Jazz for Kids in Spring 2027

Launched last year by the Finnish Jazz Federation and Helsinki’s cultural centers, the Jazz for Kids concert series continues in the spring of 2027 at Annantalo, Caisa, Kanneltalo, and Vuotalo. The initiative increases children’s equal opportunities to participate in jazz culture across different parts of Helsinki. The activities are supported by the City of Helsinki.

Jazz for Kids is a series of high-level jazz concerts open to everyone, from toddlers to grandparents. In these free concerts, professional musicians perform their own music at a child-friendly volume in easily accessible cultural center venues. After the concert, the audience has the opportunity to chat with the musicians and explore the instruments.

Jazz for Kids Concerts in Spring 2027

Selma Savolainen & Toomas Keski-Säntti

Known for her impressive vocal use, Selma Savolainen is one of the brightest stars in Finnish jazz. Helsingin Sanomat has described her as an artist who has elevated Finnish vocal jazz to a new level. Her English-language compositions are characterized by a fascinating blend of modern jazz and alternative singer-songwriter traditions. Savolainen’s debut album Horror Vacui was awarded a Jazz-Emma in 2024, and in the shade, released in the spring of 2026, has received rave reviews.

Helsinki-based pianist and composer Toomas Keski-Säntti has a long-standing collaboration with Savolainen and plays on two of her albums. In addition, he is a familiar face in many Finnish jazz ensembles, including OK:KO, Adele Sauros Quartet, and Jukka Perko PreBoppers.

The duo of Savolainen and Keski-Säntti will perform repertoire co-composed by them as well as pieces from Savolainen’s albums. Selected jazz classics will also be heard.

Selma Savolainen – vocals
Toomas Keski-Säntti – Fender Rhodes

February 12, 18:00–18:45 Kanneltalo (Klaneettitie 5, Helsinki)

Baraka Issabu & Humphrey Mubba

Baraka Issabu is a Tanzanian-born pianist, composer, arranger, and music educator based in Helsinki, whose musical expression is influenced by African music, jazz, gospel, and R&B. In his music, East African rhythm and melodic language meet modern jazz: the groove stems from East African musical tradition, jazz brings surprise and risk-taking—and the two engage in a lively dialogue with each other.

Issabu is currently finishing his master’s studies in the Global Music program at the Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki. He has over 15 years of experience in the music industry as a session musician, cultural producer, and educator in Tanzania and Finland. In 2026, he released his first two albums as a composer and arranger: African Child and Mapambazuko (Dawn).

In this Jazz for Kids concert, Issabu performs as a duo with bassist Humphrey Mubba.

Baraka Issabu – piano
Humphrey Mubba – bass

February 20, 12:00–12:45 Cultural Centre Caisa (Kaikukatu 4B, Helsinki)

Kanvas Duo

Kanvas is an ensemble formed around Andrea Martín’s compositions, whose expression is strongly colored by pop songwriting influences. Kanvas’s two released albums, Värit (Colors) and Suunnat (Directions), highlight themes of love, loss, and freedom. The musicians’ soft and playful interplay reinforces the message of touching and sharp lyrics.

Kanvas singer Siina Suutarinen and pianist-composer Andrea Martín perform as a duo, presenting the band’s older and newer Finnish-language output where personal stories, a rich harmonic world, and improvisation meet. The music conveys the friendship and joy of playing together between Siina and Andrea.

Siina Suutarinen – vocals
Andrea Martín – piano

April 8, 10:00–10:45 Annantalo (Annankatu 30, Helsinki)
This concert is primarily for kindergarten and school groups, whose registration opens in the Kultus service on March 8, 2027, at 8:00.

April 8, 18:00–18:45 Vuotalo (Mosaiikkitori 2, Helsinki)

The Jazz for Kids concerts for autumn 2027 will be announced during the spring of 2027.

The Jazz for Kids activities by the Finnish Jazz Federation and Helsinki cultural centers are based on the concert series of the same name, which has been organized at the Espoo Cultural Centre since 2015 in cooperation with Ebeli, the pop/jazz department of Espoo Music Institute.

In the photo: Baraka Issabu & Humphrey Mubba