Varre Vartiainen (born 30 September 1974 in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

) is a Finnish

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...

who has studied in

Helsinki Pop & Jazz Conservatory Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

and

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 ...

of Music under supervision of

Raoul Björkenheim Raoul Melvin Björkenheim (born February 11, 1956) is a Finnish-American jazz guitarist, who has lived in Helsinki, New York, and Los Angeles. His mother is Finnish-American actress Taina Elg.''Finlands ridderskaps och adels kalender 1992'', pp ...

, Jukkis Uotila and

Wayne Krantz Wayne Krantz is an American guitarist and composer. He has performed and recorded with Steely Dan, Michael Brecker, Donald Fagen, Billy Cobham, Chris Potter, David Binney, and Carla Bley. Since the early 1990s, Krantz has focused primarily on hi ...

. He rose to fame and leading guitarist position in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

playing in every possible connection; live concerts, studio sessions, movies, television shows and theatre musicals among them. Vartiainen's earlier band Gonzo toured Europe and Africa, where gigs in Spain, Namibia, South Africa and Montreaux Jazz Festival in France were among the highlights. Vartiainen's friend guitarist Marzi Nyman recommended him for a vacancy with Finland's most popular pop group

Nylon Beat Nylon Beat is a Finnish girl group consisting of Jonna Kosonen and Erin Koivisto (later known as Erin during her solo career). Their main period of popularity was during the late 1990s and early 2000s. History The band was formed in 1995 as a ...

, and Vartiainen played with them two years. He later worked with

Jim Beard James Arthur Beard (August 26, 1960 – March 2, 2024) was an American jazz pianist and keyboardist, composer, arranger and producer who worked with Steely Dan, Wayne Shorter, John McLaughlin, Pat Metheny, John Scofield, Mike Stern, Dennis Ch ...

touring Finland, and then joined

Leningrad Cowboys The Leningrad Cowboys were a Finnish rock band who perform rock and roll covers of other songs. They had exaggerated pompadour hairstyles and wore long, pointy shoes. They often worked with the Russian military band the Alexandrov Ensemble. ...

, the Finnish cult band that is known and has played in all continents of the world. The band performed in MTV Music Awards show in New York, Roskilde Festival in Denmark and starred several Leningrad Cowboys movies of Finnish director

Aki Kaurismäki Aki Olavi Kaurismäki (; born 4 April 1957) is a Finnish film director and screenwriter. He is best known for the award-winning '' Drifting Clouds'' (1996), '' The Man Without a Past'' (2002), ''Le Havre'' (2011), '' The Other Side of Hope'' (201 ...

. Varre Vartiainen is also a member of

Sleepy Sleepers Sleepy Sleepers (commonly known as Sliipparit in Finland) is a Finnish pop/rock/punk/comedy band founded in 1974 by its two front-men Sakke Järvenpää and Mato Valtonen in Lahti Lahti (; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pä ...

, a Finnish rock band with wild shows and raunchy humor.

Trio ''Husband''

Varre Vartiainen made his recording debut as a leader with his trio Husband in 2003. The record ''Husband'' contains nine original compositions of Vartiainen that range from raunchy funk of "Sir Dalud", via jazzy "Baritone" and soft ballad "Le Mu" to percussive world music celebration of "Koiruus". The tight Husband consists of bassist Harri Rantanen and drummer Anssi Nykänen who have backed dozens of Finland's top artists together during the last two decades. Guest musicians are the cream of the crop in the Finnish music scene today: Abdissa "Mamba" Assefa increases the percussive power, saxophonist Timo Lassy brings in shades of classy, sophisticated contemporary jazz, vocalist Sami Pitkämö finesses the melodies and Timo Pratskin with keyboards, Jarmo Savolainen with Rhodes/synths and vibraphonist Arttu Takalo both enhance the harmony of the music. Husband's second CD ''Homo Sapiens'' was issued in June 2006. The core trio is expanded by top soloists Marzi Nyman and Jarmo Saari (guitars), Sonny Heinilä (saxophone), Jarmo Savolainen (keyboards), Lenni-Kalle Taipale (piano) and Mongo Aaltonen (percussion).

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Vartiainen, Varre 1974 births Living people Musicians from Helsinki Finnish male guitarists 21st-century Finnish guitarists 21st-century Finnish male musicians