Pekka Sarmanto

Pekka Sarmanto (born 15 February 1945 Helsinki) is a Finnish jazz bassist.

Sarmanto studied from 1958 to 1964 classical violin at the Sibelius Academy, before switching to bass. He then started playing dance music, but was soon invited by bandleaders such as Eero Koivistoinen and Esa Pethman to gigs in jazz clubs.

In 1967 he became a member of the house band of the Downbeat Club, where he accompanied musicians such as Ben Webster and Dexter Gordon. Since its founding in 1975, he belongs to the UMO Jazz Orchestra. With the orchestra he has helped numerous internationally renowned jazz musicians who made ​​guest appearances in Finland. In addition, he also appeared with Charles Mingus on ( in Belgrade ), Gil Evans, Dizzy Gillespie, Edward Vesala and Sonny Rollins.

In 1978 he was awarded the Georgie Award of the Finnish Jazz Federation. In 1982, he appeared on the album To A Finland Station with Dizzy Gillespie and Arturo Sandoval. In 1996 he founded the Trio Pekka Sarmanto.

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