Joonas Haavisto Trio
Biography Joonas Haavisto Trio
Joonas Haavisto
is a Finnish pianist and composer. He´s one of the most exciting young musicians coming from the Nordic jazz scene. Joonas has won several prices in the international competitions and performed widely in Europe with his groups.
Joonas Haavisto started his musical studies at the age of seven at the Conservatory of his home town Kokkola. There he played the classical double bass and sang in the boy choir before his first jazz piano lessons with Sid Hille at the age of sixteen.
After graduated from the high school and doing military service Joonas entered to the Sibelius-Academy in 2002, where he studied jazz piano with Mikael Jakobson, Jim Beard, Jukkis Uotila and Seppo Kantonen. In addition, Joonas has taken part in many great Masterclasses given by for example Randy Brecker, Dave Kikoski, Joey Calderazzo and Chris Potter. In 2005 Joonas got a scholar from the Sibelius-Academy for studies in the University of Miami, Frost School of Music where he studied composing with Ron Miller and piano with Doug Bickel. Joonas completed his Master of Music degree in Sibelius-Academy in 2011.
Soon after moving to Helsinki in 2002 Joonas began to play in various groups. In the fall 2004 Joonas made his debut with the Finnish top big band UMO Jazz Orchestra and at the same year he joined quitarist Jukka Tolonen´s Cool Train band with which they have been touring in Scandinavia and Canada. Despite his young age Joonas has also performed with one of the finest jazz musicians such as Jerry Bergonzi, Ron Mclure, Bill Watrous, Bertil Strandberg, John Fedchock, Jukka Perko and Jukkis Uotila among others.
During the last years Joonas Haavisto Trio has performed in several festivals and jazz clubs in Europe. In 2011 trio was touring in England and France performing e.g. in Royal Concert Hall of Nottingham and Bonington Theatre Jazz Club, in Paris Jazzcolors Festival and in Caen Les Boréales Festival. Joonas has also played as a soloist with two of the greatest chamber orchestras in Finland, Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra in 2007 and The Chamber Orchestra of Lapland in 2008. Joonas Haavisto Trio released their debut album Blue Waters in October 2009. The same album was released in Japan in 2010 and it has received excellent reviews in Finnish media and for example in Swing Journal magazine in Japan.
