The Finnish jazz scene’s most prestigious awards were presented in Tampere on 30 October. The Finnish Jazz Federation awarded the Yrjö Award to saxophonist Pauli Lyytinen, the Andania Lifetime Achievement Award to the Dallapé orchestra and the Taimi Award for an emerging musician to saxophonist Oona Mattsson. The Varjo-Yrjö Award, presented by Yle, went to Jazzkerho -76, Joensuu ry.

Founded 60 years ago, the Finnish Jazz Federation has presented the Yrjö Award to outstanding Finnish jazz musicians since 1967. This year, the award went to saxophonist Pauli Lyytinen.

Pauli Lyytinen is known as a distinctive saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, improviser and composer whose music fearlessly explores the intersections of rhythmic and art music. A driving force behind numerous ensembles, often with international line-ups, Lyytinen has released more than 30 albums and performed at hundreds of festivals and clubs in 35 countries. His current projects include Pauli Lyytinen Solo, Pauli Lyytinen Rabbit Hole and Elifantree, as well as a collaboration with Sámi poet and musician Niillas Holmberg. Lyytinen’s solo album Lehto/Korpi received the Jazz Emma Award in 2024, while Naarattu laulu, his collaboration with Holmberg, was nominated for the Teosto Prize in 2026.

"Over the course of a quarter-century career, Pauli Lyytinen has opened up new territory for Finnish jazz and created fascinating musical worlds through his uncompromising willingness to push boundaries", says Janne Tarmio, a member of the award jury comprising representatives of the Finnish Jazz Federation’s board, explaining the reasons behind the award.

The Yrjö Award takes the form of an artwork created by a different artist each year. This year’s award artwork is Metsä ja yö (Forest and Night, mezzotint, 2026) by visual artist and printmaker Mari Hallapuro.

Andania Lifetime Achievement awarded to Dallapé

Since 1988, the Finnish Jazz Federation has presented the Andania Award at its discretion in recognition of long-standing and distinguished contributions to Finnish jazz. The award takes its name from the Andania, a ship symbolically credited with bringing jazz to Finland in 1926, exactly 100 years ago. This year’s award went to Dallapé and was accepted by the orchestra’s leader and lead vocalist, Juha Hostikka.

Founded in 1925, Dallapé is Europe’s oldest continuously active entertainment orchestra. Over the decades, the orchestra has turned numerous compositions by Finnish songwriters into evergreen classics and brought major international hits of their time to Finnish audiences.

Taimi Award given to saxophonist Oona Mattsson

The Finnish Jazz Federation’s annual Taimi Award is presented to a young musician who is passionately developing their own musical expression. The prize also includes performance opportunities at three Finnish jazz festivals in 2027: Pori Jazz, Turku Sea Jazz and Jazz-Espa. The fourth Taimi Award was presented to saxophonist Oona Mattsson.

The Varjo-Yrjö Award, presented by the Finnish Broadcasting Company Yle’s Jazzradio in recognition of contributions to the promotion of jazz culture, went to Jazzkerho -76, Joensuu ry. The award was accepted by the association’s chair, Jari Lappalainen.

The awards were presented at Pakkahuone, Tullikamari, in Tampere on 30 October 2026. The ceremony and the concert by Pauli Lyytinen and Markku Ounaskari were part of the programme for the Jazz in Finland 100 centenary celebrations, the Finnish Jazz Federation’s National Jazz Days and Tampere Jazz Happening.