”Esa Pietilä´s concerto Graffiti Play for tenor saxophone, contemporary jazz trio & orchestra which we premiered together, sounds like if Frank Zappa and György Ligeti had married themselves and had gotten a child together” – Esa-Pekka Salonen

“Great musician, highly recommended”
– Risto Nieminen – Director, Music Service Gulbenkian Foundation

Saxophonist and composer Esa Pietilä

Esa Pietilä records Kalevi Aho Tenor Saxophone concerto for BIS records

Saxophonist Esa Pietilä records Kalevi Aho Tenor Saxophone concerto for BIS records. The recording was made 20.-21. of April 2022 with Saimaa Sinfonietta and conductor Erkki Lasonpalo.... Read more

Liberty Ship´s new album with new FIN-NOR line-up

Jazz Musician of the Year 2016 awarded saxophonist Esa Pietilä leads his quartet Liberty Ship to the waters of free improvisation again. The renewed Liberty Ship consists of a Finnish-Norwegian... Read more

Pietilä receives the prestigious Yrjö award from Finnish Jazz Federation

The Yrjö Jazz award 2016 was given to saxophonist Esa Pietilä (b. 1964) for his original, genre-defying work in the field of avant-garde jazz. “Pietilä is known as a fearless improviser and... Read more

New Solo Saxophone album released

Esa Pietilä´s solo album Times & Spaces connects the acoustic expression of solo saxophone with live-electronics. The double album is a strong artistic statement and exploration into the world... Read more

Pietilä performs the world premiere of Kalevi Aho´s new tenor saxophone concerto in march 2016

Esa Pietilä premieres Kalevi Aho Tenor Saxophone Concerto. Internationally acclaimed Finnish contemporary composer Kalevi Aho wrote a tenor saxophone concerto and dedicated it to Esa Pietilä. Esa... Read more

Excerpts from Pietilä´s tenor saxophone concerto Graffiti Play

Samples from Pietilä´s concerto Graffiti Play for chamber orch. & contemporary jazz trio. The first performance of the concerto in oct. 2014 with Esa-Pekka Salonen & Avanti! Chamber orchestra

See list of composed works by Esa Pietilä