The first Pori Jazz Festival was held on Kirjurinluoto Island in July 1966. The event was sponsored by the Pori City Council, the Finnish Cultural Foundation, the student’s union at the University of Helsinki, and local businesses. The festival featured two concerts and a jam session. It attracted about 1,500 attendees over two days.
Although the inaugural Pori Jazz was quite modest, the organizing committee decided to make it an annual event. The festival has been growing ever since. What started as a small local event has grown to become one of the largest jazz festivals in Europe. Pori Jazz has expanded to nine days and attracts 120,000 to 140,000 visitors every summer.
The main venue of Pori Jazz is Kirjurinluoto Arena, also known as Pori Delta Arena. It is an open-air concert park with a 12-acre amphitheater-type arena specifically designed for open-air events. It was built in 2011 and has a capacity of more than 30,000. Smaller venues are located throughout the city of Pori. Concerts are held in clubs, bars, cafes, restaurants or simply in the streets.
Although the festival initially focused on acoustic jazz, its program has expanded and now encompasses various music genres and styles, including electric jazz, soul, blues, funk, rhythm and blues, hip-hop, pop, Afro-Cuban, world-music, and more. Pori Jazz brings together internationally renowned musicians and emerging artists, offering visitors over 100 concerts to suit any taste.
World-class musicians and bands that have performed at Pori Jazz include Alicia Keys, Art Blakey, B. B. King, Bob Dylan, Chick Corea, Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Hancock, Elton John, Erykah Badu, James Brown, Jamiroquai, Joe Cocker, Keith Jarrett, Macy Gray, Mary J. Bilge, Miles Davis, Paul Anka, Paul Simon, Phil Collins, Ray Charles, Ringo Starr, Santana, Stevie Wonder, Sting, Tori Amos, and others.
Photo: Mikael Peltomaa
