Elojazz Village Main Concert (friday)

Elojazz Village 2026 is a joyful festival of jazz and rhythm music in Oulu. The event is a co-production of Elojazz and Oulu 2026.

The festival’s stunning new venue, Tarkastamo, will host the following performances on Friday, 31 July 2026:

Mikko Innanen & Juhlayhtye: Suomi Jazz 100 Nyt

Suomi Jazz 100 Nyt! offers a vibrant and contemporary journey through the past and present of Finnish jazz, performed by a celebratory ensemble assembled by saxophonist and composer Mikko Innanen. Renowned as a bold innovator and uncompromising artistic thinker, Innanen is known for his ability to bring tradition and experimentation into constant dialogue. In this concert, he appears both as a soloist and as the ensemble’s musical director, presenting the history of Finnish jazz through a distinctly contemporary lens. Joining him as a featured soloist is one of the living legends of Finnish jazz, saxophonist Eero Koivistoinen.

Umo & Aimée Cyrille (FRA)

Cyrille Aimée (b. 1984) is one of the most acclaimed and widely followed jazz vocalists of her generation. Her music blends jazz, soul, pop, and French chanson into a distinctive and captivating sound. A winner of both the Montreux Jazz Festival Competition and the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition, a two-time Grammy nominee, and an accomplished Broadway performer, Aimée is celebrated for her warm voice, masterful improvisation, and extraordinary scat singing.

For more than five decades, the UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra has stood at the forefront of Finnish jazz. Recipient of both Emma and Yrjö Awards and a Grammy nominee, the orchestra has recorded more than sixty albums and collaborated with leading international jazz artists as well as many of Finland’s most prominent musicians.

The Elojazz concert will be conducted by Teemu Takanen.

Dirty Dozen Brass Band (USA)

Founded in New Orleans in 1977, the Grammy Award-winning Dirty Dozen Brass Band has redefined the brass band tradition by blending its foundations with bebop, funk, R&B, and soul. Often described as a “musical gumbo,” the band’s unique sound has taken them to more than thirty countries across five continents. Their remarkable career includes twelve studio albums and collaborations with numerous world-class artists, making them one of the most influential and enduring ensembles to emerge from New Orleans.