Fresh music from ten years ago; Carnivale is the creation on visio man Janne Halonen, who nowadays is a leader of group called Helsinki-Cotonou Ensemble. Carnivale is fusion music around the globe, and is now available also on Spotify, here's a link; https://play.spotify.com/artist/4MFMMAAOnLJZJiTknZT9RL 

Teemu Viinikainen, Tomi Kettunen & I playing C-Jam Blues two weeks ago @ PJazza/Helsinki
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeZ2IabAJI4
Cheers!

Juha Kujanpää Ensembles Kultasiipi is now available at Spotify, here's the link;
https://play.spotify.com/album/659JrwOIvj9bkNlSx6qx8V
I hope you enjoy!

A good review on our show last friday in Lahti! Google translate also wanted to give our international friends a change to check it out, so here:

"ETELÄ-SUOMEN SANOMAT 20.8.2016
Lahden Rantajazz: Django Collective Helsinki, Umo Jazz Orchestra Goes Count Basie feat. Sami Pitkämö

Lahti cultural life seems livelier today than ever before. If you look at things from the perspective of live music, so the current weekend in the city have been felt from rock, blues, prog and jazz in particular - this is a new, six-day Gulf Beach Jazz event thanks. On Friday evening, the port of Cape familiarized with the old and even older tradition.

Evening started Django Collective Helsinki with a superb concert. As the name suggests the band focuses on the most important European jazz musicians, belgian guitarist Django Reinhardt repertoire and, above all, the spirit of this: a five-strong collective feeling absorbed the gypsy jazz of Swing, yearning and passion in a profound way. Guitarists Aki Hauru, Kimmo Kettunen Iltanen and Tom are all talented musicians, but even more remarkable is how their performance as individuals that support all: this music is all done at the right time, according to its own internal logic. Reinhardt bedfellows, the role of the violinist Stéphane Grappelli is a collective embraced regal Laura Airola, whose solos assured after the other. Also, bassist Tero Tuovinen took care of the plot well, though the bass was mixed throughout the evening too low. The band did not feel just renewing old, as their solos also ventured into use of modern approaches, which brought a new lease of life standards such as Black eyes, waves of the Danube and Smile.

The second appeared in the good old Umo Jazz Orchestra, soloist in many ehtivä Sami Pitkämö. Their concert focused on the legendary bandleader Count Basie software - on your keywords, therefore, swing, big band music and Sinatra. All parts of this equation is, of course, already been proven effective many times: Umon musicians know-how is a kind of self-evident, as is also the case with Basie material. It has touched and delighted people in as many places as for many times that nuriseminen would feel strange. Still, it should be noted that the swing-concerts and Sinatra tribute Lahdessakin already consulted several times a year, and big orchestras would take some handling, say, Mingus' compositions.

Vocalist Pitkämö seemed at first a little holding back, but no later Every Day I Have the Blues classic fully lit by the audience. It is good that Pitkämö tries to sing more in their own way than to mimic Sinatra. Jouni Järvelä led the band smoothly, and special mention yet genuinely hard-hitting solos drummer Ville Pynssille.

Petri Poutiainen"

Näytä käännös

Hi! Here's link to video we shot few weeks ago, song from Ville Ojanen's latest album "Kameleontti";
https://vimeo.com/179103061
I hope you enjoy :)

Hi! Here's Django Collective Helsinki featuring Aili Ikonen, cool!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-E-_h3Acm0

Here's fresh release from Ville Ojanen, Finnish fiddler with unique vision. Bass tracks are by me, obviously :) https://play.spotify.com/album/3znKxoqUGxsATWVn7t2uNe

Over 130 participants @ Tempo (El Sistema Finland) concert last weekend!

Here's a trailer of our Free Fall-dance piece, next show on thurday next week @ Jyväskylä City Theathre : https://vimeo.com/159955873

Django Collective Helsinki Trio @ Rekolan Kino 13th February; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9w8wvIOF_2s

I had an opportunity to play bass on musical Dance of Vampires last weekend in Helsinki National Theathre.  A bit scary but otherwise excellent experience,  got a chance to play with two of my biggest drum heroes in Finland; Anssi Nykänen and Sami Kuoppamäki.

Happy New Year 2016!

Juha Kujanpääs album Goldwing is praised by critics all around, here are links to reviews so far.

progressiverockcentral.com;
http://progressiverockcentral.com/2016/01/03/best-progressive-rock-albums-of-2015/
nordicmusicreview.com;
http://www.nordicmusicreview.com/#!blank/i80x5
theprogressiveaspect.net
http://theprogressiveaspect.net/blog/2015/12/29/juha-kujanpaa-kultasiipi-goldwing/
neoprog.eu
http://neoprog.eu/critique/juha_kujanpaa/kultasiipi_-_goldwing
artmusic-satellite.com
http://artmusic-satellite.com/2015/11/21/kultasiipi-juha-kujanpaa/
retrokkiblog.wordpress.com
https://retrokkiblog.wordpress.com/2015/12/22/retrokin-instrumentaalinen-joulupaketti-osallisina-juha-kujanpaa-joni-tiala-ale-carr-esko-jarvela-majakanvartija/
soundi.fi
http://www.soundi.fi/levyarviot/juha-kujanpaa-kultasiipi/