Antti Sarpila is one of the most internationally renowned Finnish jazz musicians. While his home country is still Finland, his stage spans the entire world. He has performed as a soloist at countless jazz festivals and concert halls across Europe, the United States, Asia, and Australia, and has collaborated with many of the great names in jazz.
Antti received his first musical education from his father, saxophonist and clarinetist Kari Sarpila, one of the founders of the Pori Jazz Festival. It was at this very festival that Antti met the American jazz legend Bob Wilber, who became his teacher in the 1980s. Wilber himself had studied with Sidney Bechet, placing Antti directly in the lineage of jazz’s golden age,following in the footsteps of Louis Armstrong and Charlie Parker.
Antti Sarpila is known as a masterful interpreter of classic jazz. His music combines the elegance and style of the masters of the 1920s to 1950s with a more modern expression, all in a uniquely personal way. He calls this style Classic Jazz.
One of the highlights of his career was performing at Carnegie Hall in New York in the Tribute to Benny Goodman concert. Over the years, Antti has appeared at numerous jazz festivals and has been invited as a soloist with top international jazz orchestras, including the Count Basie Orchestra, Dutch Swing College Band, Metropole Orchestra, and Humphrey Lyttelton Band. His collaborators have included such legends as Doc Cheatham, Wynton Marsalis, Bucky Pizzarelli, and Scott Hamilton.
The Antti Sarpila Swing Band was founded in 1982 and has grown into an important part of Finnish jazz history. The band celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2012 and has performed widely in Finland and abroad. Sarpila has also collaborated with symphony orchestras, wind ensembles, and big bands.
He has an extensive discography, having released numerous albums under his own name and recorded with Bob Wilber in New York, London, Stockholm, Hamburg, and Florida. These recordings have featured artists such as Dan Barrett, Dick Hyman, Rossano Sportiello, and Nicki Parrott.
Antti Sarpila has received several prestigious honors, including the Louis Armstrong Prize (1996) and the Yrjö Award from the Finnish Jazz Federation (1997). He has played a key role in maintaining the vitality of classic jazz in Finland.
