Jimi Tenor Band BERLIN / day 2

Jimi Tenor Band plays at Arkaoda, Berlin, on 20 March 2026 at 18h00.

In 2025, Finnish musician and composer Jimi Tenor celebrated his 60th birthday. He marked the occasion on stage and came to Hamburg with his band in March to record new music. "Selenites, Selenites!" – the first album by the Jimi Tenor Band – was recorded in spring 2025. "Selenites, Selenites!" is the band's debut and showcases a group focused on playing and exploring new sonic connections. The album explores Afro-jazz with a raw, live-in-the-room sound.

Tenor has collaborated with Tony Allen, UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra, Kabukabu and Freestyle Man. Having attracted attention in the 1990s with his fusion of lounge jazz and acid techno on Sähkö and Warp Records, he increasingly turned to African music in the years that followed. The multi-instrumentalist moves across styles, from electronica and Afrobeat to spiritual jazz, with a clear personal signature.

During the pandemic years, Tenor looked for fellow musicians in his Finnish hometown of Helsinki to form a new band. As it was impossible to go to a rehearsal room or studio, the sessions took place in Jimi's kitchen as a cappella rehearsals. All band members still sing at live concerts. In recent years, the band consisting of Eeti Nieminen, Heikki Tuhkanen, Ekow Alabi Savage, Lauri Kallio and Jimi Tenor has played numerous club and festival gigs together, before releasing their debut album.