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Olli Ahvenlahti

Finnish jazz pianist Olli Ahvenlahti is known for his acoustic post-bop work as well as for his fusion and funk-jazz albums. He first emerged in the 1960s as a studio musician and went on to play with an array of artists. He released several fusion albums in the '70s, including The Poet, followed by several crossover albums in the '80s and '90s. With 2017's Wishful Thinking and 2024's Mirror Mirror, he further contemporized his fusion and funk leanings with a sophisticated post-bop sound. Born in 1949 in Helsinki, Finland, Ahvenlahti studied piano at both the Sibelius Academy and the University of Helsinki. By the late '60s, he had embarked on a professional career, working as a studio musician, pianist, arranger, and composer. He played with the prog-rock band the Group and often performed with touring jazz musicians. He was also a member of the UMO Jazz Orchestra. In the mid-1970s, he released two fusion- and soul jazz-influenced recordings, The Poet and Bandstand. More crossover albums followed, including 1983's Tämä on Ensimmäinen Päivä and 1986's The Way You Walk. In 1990, he became the conductor of the Finnish orchestra for the Eurovision Song Contest, a position he held until 1998. In 2017, he released the small group jazz album Wishful Thinking, which featured his New Quartet with saxophonist Jussi Kannaste, bassist Antti Lötjönen, and drummer Jaska Lukkarinen. A second small group date, Mirror Mirror, arrived in 2024 and showcased a similar group augmented by trumpeter Jukka Eskola.
© Matt Collar /TiVo
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Discography

9 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller

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