Heikki “Mike” Koskinen: e-trumpet & piano

Steve Heckman: saxes. flutes, clarinet

‘MONK MEETS NORDIC WINDS’. Heikki & Steve will present their latest material, ranging from Nordic traditional songs to straight ahead jazz. Their long collaborative history includes CD projects such as “Midnight Sun”, “Full Moon” and “Northern Winds & Voices”.

“Beautifully melodic, wonderful discovery” – Alisa Clancy / KCSM Radio
“Full Moon takes the music to new and interesting heights! A match made in jazz and improvisational heaven!” – Melanie Berzon, Program Director, KCSM
” A delightful listening experience by two master musicians. Varied in mood and texture, this is a work of art full of surprises and adventures. Highly recommended.” – Dick Conte, KCSM

Before his move to the Bay Area HEIKKI “MIKE” KOSKINEN was chosen as Finland’s top jazz trumpet player in “Rytmi” magazine polls. He left his native land to study jazz at the renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston in 1970’s. He is the recipient of several Finnish composing grants, recorded many albums, and won awards as an innovative music teacher. His Bay Area groups, with Heikki on trumpet and piano, have featured such musicians as Hadley Caliman, Steve Heckman, Mark Levine, Joe Bonner, Bennie Green, Larry Hancock, Michael Spiro and Rent Romus. Heikki’s main instruments are nowadays e-trumpet, piano, and tenor recorder. He is also producing and arranging music for Bay Area’s Finnish community and his recent CD projects include many jazz arrangements of traditional Finnish songs as well as original tunes.

Multi-reed instrumentalist STEVE HECKMAN plays all the saxes, flutes, and clarinets. Besides straight-ahead and experimental jazz his interests include Brazilian Choro, Tango, and Nordic folk music. He has played with such jazz luminaries as trumpeters Howard McGhee, Chet Baker, Eddie Henderson, and Tom Harrell; trombonist Roswell Rudd; pianists Andrew Hill, Benny Green, Jim McNeely and Jessica Williams; guitarists John Abercrombie, Cal Collins, Bruce Foreman, and Mimi Fox; and drummers/percussionists Eddie Moore, Pete Escovedo, and Donald Bailey. Steve has recorded six CD’s with his own quartet, of which “With John in Mind”, and “Live at Yoshi’s”, have received international critical acclaim, the latter being selected as one of the top 10 jazz CDs by the San Francisco Chronicle. His latest CD is a duo project with Matt Clark (kbd) called “Some Other Time/Slow Café”, which has gotten lots of play at KCSM.

Heikki Koskinen            Steve Heckman