Harri Sjöström

Harri Sjöström with Quintet Moderne in Club W71 , 2017

Harri Sjöström (born February 29, 1952 in Turku ) is a Finnish soprano saxophonist and band leader in the field of free jazz and new improvised music .

Harri Sjöström studied saxophone, flute and piano with Harry Mann, later saxophone with Leo Wright and Steve Lacy ; he also studied photography and film at Lone Mountain College at the San Francisco Art Institute from 1974 to 1978 . After graduating, he left the United States and moved to Vienna , where he worked in the European improvisation scene. During this time Harri Sjöström formed his first own ensemble and organized a. a. numerous projects in Finland . He brought many improvised music artists into the country; one of his previous projects was a tour with Derek Bailey's Company , which played in Finland for the first time.

In 1985 Harri Sjöström moved to Berlin and from 1986 played in a duo with the pianist Bernhard Arndt . In 1990 he met Cecil Taylor and worked on various projects with the pianist and composer. Sjöström founded the international Quintet Moderne and co-founded the trio The Player Is with Teppo Hauta-Aho and Philipp Wachsmann . In the 2000s he worked with his formation Three Meter Dog , u. a. with Bernhard Arndt and the drummer Tony Buck . In 2005 he founded the formation Wait . Harri Sjöström also appears in solo performances and deals with film music. Sjöström also took part in recordings / performances with Evan Parker , Paul Lovens , Tristan Honsinger and Teppo Hauta-Aho.

Discographic notes

Recordings with Cecil Taylor

Cecil Taylor Ensemble: “Melancholy” ( FMP , 1990). with Tony Oxley , Tobias Netta, Wolfgang Fuchs , Volker Schlott , Evan Parker, Thomas Klemm, Jörg Huke , Thomas Wiedermann, Barry Guy
Cecil Taylor: Always a Pleasure (FMP, 1993) with Charles Gayle , Tristan Honsinger, Sirone , Rashid Bakr
Cecil Taylor: Almeda - The Ensemble (FMP), 1996
Cecil Taylor: The Light of Corona (FMP), 1996
Cecil Taylor Quartet: QUA - Live at Iridium vol 1. (Cadence, 1998) with Cecil Taylor. Dominic Duval , Jackson Krall
Cecil Taylor Quartet Qu'a Yuba - Live at Iridium vol 2. ( Cadence Jazz Records , 1998)

Recordings under his own name and as a co-leader

Duo Harri Sjöström / Etienne Rolin : "Sax Syntax" (Erol Records, 1992)
Not red not green (Po Torch Record, 1988/89) with Wolfgang Fuchs, Karri Koivukoski, Harri Sjöström, Paul Lovens
Quintet Moderne The strange and the common place (Po Torch, 1991) with Teppo Hauta-Aho, Paul Rutherford , Paul Lovens, Harri Sjöström, Philipp Wachsmann
Quintet Moderne: Ikkunan Takana (Bead Records, 1987) with Teppo Hauta-Aho, Jari Hongisto, Paul Lovens, Philipp Wachsmann
Quintet Moderne: Wellsprings (Cadence, 2001) with Harri Sjöström, Philipp Wachsmann, Paul Rutherford, Teppo Hauta-Aho, Paul Lovens
Sjöström / Wachsmann / Gordoa / Bauer / Narvesen: Up and Out (2020)

literature

Richard Cook , Brian Morton : The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. 8th edition. Penguin, London 2006, ISBN 0-14-102327-9 .

Web links

Commons : Harri Sjöström - collection of images, videos and audio files

personal data
SURNAME	Sjöström, Harri
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Finnish jazz musician
DATE OF BIRTH	February 29, 1952
PLACE OF BIRTH	Turku , Finland