Kalle Kalima

Kalle Kalima at a concert in the Bessunger Knabenschule in Darmstadt on January 30, 2016

Kalle Kalima (born December 29, 1973 in Helsinki ) is a Finnish jazz guitarist and improvisation musician.

Life and influences

Kalima took piano lessons as a child before switching to the guitar. He studied with Raoul Björkenheim at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and with John Schröder at the Hanns Eisler Music Academy in Berlin .

He then worked with musicians such as the trumpeter Tomasz Stańko , the saxophonist Juhani Aaltonen , the pianist Heikki Sarmanto , the bassists Sirone , Teppo Hauta-Aho , Carlos Bica and Ed Schuller , the guitarist Marc Ducret , the composer Simon Stockhausen , the singer Linda Sharrock and the Finnish techno musician Jimi Tenor .

Kalima lives and works in his adopted home Berlin .

Musical projects

Kalima leads several bands of her own:

The trio Klima Kalima (with bassist Oliver Potratz and drummer Oliver Steidle ) is rooted in modern jazz and has so far recorded three albums, mostly with compositions from Kalima. The band received the New German Jazz Prize in Mannheim in 2008 .

Momentum Impakto (with saxophonist Daniel Erdmann and John Schröder as drummers) was created around 1998 in Berlin. The group performs mostly in Germany and has recorded two albums. With the Soi Ensemble (with Riikka Lampinen , cello; Mikko Helevä , organ; Mongo Aaltonen , drums) Kalima performs songs that he composed based on texts by Essi Kalima . Johanna Iivanainen , Eeppi Ursin and Merzi Rajala took part as singers . The group's debut album was released in 2003.

The trio Jazz Paracetics consists of Kalima, the bassist Ed Schuller and the drummer Ernst Bier . The youngest band Kalimas is K 18 , a group that plays free improvisational music with acoustic and electric instruments.

Discography

• Hippycone (with Marc Ducret , Lasse Lindgren and Mika Kallio ), 1998–2000
• Haw Haw , Monumentum Impakto, 1999
• Johnny La Marama: Johnny La Marama (with Chris Dahlgren and Eric Schaefer ), 2001
• Hyvä Bändi Livenä , Monumentum Impakto, 2002
• Pehmeä , Soi, 2003
• Helsinki on My Mind 2004
• Very Early , Jazz Paracetics, 2004
• Bica , Klammer , Kalima: A Chama do Sol , 2004
• Johnny La Marama: ... Fire! , 2006
• Koiperhonen , Soi, 2006
• Chasing Yellow Enja Records 2007
• Loru , Klima Kalima, 2010
• Finn Noir Enja-Yellowbird 2015
• High Noon 2016

Web links

• Homepage of Kalle Kalima
• Kalle Kalima (in an interview with Alex Schmitz)
• Kalle Kalima at Discogs (English)