Joona Toivanen

Welcome! I am a jazz pianist/composer from Finland, currently living in Gothenburg, Sweden. I play in and compose for several bands both in Finland and Sweden. And this is what has happened on the way:
1981 - I was born in Jyväskylä, Finland
1989 - I started playing the piano at the age of seven
1990 - I caught two pikes the same day with rod and reel and got hooked for fishing forever.
1991 or 1992 - First compositions saw daylight. Experimentals with MIDI and computer music.
1994 - 1999 - The saxophone years
1995 - I decided to concentrate on jazz in my piano playing
1997 - The Joona Toivanen trio was founded with my brother Tapani on bass and Olavi Louhivuori on drums
2000 - Joona Toivanen trio's first album "Numurkah" was released. First international gigs in Estonia, France, Iceland, Sweden and Norway.
Joona Toivanen trio shared the first prize in a jazz competition in Reykjavik, Iceland. I got sick on the way back home.
2002 - The trio's second album "Lumous" was released in Finland, the first one in Japan. I moved to Sweden to study at the School of Music at the Gothenburg University.
2003 - Trio's collaboration with Australian-based agent Henk van Leeuwen begins with tours in Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.
2006 - Joona Toivanen trio's third album "Frost" was released internationally by EMI Blue Note. Biggest fish this year was a 2,5 kg brown trout.
2007 - After some studies in Stockholm I'm back in Gothenburg, really keen on starting a new band soon. ...and life goes on...