Swedish singer Lisa Ekdahl and Danish bassist Ida Nielsen are Turku Sea Jazz’s international star performers!

12.4.2023

Turku Sea Jazz in July is crowned by top names in Nordic rhythm music: Lisa Ekdahl and Ida Nielsen. The main concerts of the festival will be heard in the courtyard square of Forum Marinum maritime center on the last weekend of July. The entire program will be announced during May Day week.

Danish artist Ida Nielsen is best known as the singing bassist of megastar Prince. Nielsen will perform at Turku Sea Jazz’s Friday evening on July 28 together with her quartet The Funkbots. Playing brand new repertoire, the band serves an energetic funk show full of good vibes, tight grooves and, of course, subtle references to Ida’s mentor, Prince.

Ida Nielsen’s life turned upside down when the music legend Prince asked her to join his band The New Power Generation in 2010. Nielsen was also part of Prince’s last group, 3rdeyegirl, until Prince’s untimely death in 2016. In 2019, Ida Nielsen was voted among the ten best bassists in the world together with e.g. Stanley Clarke and Victor Wooten.

On Saturday 29 July the festival audience will be captivated by the beloved Swedish singer Lisa Ekdahl and her band. Ekdahl, who became a superstar with her debut album in the 1990s, is a three-time Swedish Grammy winner who has delighted music lovers all over Europe and North America with her sensitive and touching style. Performing jazz standards and bossa nova, Ekdahl is especially known for her collaborations with the Peter Nordahl Trio and Salvadore Poe. Turku Sea Jazz concert will feature both Ekdahl’s familiar classic tunes and material from the fresh Swedish album Bang Bang i mitt hjärta, to be released in the spring of 2023.

Turku Sea Jazz will be celebrated at Kirkkopuisto Terrace, Seili island and Forum Marinum on July 26-29, 2023. The entire festival program will be announced at the end of April. In connection with the purchase of tickets, you can support the important marine environmental work of the John Nurminen Foundation at Tiketti.