Seppo Paakkunainen

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The "Baron" Paakkunainen in 1973.

Seppo Toivo Juhani Paakkunainen ( Seppo "Paroni" Paakkunainen , Seppo "Baron" Paakkunainen , born October 24, 1943 in Tuusula ) is a Finnish jazz saxophonist and composer .

Paakkunainen studied flute and saxophone at the Sibelius Academy in the early 1960s, and later composition at Berklee College of Music . With the group Soulset he won a jazz competition in Sofia in 1968; the Tuohi Quartet (with Teppo Hauta-aho , Edward Vesala and Heikki Sarmanto ) won the EBU competition for jazz bands in Montreux in 1971 .

With his own band Karelia , Paakkunainen played a combination of jazz and Finnish folk music. As a member of the George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band , he was the first Finnish jazz musician to perform in New York's Carnegie Hall . He also toured the USA with the band Karelia , the Tapiola Big Band and with the combo of Heikki Sarmanto.

With the band Conjunto Baron he combined Latin jazz with Finnish folk music. His Universal Peace Orchestra was one of the first world music ensembles in Finland. With Eero Ojanen and Teppo Hauta-aho, Paakkunainen founded the trio Nueva Finlandia .

With Pentti Lahti , Pepa Päivinen and Janne Murto , he founded the first Finnish saxophone ensemble , Saxperiments , with whom he has performed since 1989 and played compositions by Charlie Haden and Astor Piazzolla .

With Nils-Aslak Valkeapää , Paakkunainen plays a combination of traditional Lappish joiku singing and jazz. In addition, he composed symphonies, choral works based on the Kalevala , pieces for big bands, drama and film music.

Discography

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personal data
SURNAME Paakkunainen, Seppo
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Paakkunainen, baron; Paakkunainen, Seppo Toivo Juhani Paroni
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Finnish jazz saxophonist and composer
DATE OF BIRTH October 24, 1943
PLACE OF BIRTH Tuusula