Finns Will Have A Fling In Thunder Bay

Including First Time Performance in Canada by Jukka Tolonen (See Interview with him below)

According to the annual Finnish Grand Festival organizers in Thunder Bay, Ontario, whether you are young or old, Finnish or just Finnish-minded, Finn Fling 06 promises its guests a great time. The festival will be held July 14th to 16th in the Canadian city that is one of the best places to celebrate and immerse oneself in Finnish culture.
Situated on the spectacular waterfront of Lake Superior, Thunder Bay was specifically chosen by the International Grand Festival organizers to host the 2006 Finnish Grand Festival this year. Organizers are expecting over 5,000 tourists and visitors to converge on the city during Finn Fling. They can wander through Finn Fling’s exciting Tori (marketplace) where they will find local & Finnish hand-crafted items, custom designs and artwork. They can also register in the Canadian Wife Carrying Championships and win her weight in beer and other prizes.
There will be many unique and informative lectures, films and workshops that will introduce participants to Finnish culture, language and community. A Youth Zone for children will have workshops, concerts and plenty of contests for them to participate in.

For more information

International performers will be featured at the festival.

The Saana Ensemble (Ulla Desnick-Tervo, Eeva Savolainen, Elina Kala, Sari Rönnholm, and Elina Ruppert) is a vocal group of Finns who live in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. They perform both accompanied and acappella music in Finnish, from traditional folk tunes to popular music from the 40’s to current. They aim to promote little known Finnish popular music as well as entertain the Finnish American community and ex-patriots in the Twin Cities. For accompaniment, the ensemble utilizes guitars, accordion, piano, clarinet, recorder and various kitchen gadgets with percussive qualities.

Ulla Suokko Flutist Ulla Suokko, who holds a music doctorate from the Juilliard School, and who has recently been featured on Conan O’Brien’s show as his Finnish sidekick, will also be a featured performer. Ulla has performed for audiences on both sides of the Atlantic. She has been active both as a soloist and chamber musician, and has been featured in some of New York City’s most prestigious concert halls and in many other venerated concert venues throughout the East Coast and Europe. Her performances are heard regularly throughout the New York Metropolitan area. New York City’s classical radio station WNYC has often broadcast her recordings and live performances. Ulla has been a featured artist at many summer festivals in her native Finland, including the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival and Uusikaupunki Crusell Festival. Ulla's website.

Rauno Nieminen with the Jouhi-Orkesteri Another group that will travel to Thunder Bay from Finland is Jouhi-Orkesteri, which is the musical vehicle for Rauno Nieminen’s love affair with the ancient Finnish bowed harp called the jouhikko. Rauno, a master instrument maker, was a key influence in the re-emergence of the jouhikko after it was forgotten for a hundred years. Playing haunting and evocative, rootsy and delicate music, this band is among the best in the world on the jouhikko. The band is now a quartet that includes Marianne Maans who plays jouhikko, violin, and sings; Pekko Käppi who also plays jouhikko, alto jouhikko, and sings; Lauri Antila playing bass jouhikko and double bass; and Rauno Nieminen on jouhikko, altojouhikko, and vocals.

Gerry Henkel Gerry Henkel from Duluth, Minnesota, will travel north along the shore of Lake Superior to present workshops on kantele playing, and to perform. An instrument maker and instrumentalist on the Finnish national folk instrument, Gerry uses his North American influences to bring new sounds and ideas to this harmonically beautiful lap harp. Gerry's website.

Finnish Guitar Legend Will Be At Canadian Festival

By Ari Lahdekorpi

As a young Finnish guitarist living in northern Canada, there weren’t a lot of cultural touchstones that I could relate to. In those days the only contact I had with Finns outside of my own family were the occasional visits to our sauna by transient singles who were on contract at the Inco mine. The Finnish music I heard at home generally consisted of button accordian arrangements of tangos and polkas or old records from the 40s sung by popular wartime crooners. It all lead me to the impression that Finland was somehow removed from the influences of American music. It never occurred to me that anyone there would own a guitar, let alone play one.
Those misconceptions were forever shattered one summer in the early seventies when I walked into a music store in Winnipeg and spotted an album in the imports bin. The black and white cover featured a longhaired guitarist bent over a Gibson electric guitar. The album was called Tolonen and it was recorded in Finland. I immediately purchased it and brought it home.
Embedded in those vinyl grooves I discovered that far from being isolated from the influences of modern music, Finland actually produced an artist whose playing rivaled the best in the world. Despite an album cover that would today be mistaken for a heavy metal record, the album was actually a jazz guitar tour du force, music that was both inspired and inspiring.
I wore the grooves out of that first Tolonen album, learning as many of his guitar riffs as I could. Jukka Tolonen became a guitar hero to me in a deeper way than the American and British guitarists I had been listening to. Subsequent albums I found proved him to be a standard bearer of Finnish musical prowess. To this day I am amazed by the quality and invention that Jukka Tolonen displayed in his composition and performance in those early albums.
In the late sixties and early seventies there were few guitarists exploring the fusion of jazz, rock, and classical elements as successfully Tolonen. It is not surprising that to this day he is revered as one of Finland’s true guitar legends. In his home country Jukka Tolonen’s name is spoken with the same respect as Eric Clapton, or Jimi Hendrix. Tolonen remains one of the few musical artists from Finland whose work has crossed the Finnish borders and met with critical acclaim.
Today Jukka has several interesting projects on the go. His gigs range from the reunion of his first internationally successful band, Tasavallan Presidentti, to his new Tolonen Plays Coltrane project. While in Finland last July, I had the opportunity to see Jukka Tolonen in action with a Finnish super-group of Blues/Rock artists called SFBlues. He was sounding as vibrant and exciting as he did 30 years ago, and the crowd loved it.
Despite his international reputation, Tolonen has not ventured across the Atlantic as a performer. This summer he is planning on changing that. Jukka Tolonen is booked to come and perform in North America for the very first time in his over 30 years as a guitar icon. He has been invited this summer to FinnFling 2006 in Canada, and he will be performing in Thunder Bay, Ontario, on July 14th. The band Jukka is traveling with is called Cool Train and features some of Finland’s finest young musicians, including the versatile drummer from world music group, Värttinä. This band plays Tolonen’s interpretations of the music of saxophone legend John Coltrane. There is no doubt that Jukka will demonstrate the fire and finesse that are the hallmarks of his incredible musicianship.
It is not often that one gets the chance to chat with a personal hero, but thanks to New World Finn, I had the opportunity to catch up with Jukka Tolonen recently and ask him a few questions about his musical history and career.

Ari Lahdekorpi: Finland has a love affair with tangos and polkas...what lead you to pick up the guitar as your instrument of choice?
Jukka Tolonen: I was 12 years old and I wanted the guitar after watching TV and listening to records of American pop music. I was hearing Elvis, Tommy Steele, Paul Anka, and Ricky Nelson. In 1960 Ricky Nelson was on Finnish TV. The show would start with a shot of Ricky holding an acoustic guitar. I loved the look of that guitar. Later came the Beatles and Rolling Stones. My early guitar playing was mostly by ear. I was taking piano lessons as well at the time.
AL: Its interesting that you mention Paul Anka, I wouldn’t associate him with being an influence on you...he’s a Canadian you know.
JT: A Canadian? I didn’t know that.
AL: Prior to your recording the Tolonen album, what was the music scene like in Finland? Were there many electric guitarists at the time?
JT: Not so many as now. One of the earliest Finnish guitarists playing in the blues/rock style was Hasse Walli. He was a big influence on me and many others then. Hasse was with Jim Pembroke in a band called Blues Section.
AL: Didn’t you also play with Wigwam at one point?
JT: I did some recording with Wigwam in the seventies, but I never performed live with them. During that period I also had the opportunity to see...Cream, and Jimi Hendrix live.
AL: How would you describe the state of guitar in Finland today, compared to when you started?
JT: It is totally different now. I was a pioneer at the time when I started. The schooling is better. Now it is producing some great players. Many of the schools have programs for guitar, so the level of playing has really grown.
AL: On your early albums you often doubled on piano and guitar. Has being a multi-instrumentalist helped you in creating a distinctive guitar style?
JT: Taking piano lessons helped me to know how to practice. I also learned scales and how to read music from piano. In the early stages my guitar playing was mostly by ear, but the piano helped me in organizing my practice.
AL: In the early seventies when you released your first albums, you were relatively young, and yet you seemed to have already developed your own style. Who were you listening to in those days?
JT: At that time I was going for a cleaner guitar sound and technique. Pat Martino, and Larry Coryell come to mind as players I was listening to. I was also paying attention to Wes Montgomery and British guitarist, John McLaughlin.
AL: Carlos Santana is quoted as calling you one of the generation’s most remarkable guitarists. Where do you see your strengths as a guitarist?
JT: Have you seen that quote? I have heard about it, but I have never seen it myself. Santana is one of my idols...in other ways... in different ways from Pat Martino. I love his sustain and his melodies. It’s hard for me to talk about where my strengths are.
AL: What do you listen to for inspiration?
JT: I don’t make a point of listening to guitar players so much, but I heard some Swedish jazz guitarist on the radio the other day that sounded quite good. Joe Satriani and Frank Gamble are current players that I like. Paco de Luca has been an inspiration; particularly his collaborations with John McLaughlin...and John McLaughlin’s Shakti records are great to listen to. I have been in India several times performing and playing with Indian musicians. I am quite proud of my association and performances with some really great Indian musicians.
AL: In light of many modern “guitaristic” techniques, you have remained “music based” and fairly traditional in your guitar playing approach. Have you experimented with different techniques and tricks on the electric guitar?
JT: Yes, sometimes I have used the tremolo arm. I am not interested in the Van Halen techniques. I am not particularly good at that stuff so I don’t dwell on it. Also I have never really developed slide techniques. I am not a slide player. Pepe Alquist, who is with SFBlues, is a good slide guitarist.
AL: When I saw you at Tammerfest last summer sitting in with SFBlues, you were using a unique solid body guitar, I think it’s the same one on your new CD cover as well.
JT: I helped to design the concept of that guitar. It is a Ruokangas Duke JT Custom Tolonen model. Juha Ruokangas has become well known as a quality electric guitar builder. His guitars were featured in Guitar Player Magazine I believe. It’s based on the Duke Standard model. My acoustic guitar nowadays is a Selmer style acoustic guitar, model SA-10 made by Lottonen Guitars Ltd. Both Juhas ( Ruokangas and Lottonen) have done an excellent work and I am very happy and pleased with my guitars.
AL: Your sound is a lot more beefy and overdriven these days; what amplifier and effects are you incorporating into your sound?
JT: I am still working on my sound...I am not totally happy with it presently. I am using a boss distortion pedal and an analog delay on occasion.
My amp is Hughes & Kettner Duotone. I have used H&K for 4-5 past years and the sound works both for jazz and heavier stuff. I am happy with my equipment.
AL: There seems to be a real growth in awareness of Finnish Folk traditions currently.
JT: Värttinä is a big part of that. They are leading the way with their work on a Lord of the Rings musical. My drummer on the Cool Train project also plays with Värttinä. He has been traveling to Toronto a fair bit this last year.
AL: Finland seems to thrive on novelty acts like Leningrad Cowboys and the “Mr. Fastfinger guitarshredshow” website. Where do you see the future of Finnish guitar playing?
JT: There are a lot of good young guitar players and bands. The world will come to know some of the young new players, but its not so easy to get out. Perhaps some will become known internationally in a greater way than I have.
AL: We are looking forward to hearing your music at the FinnFling 2006 this July.
JT: I have never been to Canada. I have visited America three times as a tourist, but I have never performed there. I am looking forward to coming.

For more information on Jukka Tolonen, visit his website at www.jukkatolonen.com
For more information on FinnFling2006, visit www.finnfling2006.com.
Jukka Tolonen will be performing at the Thunder Bay Blues Festival on Sunday July 9th, the weekend prior to FinnFling. He will perform at FinnFling on Friday, July 14th.