THE OFFiCIAL SITE of joakim berghäll

musician, composer, arranger, orchestrator

"He's a master of all the reeds."
- Jazz Weekly

IN THE NEWS TODAY

NEWS  //  NOV 28TH, 2022

Whatta November.

On November 3rd we premiered "Turta - Benumbed", a suite for baritone saxophone & jazz orchestra, together with Sointi Jazz Orchestra in Tiivistämö, Helsinki. A big thing to me since it's an hour of new large ensemble music on the subject of school violence - which will by the way also be the material on Berghäll Brothers Big Band vol.2, on it's way to be released in 2023. We had a blast, and I'll be posting some audiovisual excerpts soon. Make sure to follow the Joakim Berghäll Facebook page / @jbarryhell Instagram if you wanna see some!

Joakim Berghäll Dark Roast 006 released its debut on November 4th, vinyl version now available in selected stores. Go check it out at your favourite streaming platform, of if you feel like supporting the band, you can find your combination of integrated taste buds / ear buds pleasure here: BANDCAMP

Helsinki-Cotonou Ensemble had gigs in Tampere Jazz Happening, Hämeenlinna, Malmö and Montreal - which was nice. Juha Kujanpää Ensemble had its record release at Etnosoi festival in Espoo, and the rehearsals for Lauletut laulut, an upcoming concert production at the Finnish National Theatre, began. Various instruments bags to be carried to the theatre, that is. And at least seven different ways of transposing in the first rehearsal! Keeps your brain from aging too fast, I'd suppose.

Kupla, the feature film by Aleksi Salmenperä, a.k.a. my first film as a composer, was premiered on Nov. 25th across movie theatres in Finland. Helsingin Sanomat gave it five stars, but you should go to decide for yourself! Also, we finished recordings of the new Ismo Alanko album "Me olemme ihme", and released a single "Synkkää musiikkia". The band will tour in the spring, tour dates to be found on my "LIVE" page.

And as a cherry on top of it all, I managed to record together with a great musician / human called Marc Ribot. Dialogues V is the name of the game, I composed a tune for guitar & bass clarinet. I was supposed to play baritone saxophone throughout the whole album, but the intuition decided differently.

So, interesting times in various ways. Often it all seems to pile up!

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ABOUT ME

I'm a freelancer living and working on an island in Helsinki.
I began studying music at the age of three and ever since I've been intrigued by all kinds of instruments and everything that makes a sound. My main instrument is the baritone saxophone, but in different bands and projects I also do play all other saxophones, cello, various kinds of percussion, drums, electric and double bass, guitar and other stringed instruments, piano, keyboards, bass clarinet, clarinet and a bunch of different flutes. After having freelanced professionally for more than 15 years and toured in thirty-something countries I managed to put up my first band(s) as a leader. A trio called "Berghäll Triality", and a sextet "Joakim Berghäll Dark Roast 006". (Find out more in the "bands" section!)

Improvising music in a small ensemble is my main object of affection, but there's so much more out there that interests me, and I consider myself extremely lucky to be able to make a living playing in various settings from free jazz to folk, from Beijing Opera to psychedelic punk. As long as there's something special to it and people are leaving everything onstage, I really don't care which genre is it categorized under. It's all music.

I'm a cargo-bike-riding vegan stunningly aware of all the details in current NHL statistics.
If you want to make me happy, all it really takes is a cup of good coffee.

(photo: Dorit Salutskij)