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Biography

Iiro Rantala is a Finnish jazz pianist, composer and arranger known for his versatility and humorous approach to music. He is considered one of Finland's best-known jazz musicians and has made a name for himself both in Finland and internationally.
He began his musical education at the age of seven at the Käpylä Music School and in the Cantores Minores choir. He later studied jazz piano at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and classical piano at the Manhattan School of Music in New York.

His first significant formation was the band Big Bad Family, with which he was active in the 1980s. In 1988, he founded the Trio Töykeät, which was characterised by an innovative blend of jazz and classical music and released numerous albums and performed at many European jazz festivals over the following two decades.

After the dissolution of Trio Töykeät in 2008, Rantala embarked on a successful solo career. He released several solo albums, including Lost Heroes (2011) and My History of Jazz (2012), which earned him international recognition.

In addition to his work as a jazz pianist, Rantala is also active as a composer. Among other works, he wrote the Concerto for Piano and Concerto in G♯ΔA♭, which was recorded with the Tapiola Sinfonietta in 2006. His first opera, Sanatorio Express, premiered at the Finnish National Opera in 2018, followed by his second opera, Die Zaubermelodika, which premiered at the Komische Oper Berlin in 2021. Further European premieres of his opera compositions are firmly scheduled for the next two seasons.

Since 2023, Rantala has led the HEL Trio, consisting of himself on piano, drummer Anton Eger and bassist Conor Chaplin. The trio released the album Tough Stuff in 2024.

Rantala was awarded the ECHO Jazz Pianist of the Year award for his album Lost Heroes.

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