Few believed in the success of the women’s big project – Now the 22-member big band is celebrating a big party

Few believed in the power of female energy when the alto saxophonist Annika Brushane-Viitala founded the female big band in 1993. The group gathered in Helsinki’s Kulosaari was predicted to have a year at most, but the doubters were really wrong.

As far as we know, Finland’s only female big band, the Ladies First Big Band, is still doing well and plays jazz, soul, blues and disco. In honor of that, all 22 members of the big band will take the Savoy stage in Helsinki on Wednesday, November 8.

We will be seen as guest soloists of the Big Band Tero “The Golden Trumpet” Lindberg, Nick Lignell, Tobias Anders, Merzi Rajala mixed Heini Ikonen.

LFBB’s regular vocal soloists are Rose-Marie Backström and Tatu Oikarinen. The backing singers are Susanna Eronen and Sini Heinilä.

There are also men involved

The band’s promise is that at the concert you will experience nostalgic moments, hear wonderful solos and the best pieces from the band’s years.

– And let’s celebrate the present moment to the rhythm of a luscious party set, promises the pianist Piia Soilamaa.

The big band is not only women’s, but today there are three men in the line-up. In addition to Oikarinen, male energy is brought to the stage by the drummer Arska Himberg and a percussionist Mika Brushane.

A special point of pride for the band is that its saxophone section is known to be the five-piece that has played together the longest in Finland.

Soilamaa has been part of the ensemble almost since the beginning, i.e. since 1994. He sums up LFBB’s recipe for loss with the slogan: 30 years of good wind and horn playing!

– Of course, calling is the best. And the collective spirit of the band and our own sense of humor, which is quite unique, he lists reasons for staying together and succeeding.

Those who have been to Big Band concerts know that the humor flourishes bilingually on stage, i.e. “Brändö and Sibbo smoothly meet Esbo and the rest of the world”. LFBB is a special poppoo in that there is usually no conductor in front of the stage, even if you think a big orchestra needs one.

– We are self-sufficient, of course, without any problems, Soilamaa says with a laugh and reveals that drummer Himberg “keeps the package together”.

In Savoy, however, an exception is made.

– at the Savoy Pekka Toivanen and Kimmo Gröhn both lead two songs, Soilamaa reveals.

Offspring on stage

If LFBB had enough doubters at the beginning, the future is guaranteed. It is taken care of by the band members’ offspring, who have been blessed with more than 20 descendants over the years.

– At some point, the training camp had its own playroom for the children, where the teenagers were accommodated while the mothers trained. Since then, the offspring have even visited the training sessions as musicians, says Soilamaa.

The band members are a professionally diverse group.

– The ranks include entrepreneurs from various fields, speech and music therapists, a few architects, pedagogues, legal expertise and of course producers and professional musicians in many fields, Soilamaa says.

– We have become a band family. We have grown together as adults, parents of children and musicians, Soilamaa sums up our years together.

During them, LFBB has toured Estonia at numerous festivals, performed at private parties and sailed around Ylöjärvi on a paddle boat. His own experience for the ladies was playing at Finn-Power’s metal machinery fair stand in evening dresses in the middle of the day in Hannover, Germany.

– We’ve had at least as singing soloist guests Pirkko Mannola, Monica Aspelund, Laura Voutilainenand Paula KoivuniemiSoilamaa lists, and we can’t help but drop one more big name.

– In the early years of the 2000s, he took care of the guitarist’s laundry Erja Lyytinen.

After the Savoy concert, LFBB will perform next time on Valentine’s Day in Vantaa’s Myyrmäki in Myyräncolo. Then it’s time for Big Band Livedisco.