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Aki Rissanen
Aki Rissanen, b. 1980 in Kuopio, Finland, is a Finnish pianist and composer. Although originally classically trained he has always had a heart for improvisation and jazz. His studies include classical piano at the Kuopio Conservatory, Finland (1990-2000); jazz music and education at the Helsinki Polytechnic School Stadia (2000-2002); jazz and improvised music at the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique in Paris, France (2005-2006); private lessons in New York, USA and Cologne, Germany (2005-2008) and jazz piano and composition at the Sibelius Academy Jazz Department in Finland (2002-2009), where he received the 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 currently is based in Helsinki, Finland.
Rissanen 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 Swedish Emil Strandberg (trumpet), Norwegian Per Zanussi (bass) and Danish Stefan Pasborg (drums).
German-born composer Sid Hille wrote a piano concert “Motion” for Rissanen in 2012 and the premiere was in the Laulumiehet Concert Hall in Helsinki in October on the same year. With trumpeter Verneri Pohjola Rissanen has worked over 10 years and is member of his quartet which has relased two albums for the prestigious ACT Records in Germany. The duo with Pohjola has seen many concerts, too. Newer groups include Esa Pietilä Liberty Ship, Mikko Hassinen Electro GT, Jori Huhtala 5, Pope Puolitaival United and Jukka Perko’s orchestral productions Bird Lives!, Perko plays Simon and Garfunkel and a orchestral work by Heikki Sarmanto.
Rissanen has earlier worked with, now defunct projects like Warp! with Eeppi Ursin, Verneri Pohjola and Joonas Riippa; White Light Quartet (international cast of members from FIN-FRA-BEL); Belfin Quartet (FIN-BEL); and Thalassa (FIN-GER-NOR).
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New Music From Aki Rissanen, Greg Spero, Jeremy Green And Athana
by Len Davis
New music from Finland: Aki Rissanen; from the US: Greg Spero; from Germany: Marriage Material; and from Canada: Jeremy Green. Plus, Athana with Alf Terje Hanna, Simon Phillips Protocol 2, 3 Crows with Chris Buck and Brett Garsed. Wayne Krantz, Japanese bassist Tetsuo Sakurai and Scott Henderson from Vibe Station. Playlist Aki Rissanen Breezy" from Hyperreal (Edition) 00:00 Greg Spero Reckoning" from Reckoning (Tiny Records) 05:39 Marriage Material Calibraten" from Enchantment Under The Sea (Delta) 11:20 Jeremy Green ...
read more5x3: Piano Trios: September 2019
by Geno Thackara
Well, some months are packed too full of these goodies to cover in batches of three. We can only hang on and try to keep up. Aki Rissanen Art in Motion Edition Records 2019 Past, present and future don't collide but smash together in one happy jumble through this trio's splendid third outing. The stately refinement of European classical and folk music, the mantric minimalism of Nik Bärtsch and the modern ...
read moreAki Rissanen: Another North
by Roger Farbey
Following on from 2016's Amorandom, Finnish pianist Aki Rissanen has produced yet another satisfying album. Born in 1980 he has already released nine albums as leader or co-leader. Rissanen studied classical piano at Finland's Kuopio Conservatory from 1990-2000 and then jazz music at Helsinki Polytechnic School and in 2009 gained a Master's degree in jazz piano and composition from the Sibelius Academy Jazz Department, also in Helsinki. He also studied improvised music at Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique in Paris. ...
read moreThe Aki Rissanen Trio plays April Jazz, Espoo, Finland
by Anthony Shaw
The Aki Rissanen Trio Louhi Club April Jazz Espoo, Finland April 4, 2016 Espoo in southern Finland is nominally a city, having its own emblem, transportation system and council though for most people in the vicinity of Helsinki it's merely a close suburb of the metropolis. However every spring it comes into its own hosting the April Jazz festival mainly in the Tapiola Gardens area, heralding the start of the yearly Finnish festival music ...
read moreAki Rissanen: Amorandom
by Roger Farbey
In a world of piano trios, a point of difference is simply essential. This particular trio, hailing from Finland and led by pianist Aki Rissanen, makes that difference clear from the outset. The key to this, and in addition to each of the musicians' individual talents, is the group's ability to change mood subtly and kaleidoscopically. It's also hardly surprising that this is a successful album considering the fact that this same trio comprised the rhythm section on Verneri Pohjola's ...
read moreAleatoric and Imperial Quartet in Helsinki
by Anthony Shaw
Aleatoric and Imperial Quartet Kanneltalo Helsinki, Finland March 12, 2015 For anyone who has come to jazz, as I, via the cross-national recombinations that pop up regularly throughout the European continent this combined gathering of Finnish, French and Belgian musicians on the same bill in jny: Helsinki was nothing less than a glorious rout. Thanks to the mix of benefactors, involving both foreign embassies and the Finnish Jazz Federation, the bill featured two very different ...
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