About

Valtteri Laurell Pöyhönen is an award-winning composer, arranger, musician, conductor and producer from Helsinki, Finland. He is the founder and leader of Ricky-Tick Big Band, a 17-member jazz orchestra known for eclectic productions, for example with 3 top-notch Finnish rappers as Ricky-Tick Big Band & Julkinen Sana, who released 3 albums, achieved unprecedented chart success and performed in festivals and sold out shows all over Finland between 2013-2019. He is also the leader of jazz-sextet Dalindèo who’s 2013 album “Kallio” won the Emma-award (Finnish Grammy) for “Jazz Album of the Year” and was nominated for the annual Teosto-prize of the Finnish Composers’ Copyright Society. In 2022 Laurell recieved the prestigious “Ted Curson”-prize at Pori Jazz Festival.

Laurell specialises in big band music and conducting. He has been a guest conductor for UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra on numerous occasions and UMO has commissioned multiple arrangements from him, including a full 60+min piece “A Nocturnal Affair” in 2015, with saxophonist Timo Lassy as guest solist. In 2022 Laurell was the artistic director and conductor for the production UMO feat. Ringa Manner at Helsinki Festival. 

Eclectic by nature, Valtteri’s musical interests reach far beyond jazz and he has collaborated with ia. PK Keränen from legendary indie rock-band 22 Pistepirkko and Finland’s top rapper Paleface. 

He has studied music in Helsinki, Paris and Rotterdam and holds a master’s degree in jazz composition from Sibelius Academy, Helsinki. Originally a guitar player, he also plays piano, synthesizers and electronics.  He’s currently residing in Berlin and Helsinki.

If you want to get in contact, write me a line at valtteri (dot) poyhonen (at) gmail (dot) com