Antti Sarpila

(FIN)
classic jazz, dixieland, swing

Clarinetist/saxist Antti Sarpila’s dedication to dixieland, swing and the classic jazz of the 50’s/60’s have been noticed internationally. He performs regularly abroad and in Finland.

Encouraged by his amateur saxist father, Sarpila (43) started to play early, often travelling to the US to improve his skills. At the 1980 Pori festival he met a key figure: the legendary New Orleans reedsman Sidney Bechet’s disciple Bob Wilber, with whom Antti has played both here and in the US. The results are documented on the 1993 album Moments Like These. Antti has played with the likes of Zoot Simms, Wynton Marsalis and Phil Woods, leads a swing band and a classic jazz band, and performs with several symphony orchestras and big bands. Pori Big Band Plays Antti Sarpila features his compositions. Among over 20 albums by the 1997 recipient of the Finnish Georgie Award are Portraits of Jazz, featuring different groups, New Moods –  New Sounds on Blue Note, a superb collaboration with vibist Severi Pyysalo and a string quartet. His latest album, Gospels & Spirituals, features singer Johanna Iivanainen.