Wasa Gypsy Jazz Quartet feat. Pertti Ahonen

Henrik Perelló, violin
Pertti Ahonen, horns
Mikael Liikanen, guitar
Viktor Weijola, guitar
Roger Bäck, bass

Wasa gypsy jazz quartet came to fruition when Ostrobothnian guitar players Mikael Liikanen and Viktor Weijola noticed that they both had an interest in Django Reinhardt’s music some ten years ago. Bass player Roger Bäck joined early on and the guys have played joyfully together on different occasions ever since. The guys started looking for an additional soloist a couple of months ago and was recommended to take contact with violin extraordinaire Henrik Perelló, who joined in.

For this special occasion the band wants to additionally experiment with woodwind and horn instruments and invites Vaasas very own Pertti Ahonen to join in.

Short bio:

Henrik Perelló has an extensive and diverse orchestral career in several leading Finnish orchestras, including the Finnish National Opera, the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra, the Tampere Chamber and several city orchestras in various concertmaster and principal positions. He has also worked as a violin teacher for a long time.
He has performed as a soloist and chamber musician with a wide classical repertoire, as a crossover violin artist in the fields of gypsy jazz, pop music and flamenco, and as a founding member of the InTime Quintet, specializing in tango nuevo and the music of Astor Piazzolla. The group has won the international Piazzolla competition and recorded several award-winning albums.
Perelló is a sought-after studio, film, theatre and TV musician and has performed at numerous festivals in Finland and abroad. He has been awarded several grants and recognitions, including the City of Tampere Cultural Award.

Pertti Ahonen has held the position as the principal clarinettist at the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Jyväskylä Sinfonia, the Finnish Navy Band and the Ostrobothnian Military Band. As a gigging musician he has played a lot with Tampere Filharmonia and dance music with singers as Tapani Kansa, Jarkko Honkanen and Mira Kunnasluoto. As a wind doubler he gas also gained reputation as a musical musician in Tampere and Helsinki. Pertti is the leader of the fusion band FiveSteps, the stomp band Pertti’s Stompin’ Duck and the big band Wasa Groove Unit. He also works as a woodwind teacher at Kuula-opisto, Vaasa.

Mikael Liikanen is known among friends and peers for his fierce electrical guitar playing and strong sense of melody.

Roger Bäck is one of Ostrobothnias most in demand bass players who has played on multiple albums and many projects over the years.

Viktor Weijola has played with different Swedish and Finnish artists and studied jazz guitar under Risto Toppola, Mathias Sandberg and Andreas Öberg.

Doors: 19:00
Show: 20:00