Kokkola Sea Jazz: Olli Soikkeli Cesar Garabini FIN-BRA-USA
Article categories: Music
Olli Soikkeli – guitar | Cesar Garabini – 7-string guitar - "Gypsy meets Choro"
Olli Soikkeli – guitar
Cesar Garabini – 7-string guitar
On Wednesday August 2nd the international guitar duo OLLI SOIKKELI & CESAR GARABINI will take the stage at Kokkola Sea Jazz. The music they create together pulsates in the middle ground of Gypsy jazz and choro music, creating a unique and interesting fabric, keeping the listeners in its grip. In 2018, the internationally renowned Finnish gypsy jazz guitarist, Olli Soikkeli, formed a duet with the Italian-Brazilian master of choro, Cesar Garabini, and since then they have toured throughout the United Stated and Europe with their unique ”gypsy meets choro” to enthusiastic audiences and rave reviews.
”When they fire up their twin approaches, the groove is immediately and thoroughly captivating. Cesar’s pulsating choro bass lines blur the distinction between melody and rhythm instrument. Olli’s fearless arpeggio roll patterns float over the top like ragtime piano reimagined for guitar.” -Cracking the Code
Before there was Samba, before there was Bossa Nova, there was Choro. Originating in Rio de Janeiro in the late 19th century, it combined European popular genres with African rhythms to create a distinctive style that the composer Heitor Villa-Lobos called ”the true incarnation of the Brazilian soul.” Choro enjoyed mainstream success in Brazil in the ´30s and ´40s and was revived in the late ´70s by a younger generation of musicians.
Olli Soikkeli was born in Nurmes, Finland and is now based in NYC. Soikkeli was introduced to the music of great Django Reinhardt and Gypsy Jazz, which has been his primary focus since. Olli played in jazz clubs and festivals across Finland, and toured Europe with Sinti Guitarist Paulus Schäfer. While still young, he’s already played with notable artists such as Bucky Pizzarelli, Stochelo Rosenberg, Tommy Emmanuel, Andreas Öberg, Cyrille Aimee, Antti Sarpila and Marian Petrescu. Cesar Garabini was born in 1987 in Minas Gerais, Cesar Garabini is an Italian-Brazilian 7-string guitarist that specializes in Choro, the predecessor to the well known Brazilian music styles Samba and Bossa Nova. In the past 7 years he has performed at Jazz at Lincoln Center, Jazz Standard, Birdland, Columbia University, the Museum of Modern Art, with a monthly residence at Barbes. He has worked with Anat Cohen, Olli Soikkeli and Tim Connell. He has been featured on NPR, NBC and Global.