickett (born April 10, 1954) is an American saxophonist and musical director of the ''Saturday Night Live'' band. From 1973 to 1981 he was a member of Tower of Power. He is known for his skill in the altissimo register (executed by using ...

Discography

* ''Our Latin Friends'' (1976) * ''A Good Time Was Had By All'' (1976) * ''Thad Jones, Mel Lewis & UMO'' (1978) * ''Umophilos'' (1979) * ''Sea Suite Effoa'' (1983) * ''Ultima Thule'' (1983) * ''Bad Luck, Good Luck'' (1985) * ''UMO New Music Orchestra Plays the Music of Koivistoinen & Linkola'' (1985) * ''Passions of a Man – Kalevala Fantasy'' (1987) * ''Green & Yellow'' (1987) * ''UMO Plays the Music of Muhal Richard Abrams'' (1989) * ''The First Seven – UMO Plays BAT Jazz in Finland'' (1992) * ''Live in Helsinki 1995'' (1995) * ''One More Time'' with

Kenny Wheeler Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler, OC (14 January 1930 – 18 September 2014) was a Canadian composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. from the 1950s onwards. Most of his performances were rooted in jazz, but he was also active i ...

and

Norma Winstone Norma Ann Winstone MBE (born 23 September 1941) is an English jazz singer and lyricist. With a career spanning more than 50 years, she is best known for her wordless improvisations. Musicians with whom she has worked include Michael Garrick, ...

(2000) * ''Transit People'' (2001) * ''Counting on the Count – UMO Jazz Orchestra plays Count Basie'' (2004) * ''Sauna palaa!'' (2005) * ''Mister Blues'' with Pepe Ahlqvist (2006) * ''The Sky Is Ruby'' with Raoul Björkenheim (2007) * ''Agatha (UMO album), Agatha'' with Kerkko Koskinen (2007) * ''Taikapeitto'' with Satu Sopanen (2008) * ''UMO on UMO'' (2009) * ''Primal Mind – UMO Plays the Music of Raoul Björkenheim, Live in Helsinki 1991'' (2010) * ''Beauty and the Beast – UMO plays the music of Pekka Pohjola, Live & Studio 1977–2004'' (2010) * ''A Good Time Was Had By All 1976 – 1979'' (2010) * ''Rytmihyrrä – Eläinlauluja lapsille/Rytmyra – Djursånger för barn'' with Emma Salokoski (2011) * ''Supermusic'' (with Nils Landgren &

Viktoria Tolstoy Louise Viktoria Tolstoy (born 29 July 1974) is a Swedish jazz singer of Russian ancestry. She is the great-great-granddaughter of Russian writer Leo Tolstoy and the daughter of Erik Kjellberg. Tolstoy was a regular studio guest in season one o ...

, 2012)

External links

UMO Jazz Orchestra Official Home Page
{{Authority control Big bands Finnish jazz ensembles