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Alexi Tuomarila
”I never looked back. I graduated with a Master of Music degree in 1999. The school in Brussels is a small but international place with a high level of teaching. For example, my piano teacher, Diederik Wissels, who records for Verve in France, sparked a new enthusiasm for jazz in me. The school also has visiting foreign teachers, with a big name every year. American saxophonists Joe Lovano and Lee Konitz for example have given a concert and a master class at the Conservatory.”
The Brussels Conservatory promotes a lot of ensemble work, and it was through that the Alexi Tuomarila Quartet got started. In 1999, Tuomarila's Quartet won the trophy for best band at the international Jazz Hoeilaart competition in Belgium. Alexi himself won the title of the best soloist. In summer 2001 he receaved the 1st prize in the international jazz soloist competition in Monaco and sowewhat later his quartet won the Tremplin jazz competition in Avignon, France.
In addition to winning competitions, the Alexi Tuomarila Quartet has also appeared at several major jazz festivals in Europe and Australia, and performed for example at the Palais des Papes in Avignon.
Alexi Tuomarila Quartet's new CD was recorded at the Studios La Buissonne in the south of France, and it's part of a three-disc recording contract with Warner Music Finland.
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Alexi Tuomarila Trio: Sphere
by Roger Farbey
Sphere is Alexi Tuomarila's follow-up to Kingdom (Edition, 2017) and Seven Hills (Edition, 2017). But the Finnish pianist has also collaborated with many of jazz's leading lights including Kenny Wheeler, Joey Baron, Jim Black, Bill Evans and Peter Erskine. Tuomarila also appeared on Dark Eyes by the Tomasz Stanko Quintet (ECM, 2010). Sphere 's opener is the attention-grabbing “Shapeshifter," where Tuomarila plays a fast-paced contrapuntal theme with bass and drums shadowing the swirling piano. “Jord" introduces guest trumpeter ...
read more440 Keys: A Batch of Piano Delights
by Geno Thackara
It's always a pleasure to be reminded what a range of sounds just one instrument can produce. The same 88 keys can be used in endlessly different ways in different inventive hands, and this batch of recordings has several masterful performers taking that starting point toward quite eclectic ends. Dag Arnesen Trio Pentagon Tapes Losen Records 2017 With a love for jazz and folk both classic and modern, Dag Arnesen finds a ...
read moreAlexi Tuomarila: Kingdom
by Roger Farbey
Piano-led power trios have proliferated over the last twenty years or more thanks to the likes of the Esbjörn SvenssonTrio and The Bad Plus whose respective approach was undeniably a more consciously dynamic one than the reflective approach of say Bill Evans or the redoubtable Keith Jarrett. There was also, inevitably, a move away from the old style of swinging piano trios such as those led by Erroll Garner or Oscar Peterson. Often, contemporary piano-led trios have embraced a more ...
read moreAlexi Tuomarila: From Helsinki to Timbuktu
by Bruce Lindsay
Sometimes a person can be in the right place, just not quite at the right time. So it was for Finnish pianist Alexi Tuomarila. After his debut album with his quartet, Voices of Pohjola (Igloo Records, 2001), he signed to Warner Jazz in the early '00s, while he was still in his 20s. The second quartet album, 02 (Warner Jazz), appeared in 2003. Tuomarila seemed poised for great things. Then a sudden decision by the label to cut its jazz ...
read moreAlexi Tuomarila Trio: Seven Hills
by John Kelman
While not entirely rare, it is relatively uncommon to find relationships forged so strongly that the musicians find themselves working together in multiple contexts, where the names remain the same, only the leader changes. Finnish pianist Alexi Tuomarila and drummer Olavi Louhivuori have been working together in a variety of contexts for the past several years, most notably with Polish trumpeter Tomasz Stańko's quintet responsible for Dark Eyes (ECM, 2010), but together with Mats Eilertsen, they've not only worked together ...
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