Jukka Tolonen, Finland’s national guitarist hero, is also one of the most respected guitarists in the world. His passionate and powerful works have captivated audiences across Europe and Scandinavia for the past four decades. He is still one of the most versatile guitarists today. He can play blues, rock or fusion jazz. Tolonen was born in Helsinki in 1952. He first made waves in 1969 when a group young musicians from Finland formed the rock/jazz-fusion band Tasavallan Presidentti. They were to release four critically acclaimed albums. Tolonen recorded two albums during this period with Wigwam. These recordings would make Tolonen a highly skilled and explosive guitarist. His soon to be released solo recordings would make a real impact on the music world. His self-titled debut album, “Summer Games”, the Hook and “Hysterica”, would set new standards in jazz fusion recording and continue to be popular worldwide. Jukka Tolonen’s unique wizardry has been added to many recordings over the years by Bill’s Boogie Band and Piirpauke as well as French band Uppsala, Uppsala, and most recently, a live recording from Tasavallan Presidentti. He has recorded several jazz fusion albums, including the Jukka Tolonen band and some outstanding fusion rock albums with the Jukka Tolonen trio. Although the recordings are varied in style, they all show Jukka Tolonen to be one of the most respected guitarists this generation or any other. Text contributed by users is available under Creative Commons By–SA License. It may also be available under GNU FDL.
