Pori Jazz’s programming team, which is planning and booking the artists to the festival, has changed. The festival has a new artistic team which now is planning the artistic lines and names for the future festivals.

Journalist and DJ Mikkomatti Aro, musician and journalist Esa Kuloniemi, rap-musician and music producer Karri “Paleface” Miettinen, Verkatehdas Arts & Congress Center’s communication manager Janne Nieminen and vice principal of Sibelius Academy and Yrjö-awarded jazz-musician Jari Perkiömäki are invited to the new team. The artistic team is coordinated by Pori Jazz’s media officer Mikko Peltola with festival director Katja Leppäkoski.

-The artistic team’s main mission is to follow the entire, wide genre of rhythm music. This way Pori Jazz has many eyes and ears which clearly observe that fragmented and reforming field of music of which our festival consist, says festival director Katja Leppäkoski.

Program producers Markus Partanen (international and local jazz), Charles Gil (Ultra Music) and Bianca Morales (Pori Jazz Kids Festival) still continue their work at the festival.

Program producer Tuomas Kallio is leaving the festival’s artistic leadership as is concentrating on producing the Helsinki-based Flow Festival. Also drummer Teppo Mäkynen, who has co-ordinated Finnish jazz at Pori Jazz is leaving his post and is now concentrating on his own artistic projects.

-All these changes and festival’s developments have been done in really good spirit. Regarding the future festivals Pori Jazz and Flow Festival are planning co-operation with program contents, says Katja Leppäkoski.