Meet me under the Polar Lights
The finest jazz with a Finnish touch
Modern vocal jazz meets the melancholy and joie de vivre of the Finnish soul: just as her anthem “Land of The Midnight Sun” represents her homeland Finland, Tuija Komi’s program Meet me under the Polar Lights in the Silbersaal illustrates the exceptional status of the singer, who lives in Germany. Like no other, Komi enriches classic jazz singing with themes, lyrics, and sounds from her Nordic origins.
Diverse repertoire
She ventures into big pop anthems such as “You Make Me Feel Brand New” by Simply Red and “Thank You For The Music” by Abba, and does not shy away from comparisons with Carole King in “It’s Too Late” or Nina Simone in “Feeling Good.” and also cuts a dazzling figure in ballads such as “Gabriella’s Song” from the Swedish hit film “As It Is in Heaven.” But her greatest success, her unique selling point, remains the expansion of the jazz idiom through Finnish. The bundle of energy that is Tuija Komi overcomes all obstacles thanks to her enormously versatile vocal expressiveness. With her confident presentation, interspersed with many stories and Nordic humor, she takes the audience on a musical journey to the far north.
Entertainment with depth
We learn about her love for the Moomins—the internationally renowned children’s book characters created by Finnish author Tove Jansson—and for good children’s songs. That “Kuusi” means “spruce” in Finnish and that the song of the same name moves her like no other by Sibelius. Or in “Veri’s Tale,” that freedom can also become a prison. Entertainment with depth, which certainly also defines Komi’s vocal artistry. Not only does she have an enormous range from the lowest to the highest notes. She has soul, can scat like the devil, loves to improvise, and exploits the entire spectrum of her voice – right up to joik, the special singing style of the Sami people of Lapland.
Line-up
Tuija Komi – vocals
Peter Cudek – bass
Martin Kolb – drums
Stephan Weiser – piano
