Ossi Aalto

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Ossi Aalto

Osmo "Ossi" Adolf Aalto (* 17th August 1910 in Helsinki , † 19 January 2009 ) was a Finnish jazz - drummer and bandleader.

Life

Time until 1945

Aalto began his musical career in 1927 in the Finnish formation Black Birds. It was made up of students from Helsingin Suomalainen Yhteiskoulu [Helsinki Finnish Mixed School]. Musicians next to Aalto on drums were the pianist Harry Bergström (1910–1989), the violinist Rainer, the trumpeter Urs Johannson and the trombonist Klaus Salmi. They were already playing in the Kulosaaren Casino and on the radio in 1928 . In the summer of 1928 he joined The Saxophone Jazz Band of saxophonist Allan Teräsvuoren, a dance band that performed at the Franciscaner restaurant in Helsinki. Other members of the ensemble were the pianist Asser Fagerström (1912-1990) and Eero Lindroos (1908-1996), who called himself since 1945 Eero Lauresalo, on the sousaphone . During this time, Aalto is said to have been the first in Finland to build and use the first hi-hats out of two cymbals , which established his reputation as one of the most progressive Finnish drummers. The Saxophone Jazz Band disbanded in 1930. Aalto then played in Cuba , a coffee house in Helsinki, and with the tenor saxophonist Yrjö Saarnion (1906–1985) at The Rhythm Maniacs in Turku . In the spring of 1936 Aalto was engaged by the Dallapé Orchestra , which had performed without a percussionist for years. During this time he made concert tours and recordings with the orchestra. In the spring of 1939, the involvement with Dallapé ended . Aalto then played in the septet of his childhood friend Erkki Aho (1918–2002) in the Rio restaurant in Helsinki. During the war, the Erkki Aho Orchestra, which has grown to 14 members, performed next to the Rio in the exhibition hall, an exhibition and concert hall built in 1935. After the war, Aho continued to lead the orchestra until its last appearance in the Jive Club in December 1945 .

Ossi Aalto Orchestra

In December 1945 Ossi Aalto took over the direction and management of the now 15-man big band Erkki Ahos, which was now called the Ossi Aalto Orchestra. Musicians were the saxophonists Leo Kähkönen, Göran Ödner, Erkki Eloranta, Onni Hovi and Eero Väre. Ossi Runne, Matti Welling and Urpo Huttunen played the trumpet, Ahti Pilvi and Erkki trombone, Martti Huttunen guitar, Erik Lindström bass, Veikko Tamminen piano and Aalto himself was the drummer. The instrumentalists were complemented by the singers Ödner, Vär and Cora Lee. The band was internationally active. So in the summer of 1946 she had an engagement at the Nöjesfelt amusement park in Stockholm . In the same year they played the music in performances of the Threepenny Opera by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill in Swedish in Helsinki. In 1947 they toured Sweden. The ensemble had several live radio appearances during this time, but these were not officially recorded. The orchestra's triumphant advance lasted until 1948. Rytm magazine recognized both the big band and Aalto as drummers.

Ossi Aalto Sextet and Ossi Aalto Quintet

Aalto continued to lead the orchestra with a reduced and changed line-up from 1948 on as Ossi Aalto Sextet and made recordings of Embryo and Blue Moon with DECCA Records in 1950 . Further recordings followed in 1951. A last visit to Sweden took place in the summer of 1951. From 1954 the formation still existed as the Ossi Aalto Quintet.

Web links

Commons : Ossi Aalto  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h Pomus - Pomus.net - Ossi Aalto. Retrieved September 24, 2017 .
  2. ↑ a b c d e Orkesterinjohtaja Ossi Aalto on kuollut . In: ts.fi . ( ts.fi [accessed September 24, 2017]).
  3. ↑ Pomus - Pomus.net - Eero Lauresalo. Retrieved September 24, 2017 .
personal data
SURNAME Aalto, Ossi
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Aalto, Osmo Adolf
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Finnish jazz musician and band leader
DATE OF BIRTH 17th August 1910
PLACE OF BIRTH Helsinki
DATE OF DEATH January 19, 2009
Place of death Helsinki