Pylkkänen- Hertmans Quartet

Peter Hertmans, guitar
Pekka Pylkkänen, sax
Sal La Rocca, double bass
Lionel Beuvens, drums

Saxophonist/composer Pekka Pylkkänen has worked with many orchestras and groups during his career, and as a sideman has also shared the stage with greats such as Vince Mendoza, Maria Schneider, Joe Henderson, McCoy Tyner, Bob Mintzer, Dave Liebman, Michael Abene, Odean Pope, and many others.

During his earlier career he worked several years full-time with the ‘National Jazz Orchestra of Finland’ – UMO Jazz Orchestra, with which he also sometimes performed modern contemporary music, and was often featured as a soloist.

As a leader he has performed in more than 50 countries (Finland, Denmark, Norway, USA, Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Uruguay, Peru, Korea, China and Japan, France, Switzerland, Portugal, Germany, Italy, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa etc.) He has appeared as a leader/soloist in over 1400 concerts during the last 15 years, most of them outside Finland. His appearances range from clubs to concert halls and major festivals, such as Hong Kong Jazz Festival, Beijing Jazz Festival, Trondheim Jazz Festival, National Arts Festival (South Africa), Lima Jazz, Providencia Festival de Jazz (Santiago, Chile), Yokohama Jazz Promenade, Yarasum Jazz Festival, Beijing Concert Hall, The Spring Hall (Seoul/Korea), Daegu Cultural Center/Korea, La Pavillion Blanco (Cordoba, Argentina), Beijing Music Festival, Copenhagen Jazz Festival, etc

In addition to his long career as a performing artist, Pekka has led a significant career as an educator:
Not only has he been in charge of the Pop/Jazz Music Degree Program and teaching practically all core subjects, jazz and latin ensembles, history etc at the Karelia University of Applied Sciences (2009-2018) and as the Wind Instruments Department at Stadia/Metropolia University (2000-2007), but also he has held clinics and master classes in more than 60 music universities/conservatories and colleges around the world, for example: Tokyo College of Music, Royal Academy of Music (Denmark), Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Koyo Conservatory (Kobe, Japan), Shanghai Conservatory, LUCA School of Arts (Leuven, Belgium) Royal Conservatory (The Hague, Netherlands), EMU Education Musical (Argentina) etc.

His 2 first CDs were released by Naxos Jazz, with a worldwide distribution.
The latest CD called ‘Listen!’ was originally released by Art Of Life Records, on
iTunes, and was distributed also as a CD on LUMINO RECORDS label and digitally through Blue Music Group. Nowadays the CD ‘Listen!’ is also licensed to China on Starsing Records.
There will be 2 or 3 new releases in 2018.