Friday 22 november 2024 at 8pm
Jazzycolors Festival
Join us at Café Maa on Friday 22 November at 8pm for an exceptional event bringing together two iconic artists of the Finnish and French jazz scenes – trumpeter Verneri Pohjola and saxophonist Sylvain Rifflet – as part of the Jazzycolors festival.
Since the beginning of their collaboration in 2012, they have developed a connection that, over the course of their projects, has emerged into a true musical brotherhood and led them to explore the refined form of the duo. In their free-flowing dialogue, the two musicians draw on the essence of their remarkable expressive capacity. They present the French premiere of their duo at Café Maa, marking the beginning of the Jazz at Café Maa concert series with an artistic direction by Charles Gil, Helsinki-based tour producer and founder of the Vapaat äänet agency.
Sylvain Rifflet describes his Finnish companion, to whom he dedicates The Viking’s walz in his album Aux Anges, in these words: Verneri Pohjola is for me one of the most exciting trumpeters of the moment. Over the last decade, I have seen him evolve and affirm his style and personality in an impressive way. Equally impressive is the ease with which he varies the registers and timbres of his instrument, the dynamics, and practices of circular breathing…
Since his professional debut at the turn of the millennium with the legendary Ilmiliekki quartet, Finnish trumpeter and composer Verneri Pohjola has built a solid reputation as a creator on the European jazz scene, thanks to his imposing sound, his expressiveness and the intensity of his improvisations. His quartet albums have been critically acclaimed, Bullhorn (2015), The Dead Don’t Dream (2020), Monkey Mind (2023). He performs regularly with percussionist Mika Kallio, with whom he improvised the soundtrack for Perttu Saksa’s film Animal Image. He has just formed the trio Exotic Matter, with Estonian pianist Kirke Karja and Mika Kallio. Dedicatee of Kaija Saariaho’s last concerto, Hush, created in Helsinki in August 2023, he performs this piece as a guest of symphony orchestras across Europe.
Saxophonist, clarinettist and accomplished composer, Sylvain Rifflet is one of the most brilliant musicians of his generation. His career, which began more than twenty years ago, has earned him recognition from his peers and the public through groups such as Mechanics, Troubadours and Re-Focus, in homage to Stan Getz. With Aux anges, he signs his most personal project, an ode to his angels, artists, who have guided his musical quest for more than twenty years, like composers Steve Reich, Terry Riley and Moondog, singer Abbey Lincoln, filmmaker Claude Sautet, author James Baldwin… Recently he created his first trio We Wants Stars with Bettina Kee on keyboards and synthesisers and Vincent Taeger on drums, a group and an album that stirred sensation.
The concert is sold out for the moment, but you can enter the waiting list. More information at our online shop.