Iiro Rantala (born 1970) is a Finnish

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

pianist. He studied piano in the jazz department of

Sibelius Academy The Sibelius Academy (, ) is part of the University of the Arts Helsinki and a university-level music school which operates in Helsinki and Kuopio, Finland. It also has an adult education centre in Järvenpää and a training centre in Seinäjoki ...

and classical piano at the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music a ...

. He is one of the best known Finnish jazz pianists, both in Finland and abroad. Rantala is a pianist and composer with

Trio Töykeät Trio Töykeät (founded in 1988) was a Finnish jazz trio. Their music ranges from humorous ragtimes to sentimental waltzes. Their playing style is often rhythmic, energetic and virtuosic. The group disbanded in 2008 Members * Iiro Rantala – ...

, a Finnish jazz trio. In addition to jazz, he has composed some classical pieces, most notably the '' Concerto for Piano and Concerto in G♯ΔA♭''. In 2008, he released the album ''

Elmo Elmo is a Muppet character on the children's television show ''Sesame Street''. A furry red monster who speaks in a high-pitched falsetto voice and frequently refers to himself in the third person, he hosts the last full 15-minute segmen ...

'' with his new formation, the '' Iiro Rantala New Trio''. The members of the trio are Rantala (piano), Marzi Nyman (guitar) and Felix Zenger (beatbox). In 2017, Rantala was nominated for the Nordic Council Music Prize.

Discography

Trio Töykeät

* '' Päivää'' (

Sonet Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET) and Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) are standardized protocols that transfer multiple digital bit streams synchronously over optical fiber using lasers or highly coherent light from light-emitting diodes ...

, 1990) ** International version: '' G'day'' (

Emarcy EmArcy Records is a jazz record label founded in 1954 by Bob Shad for the American Mercury Records. The name is a phonetic spelling of "MRC", the initials for Mercury Record Company. During the 1950s and 1960s, musicians such as Max Roach, Cli ...

, 1993) * '' Jazzlantis'' (Emarcy, 1995) * ''

Sisu is a Finnish word variously translated as stoic determination, tenacity of purpose, grit, bravery, resilience, and hardiness. It is held by Finns to express their national character. It is generally considered not to have a single-word ...

'' (PolyGram Emarcy, 1998) * ''Kudos'' (

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

, 2000) * ''

High Standards High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift to ...

'' ( EMI Blue Note, 2003) * '' Wake'' (EMI Blue Note, 2005) * '' One Night in Tampere'' (EMI Blue Note, 2007)

Big Bad Family

* '' Big Bad Family'' ( Kompass, 1988) * ''Big Bad Family'' (re-release) ( Final Mix Records, 1996)

Tango Kings

* '' Tango Kings'' ( Big World, 1995)

Sinfonia Lahti, Trio Töykeät, Jaakko ja Pekka Kuusisto

* '' Music!'' (

BIS Records BIS Records is a record label founded in 1973 by Robert von Bahr. It is located in Åkersberga, Sweden. BIS focuses on classical music, both contemporary and early, especially works that are not already well represented by existing recording ...

, 2002)

SaloRantala Soi

* '' SaloRantala Soi!'' (

Johanna Kustannus Johanna Kustannus Oy (Ltd) has been the name of two Finnish record labels. has been a founding member for both companies, and Pekka Aarnio has also been involved with both. The first company using the name used the sublabel Johanna, while the sec ...

, 2003) * '' Talvijalka'' ( Sateen ääni, 2009)

Rantala & Tapiola Sinfonietta

* '' Concerto for Piano and Concerto in G♯ΔA♭'' ( Ondine, 2006)

Iiro Rantala New Trio

* ''

'' ( Rockadillo Records, 2008)

Pekka Kuusisto & Iiro Rantala

* '' Subterráneo'', ( Liverace, 2009)

Iiro Rantala solo piano

* ''Lost Heroes'', (ACT, 2011) * ''My History of Jazz'', (ACT, 2012)

Iiro Rantala String Trio

* ''Anyone with a Heart'', (ACT, 2014)

Iiro Rantala

* ''My Working Class Hero'', (ACT, 2015) * ''How Long Is Now?'', (ACT, 2016) * ''Good Stuff'', (ACT, 2017) * ''My Finnish Calendar'', (ACT, 2019) * ''Potsdam'', (ACT, 2022) (live)

References

External links

Iiro Rantala official homepageHomepage of Espoo Big Band
1970 births Living people Musicians from Helsinki Finnish classical pianists Finnish jazz pianists Manhattan School of Music faculty Avant-garde jazz pianists Finnish jazz composers ACT Music artists 21st-century Finnish classical pianists Trio Töykeät members {{classical-pianist-stub