Helsinki-based trumpet player Tomi Nikku presents his debut under his own name on Flame Jazz Records with the album ’Light & Shade’. On his new album, you’ll hear his band Tomi Nikku 5tet, which has worked together since 2018 and features Max Zenger on alto sax / bass clarinet, Ilkka Uksila on vibraphone, Vesa Ojaniemi on bass, and Jonatan Sarikoski on drums. The 5tet’s instrumentation, which differs from the typical quintet formation with vibes in the rhythm section and bass clarinet in the front line, Nikku’s compositions, and the 5tet’s musicians’ recognizable and expressive voices create Tomi Nikku 5tet’s unique band sound. Tomi Nikku has become known as one of the most active Finnish instrumentalists of his generation. Alongside leading the 5tet, he works as a sideman with numerous innovative bands like Alder Ego, Maxxxtet, Bowman Trio, Maan Tila, UXILA EXILE, and Sointi Jazz Orchestra, to name a few. He also works as a freelance musician in various settings and styles. He has performed as a featuring soloist with UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra and has earned his Master’s degree in music at the Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts. Nikku’s style of playing and writing derives from his personality, life experience, and worldview. He values honesty, sincerity, and creativity and strives to cherish those traits while making music. That results in his nuanced and expressive sound on the trumpet.