Biography

"Tenors of Kalma" is a new group that combines jazz with electronic pop music.  Jimi Tenor and Kalle Kalima have made music together for about 10 years and now they are breaking ground in a trio format with Joonas Riippa on drums. The music is dark and jazzy but danceable and suddenly you hear a hounting ballad. Moments later it could be inspired by Sun Ra meeting Kraftwerk.

The debutalbum has been released by Enja Records in March 2015.

Jimi Tenor has never settled for the traditional role of a pop artist. He is known as a musician whose work lies beyond current trends although he has written great hits like "Take me Baby". He is at home in front of the crowd gone wild, wearing a glittering self-designed costume and a flowing cape, holding a noise-producing device the main components of which are walkman made in Hong Kong and an East-German bicycle dynamo.

Kalle Kalima is the ambassador of Finnish Jazz and Avantgarde music in Berlin. He mixes elements of jazz and rock in unique way. He has played a.o. with Jazzanova, Jason Moran, Jim Black, Greg Cohen, Anthony Braxton, Tony Allen, Leo Wadada Smith, Michael Wertmüller and Marc Ducret. Kalima is also known as a leader of highly acclaimed ensembles of his own: Klima Kalima (The Winner of the New German Jazz Prize 2008) and his solo performance Pentasonic. He won the Finnish "Grammy" for the best Jazz album with the group "K-18" in 2012.

Joonas Riippa is one of the most important drummers in Finland today working with many renovated musicians like Mikko Innanen, Verneri Pohjola, Teemu Viinikainen, Seppo Kantonen and Joonatan Rautio.