Teppo Mäkynen

Teppo Mäkynen (born October 9, 1974 in Turku ) is a Finnish jazz musician ( drums ), DJ (under the name DJ zappä or Teddy Rok ) and music producer .

Live and act

Mäkynen, who grew up in Salo , began to learn drums in the local music school, which he continued at the Kaustinen Music High School and the Kokkola Conservatory . After Mäkynen graduated from high school, he spent a year studying music at the Orivesi Art School before joining the jazz department of the Sibelius Academy in 1994 . There Mäkynen played in several groups of his fellow students, u. a. in Antti Rissanen's Mr. Fonebone . He also played in the quartet Coyote of the bassist Ape Anttila, the quartet of the saxophonist Manuel Dunkel, the Ensemble Burn! the keyboardist Pessi Levanto and since 1997 in The Poppoo around the saxophonist Jukka Perko and the vibraphonist Severi Pyysalo.

Mäkynen was awarded the Young Artist of the Year award by the Finland Festival 2000. On Jarmo Saari's album Reuna , he not only played the drums, but also scratched the turntable ; he only performed as a DJ with saxophonist Olli Ojajärvi's band So So and with the Don Johnson Big Band , with whom he made various recordings. With his own band Teddy Rok Seven he played as a DJ in clubs and at festivals in Finland, Estonia and Sweden. In 2006, Mäkynen was voted Artist of the Year at Pori Jazz . With the singer Johanna Försti he formed the project Jo Stance , with which he also went on tour.

In 2000 Mäkynen also took part in projects of the Nuspirit Helsinki collective for the first time. To promote the album Nuspirit Helsinki , a larger live group was formed (including him), which toured Europe in 2003. Mäkynen was also on many remixes by Nuspirit Helsinki and especially in the studio and live versions of the all-star band The Five Corners Quintet , which was based on the classic groove jazz from the 1950s and 1960s. Since then Mäkynen has also worked in other constellations with the tenor saxophonist Timo Lassy , most recently as a duo.

As a producer Mäkynen was responsible for three songs on the album Turisti (EMI 2002) by Sami Saari. He also produced his own album Universal Four with Teddy Rok Seven , but also songs for the trumpeter Jukka Eskola's album of the same name and Timo Lassy's album The Soul & Jazz of Timo Lassy (2007).

Mäkynen was voted best percussionist six times in a review by Jazzryt magazine and was awarded the Yrjö Prize of the Finnish Jazz Federation in 2007.

Web links

• biography
• Teppo Mäkynen at Allmusic (English)
• Teppo Mäkynen at Discogs (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Jo Stance
2. ↑ Meeting (Jazzthing)
3. ↑ Timo Lassy & Teppo Mäkynen at Allmusic (English)