Teija Niku & Juha Kujanpää | Etnosoi! Chiwalala/Saastamoinen duo | Baraka Issabu Quintet - Etno-Espa

The closing day of Etno-Espa on Espa's stage features a dialogue between piano and accordion, Tanzanian-Finnish collaboration, and East African afrojazz.

16.00 | Teija Niku & Juha Kujanpää

Accordionist Teija Niku and pianist Juha Kujanpää are renowned as distinctive composers and accomplished instrumentalists. Their music draws from folk music, classical music, and jazz. They have collaborated for over 15 years, including in the folk music trio Karuna.

The idea for new compositions for piano and accordion duo emerged during the pandemic: both composed separately, and the pieces developed through joint performance in 2022-2023. The new compositions are built on equal partnership, with piano and accordion alternating between solo and accompanying roles - including improvisation. The collaboration culminated in the album Aamunkoitto, released by Rockadillo Records in March 2025.

Teija Niku - accordion
Juha Kujanpää - piano

17.15 | Etnosoi! Chiwalala/Saastamoinen duo

The Chiwalala/Saastamoinen duo is a project founded in 2021 by Arnold Chiwalala and Mikael Saastamoinen, whose first EP is released in 2026. The duo's music brings together Tanzanian traditional music, Finnish folk music, and the African-American jazz bass tradition.

Music emerges through shared playing sessions where new chord combinations and rhythms are boldly explored. The compositions also include improvisation sections following Tanzanian and African-American traditions. The concert is presented by the World Music Centre.

18.30 | Baraka Issabu Quintet

Baraka Issabu is a Tanzanian pianist, composer, arranger, and music educator based in Helsinki. Rooted in East African musical traditions, Issabu combines traditional rhythms and melodic language with afrojazz, afrofusion, and jazz - piano is his primary storytelling instrument. At the global music campus of East Africa in Tanzania, he has deepened his work with regional musical traditio