Ilmiliekki Quartet

In 2002 Verneri, Tuomo, Olavi and Antti became the Young Nordic Jazz Comets by winning the Nordic jazz ensemble competition six months after founding the ensemble. Ilmiliekki’s debut album March Of The Alpha Males (TUM Records) was a nominee for a Jazz Emma (the Finnish Grammy) for the best jazz album of the year 2003. In 2004 the band was nominated Young Artist of the Year by the Finland Festivals organisation, while Verneri Pohjola was chosen as the Pori Jazz Festival Young Artist of the same year. Finally, at the end of 2004, Ilmiliekki got the highly respected Teosto Prize (the Finnish Composers Copyright Society's prize). Considering all this Ilmiliekki Quartet represents the best young talent in Finnish jazz at the moment.

The senior member of the band, trumpetist Verneri Pohjola (b. 1977), is usually the most featured soloist in the acclaiming criticism of Ilmiliekki concerts. The real power of the band, however, lies in their ensemble playing and interaction. All four musicians are major players on their respective instruments and they all share the vision, attitude, courage and self-confidence necessary in order to make creative, ambitious and impressive music.

The repertoire consists mostly of the band members’ original compositions. Occasionally, however, they go for covers by artists such as Björk, Ornette Coleman, Tom Waits, Radiohead or Suzanne Vega. And wherever Ilmiliekki performes, the audience is captivated by the quartet’s magic.

Verneri Pohjola, trumpet, melodica
Tuomo Prättälä, piano
Antti Lötjönen, bass
Olavi Louhivuori, drums

Homepage: Ilmiliekki Quartet
My Space: Ilmiliekki

COMING NEXT:

Saturday 20 March 2010, Akaa Jazz (FI)

"Vi sålde våra hemman" - Tournée with vocalist Emma Salokoski. Read more.
- Special production along with new CD together with vocalist Emma Salokoski, released by KHY Suomen Musiikki Oy. (Sept. & Oct. 2009)

Verneri Pohjola in Shanghai (Oct. 2009)

Reviews:
All About Jazz, Budd Kopman, Take It With Me 7/2007
All About Jazz, Mark F. Turner, Take It With Me
Observer Music Monthly, Stuart Nicholson, 2/2007
www.jazzconvention.net 2/2007
The Observer, Stuart Nicholson, 11/2006
All About Jazz, Budd Kopman, Jazz at Lincoln Center

THE IRISH TIME, Ray Comisky (1 May 2007): "The best came last. Leading Finland's marvellous working quartet, Ilmiliekki, trumpeter Verneri Pohjola had the mark of greatness. A mix of Tomasz Stanko, Arve Henriksen and Miles Davis, all welded into a personal concept, in a festival with more than its share of outstanding young musicians, he was of a different order.
With the technique and the nerve to do anything, and the judgment to go with it, his rubato playing was spare and poised, every note placed to perfection, using contrasts of register and tone superbly. His choices were constantly surprising but logical, no matter how freely he played, and his band, particularly pianist Tuomo Prättälä, is a class act, but Pohjola is special."


CD Recording for Sublime:
Vi sålde våra hemman, with vocalist Emma Salokoski (2009)

CD Recordings for TUM Records:
Take it with me (TUM Records 2006, TUM CD 020)
March of the Alpha Males (TUM Records 2003, TUM CD 005)

Booking & Management:
Ms Virpi Laaksonen
Tel. +358 40 535 1840
virpi.salomaa@festium.fi