Yoko Miura & Heli Hartikainen duo

The Japanese pianist Yoko Miura yearly visits Europe to perform, and this time she will also make a stop in Finland. Among her musical companions are Gianni Mimmo, Lawrence Cassery, Mia Zabelka (jaZZanti 2019), Charlie Collins, Derek Saw, , Teppo Hauta-aho, Olavi Louhivuori, Antti Lötjönen. More recently, she has also performed with the Swedish musicians Lars Bröndum and Per Gärdin, and she arrives in Finland after a concert with Lars and Per in Sweden.

Yoko states: “I try to create different universes that intertwine and exchange various events, meanings, and styles with people — not only with musicians but also with painters and dancers.”

Heli Hartikainen is a boundary-defying saxophonist, clarinetist, composer, and sound artist. Known as a bold improviser in Finland’s experimental music and ambient jazz scenes, Hartikainen’s music plays with sonic textures and shifting soundscapes, abstractions, and concepts – always driven by an insatiable love for sound. Her acclaimed debut solo album, Chronovariations, which employs 3D audio technology, was awarded the Kritiikin Kannukset Prize in 2025 for the year’s most significant artistic breakthrough and was nominated for the 2024 Emma Award for Best Jazz Album.

In 2025–2026, Hartikainen is working on a new electroacoustic composition project with the support of a Kone Foundation grant. At the acoustic jaZZanti concert in November, she will perform improvisations based on themes developed during this creative process.

Yoko and Heli will each perform a solo section, followed by a joint improvisation.

Photos: Sakari Puhakka

The concert is supported by City of Helsinki, Svenska Kulturfonden and The Finnish Music Foundation.