Andy Emler: “My own Ravel“ & Eero Tikkanen

Andy Emler: piano
Eero Tikkanen: double bass

Composer-pianist Andy Emler is one of the brightest personalities in French jazz. He has visited Finland several times. His luminous trio with bassist Claude Tchamitchian and drummer Eric Echampard has been on tour in 2007 and 2009 and 2016. The super orchestra MegaOctet led by Emler has charmed the Finnish audience with their performances at April Jazz and Tampere Jazz Happening in 2009 and 2011. Andy Emler trio & Dave Liebman shined at April Jazz 2013.

In this solo concert, he calls on the French music icon, Maurice Ravel, as his inspiration. This is how the master tells about his “own notes” with Ravel: “In connection with the “Ravel” theater performance based on the book by Jean Echenoz, I got to know the composer’s style – composing, improvising and playing the piano inspired by the expressive language of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The jazz culture that influenced Ravel in his time permeated these tones especially in ballads. So the result is a two-handed piano solo concert of composed and improvised music directed by my beloved Maurice!” For the merits of the “My own Ravel” recording, the French critics’ association chose Emler as the best composer of theater music in 2013.

In his piano solo concert, each piece is related to different events and steps of Ravel’s life during the last ten years of the master’s existence. Andy shares with the audience astonishing musical moments punctuated with some stories about Ravel, that the French pianist tells with a natural sense of humour and a sharp smart British accent – thanks to his English mother.

In addition to Andy, we get to enjoy Eero Tikkanen’s skillful double bass playing, first in solo and then improvising together with Andy. Eero is one of our leading double bass players, whose versatile and powerful playing we have heard in several different bands.

Andy’s homepage

Photo: Marion Duhamel

In co-operation: Vapaat Äänet

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