MAIN CONCERT PROGRAMME - Serbian National Theatre - Friday, 16th November 2012.
TIMO LASSY BAND
 TIMO LASSY – saxophone
GEORGIOS KONTRAFOURIS – piano
ANTTI LÖTJÖNEN – bass
TEPPO MÄKYNEN – drums
The Timo Lassy Band is top-notch all the way. The Wurlitzer duties are carried out by Georgios Kontrafouris, Greece’s gift to the Helsinki scene, who turns the instrument into one of a vital organ in the operation. On double bass, the most sought-after Finnish bassist at the moment, Antti Lötjönen, keeps things solid, and the crunchy beat so central to Lassy’s rhythmically remarkable jazz vision is safe with Teppo "Teddy Rok" Mäkynen on drums and Abdissa "Mamba" Assefa on percussions. The concept of jazz performance has strong rhythmic roots when considering the Timo Lassy Band. Their sonic base is in the 1950's/60's hard bop, soul jazz and Latin jazz traditions, but the masterful execution and the progressive vision of all of the group’s players places the music firmly in the 21st century. Their jazz is easily approachable, yet remarkably deep at a closer look. It is precisely this openness to both tradition and innovation, and the knack at combining the two that makes the Timo Lassy Band a top draw in the current live jazz circuit. As a character, Timo Lassy embodies the rare kind of charisma of a contemporary jazz star. The content, the message, and the means to convey them both ensure that anyone looking for 100% pure high-quality contemporary jazz will be right at home with the Timo Lassy Band.
TIMO LASSY
Saxophonist Timo Lassy has cemented his position at the helm of the burgeoning Finnish jazz scene. Gearing up for the release of his third solo album, Lassy has steadily been building his reputation and now it seems that the big time is here for the sax man. Live, the Timo Lassy Band is a scorching five-piece consisting of Finnish jazz A-listers transforming the band leader’s soulful jazz vision into a full-scale rhythm-fest.
Timo Lassy, born in 1974, has worked at the forefront of swinging contemporary jazz for already more than a decade. An alumnus of Helsinki’s Sibelius Academy with complimentary studies at the Amsterdam Conservatory, Lassy masters the tenor and baritone saxes plus the flute with a distinctly personal and sufficiently muscular touch. His sonic handwriting displaying both power and delicacy is time and again in demand by leading artists on the Helsinki scene and also internationally. Lassy debuted as a solo artist in 2007 with the LP "The Soul & Jazz of Timo Lassy", released by Helsinki’s influential Ricky-Tick Records. The album’s fresh vision of soul jazz soon secured Lassy a steady international following, also connected to his previous, who he inspired as a member of The Five Corners Quintet, the U-Street All Stars, Teddy Rok Seven, plus the ensemble’s of multitalented Finnish innovator Jimi Tenor and the Italian jazz don, Nicola Conte. Lately, Lassy has also become an essential part of the live incarnation of Finnish soul sensation Jo Stace, represented by the production company We Jazz Ltd, co-owned by Lassy. The second Lassy LP, "Round Two", saw him collaborating with the US jazz vocalist José James, and the album skyrocketed the sax man into a veritable scene among the Finnish jazz aficionados and beyond. Moving onto the current Timo Lassy release, "In With Lassy", under Milan’s Schema label in September 2012, Timo Lassy epitomizes the successful adaptation of the tradition of modern jazz, molding it into a brand of jazz music highly relevant as of now.
www.timolassy.com
GEORGIOS KONTRAFOURIS
Georgios Kontrafouris was born in Athens, Greece in 1967. He studied classical piano at the National Conservatory in Athens. At the age of 16, he turned his interest to jazz music and he followed up jazz improvisation lessons with Markos Alexiou. He also studied with Jim Beard and Jarmo Savolainen. He holds a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree in Jazz Performance from Sibelius Academy in Finland.
He has performed as a piano or organ player with many famous and outstanding musicians such as: Mark Johnson, Arild Andersen, Marcus Stockhausen, Louisiana Red, Keith Copeland, Andy Sheppard, Ralph Peterson Jr., Bob Brozman, Carla Cook, Alvester Garnett, Stjepko Gut, Olivier Gatto, David Liebman, Houston Pearson, Eric Alexander, David Sills, Lou Donaldson, Sam Newsome, Jamie Hadad, Deborah Davies, Benny Golson, Tim Hagans, Bob Shepard, Carmen Lundy, Sheila Jordan, Jukkis Uotila, Wade Mikkola, Takis Paterelis, Stratos Vougas, Dimos Dimitriadis, Lydia Fylipovic, T. Spasov, A. Pacatius.
He has been teaching jazz piano and organ for several years in Ionian University and Athenaeum Conservatory in Greece, and in Sibelius Academy in Finland.
He has already given Master Classes in various schools in Greece, Ireland, Indonesia, and Estonia so far.
www.kontrafouris.com
ANTTI LÖTJÖNEN
Bassist Antti Lötjönen may have appeared on the scene with the Ilmiliekki Quartet in 2002, but the fact is that his undisputed talent would have become noticed soon anyway. To prove this statement one mustn't look further than to year 2003 when the man was recruited in the ranks of the Five Corners Quintet live outfit.
These hotter that hot groups aside, Lötjönen is favoured by pianist bandleaders like pianists Alexi Tuomarila and Joonas Haavisto. He is the bassist of choice of saxophonist Timo Lassy and trumpeter Jukka Eskola, both of whom are also members of the Five Corners Quintet.
The best representations of Lötjönen's style in the recorded form are the Ilmiliekki Quartet's instant classic 'March of the Alpha Males' from 2003 and its follow-up 'Take It with Me' from 2006 and Sun trio´s "Dreams Are True" in 2011. Jazz aside, Antti Lötjönen has tried his hand at ethno music with Värttinä and experimental rock with the band Silvio. Among the bassist’s latest endeavours is trumpeter and Ilmiliekki leader Verneri Pohjola's project 'Aurora'.
With Sun trio Antti has revealed his talent as a composer and you can hear his music on the newest album of the trio: "Dreams Are True."
TEPPO MÄKYNEN
Drummer, DJ, producer and composer Teppo Mäkynen takes part in so many projects that it is hard to keep track of all of them. If he's not laying down the law hard bop style with the Manuel Dunkel Quartet or producing yet another jazz album, his alter ego Teddy Rok is surely wreaking havoc behind the turntables and samplers in some smoky club. Simply put, the man seems quicker than his shadow.
Like every jazz musician wishing to make it in the 21st century, Mäkynen has seen the importance of embracing both the acoustic and the electric. As a leader of both the Five Corners Quintet live outfit and his new sample-based project The Stance Brothers, he has both areas covered.
Teddy Rok Seven's 2004 Jazz-Emma-winning 'Universal Four' aside, some of the most noteworthy albums in his discography include the rocktronica album 'Smelly' from 2003, which was recorded in cahoots with guitarist Jarmo Saari, and 'Music of Olavi Virta' by saxophonist Jukka Perko's Hurmio-orkesteri from 2000. In 2005, Mäkynen was featured as a producer, drummer and main composer on trumpeter Jukka Eskola's appraised debut album 'Jukka Eskola'.
Teppo Mäkynen is the 2007 recipient of the Georgie Award.
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