ppIANISSIMO JAZZ
CONCERT OF
AKI RISSANEN (Finland) – piano
DIMITAR KARAMFILOV (Bulgaria) – double bass
Atanas Popov (Bulgaria) – percussions
DIMITAR KARAMFILOV (Bulgaria) – double bass
Atanas Popov (Bulgaria) – percussions
Pieces by Aki Rissanen
Jazz standards
Free improvisations
…and more…
* * *
Finnish
pianist and composer Aki Rissanen
was born in 1980 in Kuopio. Although originally classically trained, he has
always had a heart for improvisation and jazz. His studies include classical
piano at the Kuopio Conservatory, jazz music and education at the Helsinki
Polytechnic School Stadia, jazz and improvised music at the Conservatoire
National Superieur de Musique in Paris, private lessons in New York and Cologne
as well as jazz piano and composition at the Sibelius Academy Jazz Department
in Finland, where he received his master’s degree. His teachers include Jarmo
Savolainen, Jukkis Uotila, Kirmo Lintinen, John Taylor, Jim Beard, Anders
Jormin, Hervé Sellin, Markku Hyvärinen, Jouni Kuronen, Seppo Kantonen, Frank
Carlberg, Pessi Levanto and Mikael Jakobsson.
Rissanen has
made several extended stays in Paris, Berlin and New York and is currently
based in Helsinki.
He has
released five albums under his own name in USA, France and Finland and has
recorded with such names as Dave Liebman, Rick Margitza, Tim Hagans, Magnus
Broo, Jim Beard, Robin Verheyen and Verneri Pohjola. He has shared the stage
with UMO Jazz Orchestra, Dave Liebman, Rick Margitza, Randy Brecker, Mats
Gustafsson, Sten Sandell, Ingrid Jensen, Michael Gibbs, Barry Guy, Daniel
Humair, Bill Watrous, Jukka Perko, Jukkis Uotila, Eero Koivistoinen and Ulf
Krokfors among others.
Rissanen is
the leader of Aki Rissanen Trio with Antti Lötjönen (bass) and Teppo Mäkynen
(drums) and a side project of this trio, entitled Amorandom featuring Petri Ruikka on visuals. He co-leads the trio Aleatoric with Robin Verheyen (sax) and
Markku Ounaskari (drums), the duo with Verheyen, the quartets featuring sax
greats Dave Liebman and Rick Margitza, the Frozen
Gainsbourg quintet with Mikko Innanen (sax), featuring Emil Strandberg
(trumpet), Per Zanussi (bass) and Stefan Pasborg (drums) from Sweden, Norway
and Denmark respectively.
With
trumpeter Verneri Pohjola, Rissanen has worked over 10 years and is a member of
his quartet, which has released two albums for the prestigious ACT Records in Germany. The duo with
Pohjola has seen many concerts too. Newer groups include Esa Pietilä’s Liberty Ship, Mikko Hassinen’s Electro GT, Jori Huhtala’s 5 and Pope Puolitaival’s United.
German-born
composer Sid Hille wrote a piano concerto Motion
for Rissanen in 2012 and the premiere was in the Laulumiehet Concert Hall in
Helsinki in October of the same year. Rissanen has participated in Jukka
Perko’s orchestral productions Bird
Lives! and Perko Plays Simon and
Garfunkel. He has also played in an orchestral work by Heikki Sarmanto.
Rissanen has
been distinguished with both national and international prizes, and has
performed in most European countries, the USA, China and North Africa. He has
taught jazz music in the Sibelius Academy, Helsinki, the Helsinki Polytechnic
School Stadia, in several summer camps and has given private lessons. He has
received one-year artist grants from the Finnish Cultural Foundation in 2009
and 2012 respectively.
(© Teemu Kuusimurto)
Dimitar Karamfilov was born in Stara Zagora (Bulgaria) in 1981. When he was three years old, his family moved to Ruse (Bulgaria). His parents noticed his music talent and Dimitar received his first violin (1/8 size) when he was four. Two years later the family moved again, this time to Sofia, where he continued his music lessons. In 1995 he entered the “Lyubomir Pipkov" National School of Music majoring in viola. It was in his teenage years that he first heard blues and jazz performers such as Ray Charles, B. B. King, Oscar Peterson, Chick Corea, who provoked his interest in jazz and improvisation that turned to real passion. That's why Karamfilov switched to bass guitar upon entering the "Pancho Vladigerov" National Academy of Music. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in 2006, and two years later he graduated in composition and double bass.
He
first performed on the jazz scene in Sofia in the very beginning of his student
years. In 2002 he attended the master class of Milcho Leviev, one of the most
prominent Bulgarian jazz musicians, who later hired him as an accompanying
bassist at his master classes.
In
2004, he was invited to join the Music
Caravan project that took place in Berlin. The project got together 17
musicians from Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Serbia,
Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Russia and the USA. The aim of the project was first to
create music exchange and make up a programme based on folk music of different
countries and then to make a studio recording and live performances on several
stages in Berlin. The project turned out so successful that the next year a
one-month European tour was organised.
Dimitar
Karamfilov has appeared at almost all jazz festivals in Bulgaria, performing
with all prominent Bulgarian jazz musicians. He has recorded both for the
Bulgarian National Radio and the Bulgarian National Television. Currently he works
as a freelance musician.
Atanas Popov was born in Sofia in 1977. He began his musical
education at the Children's School of Music at the “Lyubomir Pipkov"
National School of Music (Sofia), where he continued his studies in the
percussion classes of Prof. Dobri Paliev, Maria Palieva and Marina Mindova. He
graduated from the "Pancho Vladigerov" National Academy of Music in
the percussion class of Prof. Hristo Yotzov in the Department of Pop and Jazz
Music, then he studied in the Jazz Department of the Prince Claus Conservatoire
in Groningen (the Netherlands) with Ralph Peterson, Owen Hart Jr., David
Burkman, Conrad Herwig, Brian Lynch, Dena DeRose, Don Braden and Joris Teepe.
In the period 2002 -
2006, he performed at various venues in the Netherlands and other countries
with his teachers, as well as with jazz ensembles, such as Sibuly, Mogambo, Katarkestra, Los Bomberos, Brown Sugar
and others.
Atanas Popov has
participated in numerous jazz festivals in Germany, Italy, Serbia and Austria,
as well as the Bulgarian jazz scene in Bansko, Smolyan, Sozopol (the Apolonia Festival), Stara Zagora and
others. He has performed with eminent Bulgarian jazz musicians, such as Antoni
Donchev, Georgi Donchev, Theodosii Spassov, Shibil Benev, Peter Momchev,
Dimitar Liolev, Vasil Spassov, Militsa Gladnishka, Ventsislav Blagoev, Dimitar
Bodurov, Rosen Zahariev, Vasil Parmakov, Mihail Yosifov, Velislav Stoyanov,
Milen Kukosharov and others. Since 2010, he has been playing in the band Kottarashky & the Rain Dogs, with
which he has participated in over 25 European festivals.
