At the Porvoo Jazz Festival’s Vanha 123 concerts, the audience is always served two gigs with one ticket. The gigs will start at the same time on stages 1 and 2 at 8pm and after a short break at 9.15pm the audience will change the stage and hear the other performer of the evening. The two acts of the Friday night will be Kikoski-Mäensivu-Peri and jazz singer Riikka Keränen.
One can truly call David Kikoski as a master of jazz pianism. He has played in world-class bands with jazz legends such as Roy Haynes and John Scofield. Known as a hard-working musician, he has been busy at the studio with a large catalog – also Grammy-winning Dave Kikoski receives praise from his colleagues. Roy Haynes describes Kikoski as follows: “Dave has so much feeling. He can play anything. I can depend on him for so much.”
American Drummer Joe Peri and Finnish double bassist Kaisa Mäensivu, who had moved to the same city, New York, as Peri, had both admired Kikoski and attended his gigs for a long time. One day they got on stage with Kikoski in a jamming session in New York. Now the dream of the young musicians playing together with the master comes true as they tour as a trio.
The energetic trio will perform their own compositions and music from Kikoski’s career including songs he has performed with major names such as Jeff “Tain” Watts, Randy Brecker and Billy Hart .
For me, the main thing is spontaneity and taking chances. You have to study and know the traditions, but then you have to play things that haven’t been played before. It becomes a balance of knowing the tradition and using your own original voice to add to it. -Dave Kikoski. The concert is a co-operation with SaloJazz Festival.