Saxophone player JUKKA PERKO entered the Finnish jazz scene at the Pori Jazz Festival in summer 1986 when he was in his teens. In the following year, he was invited to play with the orchestra on trumpet player Dizzy Gillespie’s 70th anniversary tour. After two years with Gillespie’s orchestra, Perko went on to lead his own ensembles, with performances in more than 40 countries. Thanks to his brilliant technique and his flair for combining Finnish national musical elements with the traditions of jazz, he has become one of the most prominent sax players of his generation.