Ari Poutiainen

Ari Poutiainen (b. 1972 in Kaarlela, Finland) is a Finnish contemporary jazz violist and composer.

Musical career

Poutiainen is famous for using a rare, hybrid 5 string viola (both acoustic and electric) as his main instrument. He often plucks the instrument with his fingers, while holding it like the guitar. This instrumental approach enables him to produce unconventional chords and sounds on viola.

Poutiainen graduated from Sibelius Academy. His original, modern jazz style is also based on long studies abroad - in Denmark, France, Germany, Sweden, UK, and the USA. Beside his career as a performing jazz violist, he has been a successful composer and arranger. In Finland, he has led the groups called Soul Small Instruments, Another & Fast, NoneAlike, The String Thing, Open Strings, and Farther-Out. He has worked and performed, for example, in Benin (West Africa), France, Germany, Russia, and the USA.

Currently Poutiainen is conducting his doctoral studies on jazz violin. [www.finnjazz.com - Musicians index/ Poutiainen Ari]

elected discography

* Montevideo: "Come Clean" (2006)
* Montevideo: "Against the Grain" (2006)
* The Groovy Eldorado Ensemble: "Schokobananen/ Groovy Eldorado" (2006)
* Sue Van Doe: "Elämä" (2005)
* Teemu Raita: "Kuuleeko maa?" (2004)
* Max Savikangas: "Extraterrestrial" (2003)
* NoneAlike: "More Than a Mirror" (2003)
* Liisa Lux: "Liisa Lux" (2002)
* Nat Newborn and the Lounge Lions: "Under the Umbrella" (2001)
* B-Band: "Hear the Truth" (2000)
* Jyväskylän yliopiston sinfoniaorkesteri: "T'an'go" (1999)
* The Pansies: "Solace" (1999)
* Ultra Bra: "Kroketti" (1997)

elected film [www.elonet.fi - Personsearch/ Poutiainen Ari] , stage play, and dance performance soundtracks

* Trava Group: "Gleis Novi Sad" (2004)
* Zaida Bergroth: "Last Minute Shopping" (2001)
* Piia Pasi: "Asfalttilampaat" (2000)
* Johanna Onnismaa: "Vartija" (1999)
* Mari Tolkkinen: "Miss Hill" (1998)
* Juha Vanhanen: "The Touch" (1997)
* Pekka Lehtinen: "Skin Deep" (1997)
* Teppo Räisänen: "Pilvilinna" (1997)
* Sirkka Knall: "In Lieu of Sister" (1996)
* Samu Heikkilä: "Day of a Contract Killer" (1996)
* Anna Almhöjd: "Våra torsdagar" (1996)

elected publications and conference presentations

*"John Coltrane’s Influence in Jean-Luc Ponty’s Early Performance" (2008, Presentation at Studying Musical Performance Symposium, in Helsinki, Finland)
*"Just Draw from Your Life..." – the Disappearing Myth of Originality in Jazz Music" (2007, Musiikin suunta 3: 18-26) (i)
* "So Far or So Close? Discussing the Position of Violin in Jazz History" (2007, Presentation at De-Canonizing Music History Symposium, in Helsinki, Finland)
* "Stringprovisation - A Fingering Strategy for Jazz Violin Improvisation: Demonstration of a Practice-Based Research of Fingering Schemes Approach" (2007, Presentation at M.I.D.A.S. Conference, in London, UK)
* "Towards Eclecticism in Jazz Violin Education - Background Study on the Fingering Schemes Approach " (2006, Finnish Journal of Music Education 9: 51-56)
* "Berlin Jazz Jam Sessions, Top 5" (2006, Mondo: Berliini) (i)
* "Scale Fingerings in Jazz Violin Improvisation" (2004, Musiikin suunta 4: 58-63) (i)
* "Carl Flesch’s Scale Fingering System in Contemporary Jazz Violin Education" (2004, Presentation at International Summer Jazz Conference, in Jyväskylä, Finland)
* "The Bebop Idiom in Didier Lockwood's Improvisation" (2003, Presentation at International Summer Jazz Conference, in Jyväskylä, Finland)
* "How to Introduce Jazz in Public Music Schools?" (2001, Mutes 1: 32) (i)
* "Introducing the Modes and Modal Improvising: An Approach for Young Students of Classical Music" (2001, Mutes 1: 33-34) (i)
* "Brecker and Patterns" (1999, Presentation at International Summer Jazz Conference, in Jyväskylä, Finland)
* "Brecker and Patterns: An Analysis of Michael Brecker's Melodic and Instrumental Devices" (1999, Master of Arts Thesis)

All written in English, except those indicated with (i), which are written in Finnish.

Notes and references

External links

* [http://finnjazz.com www.finnjazz.com]

* fi [http://elonet.fi www.elonet.fi]

* [http://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaarlela Kaarlela]