Jaakko Löytty (born 1955,

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

) 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 vary according to culture and social context. Gospel music is compo ...

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

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

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

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who 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 Miss ...

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

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

, 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 language, Finnish and Swedish language, Swedish, ; historically ''Satacundia'') is a Regions of Finland, region ( / ) of Finland, part of the former Western Finland Province. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland ...

, Varsinais-Suomi and Tavastia. Since 2008, he has lived in

Ylöjärvi Ylöjärvi () is a town in Finland, located in the Pirkanmaa region. It lies to the west of the regional capital, Tampere. The population of Ylöjärvi is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the m ...

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

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

and

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

, but also in

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

and in

African music The continent of Africa is vast and its music is diverse, with different regions and nations having many distinct musical traditions. African music includes the genres like makwaya, highlife, mbube, township music, jùjú, fuji, jaiva ...

. He has composed two albums of music inspired by Senegalese music, ''Helsinki-Dakar'' (1991) and ''Norsunmaitoa'' (1995).

Discography

* '' Asioita, joista vaietaan'' (1974) * ''Jeesuksen ystäviä'' (1975) *''

Etiopiasafari "Etiopiasafari" is a 1976 single by Jaakko Löytty, and Jukka Linkoheimo. It was released in support of their tour of Ethiopia the same year. It was released by Kirkon nuorisotyön keskus and , organisations of the Evangelical Lutheran Churc ...

'', single (1976) * ''Kuule meitä'' (1977) * ''Yhteys'' (1979) * '' Toisen päivän iltana'' (1982) * '' Laulu yhteisestä leivästä'' (1984) * ''

Hawash! ''Hawash!'' is a 1984 album by Finnish gospel musician Jaakko Löytty. It is his first album with clear African influences. The title song was inspired by the Oromo musician Ali Mohammed Birra, whom Löytty met in 1976 during the Etiopiasafari ...

'' (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 Finnish singer-songwriters 20th-century Finnish male singers Finnish harmonica players {{singer-songwriter-stub