Riikka Keränen, vocals
Josefiina Vannesluoma, vocals
Tomi Nikku, trumpet and vocals
Mikael Myrskog, piano
Eero Seppä, double bass
Sami Nummela, drums
The feline jazz spectacle that performed to a full house last summer at Hanko congregation house, The Adventures of Myky the Cat, returns to the Hanko Music Festival! This year, he fun-filled family jazz concert tells a bit more about Myky the Cat and his mates through a new set of songs. The concert kicks off with an instrumental workshop, where everyone is welcome to have a go at building percussion instruments, which will then be used later on during the concert. The duration of the show, including the workshop, is approx. 60 mins.
Myky Felonius, our feline hero from New Orleans, grew up from a tiny kitten listening to bluesy yowls echoing in the alleys and watching cats of every description marching to ragtime down the streets of New Orleans. After moving to New York, Myky first played in bars but soon proved a clever composer and unusual improviser, who immediately loses himself in inspiration and jumps up and down to the rhythm of jazz!
Kittie Holiday is widely considered one of the most soulful jazz miaowers of the day. A native of Harlem, her career has taken her from New York’s smoky jazz clubs to the limelight as the lead vocalist in the Cat Count Basie Big Band and the star of sold-out concert arenas. According to legend, Kittie once burnt the hairs on her ear with curling tongs just before a concert and decided to cover the damage by wearing white gardenias behind her ear. The white flower has since become Kittie Holiday’s trademark and she won’t be seen performing without one.
Anita O’Miaow, the sassy and temperamental West Coast star keeps her tempo upbeat. She is a master scat miaower and likes a good joke. Anita O’Miaow’s infamous stage antics include chasing butterflies that she can’t help going after, even in the middle of a performance…
Catty Anderson hails from South Carolina. Anderson, who in his early life was mainly known as the troublemaker at the cat rescue, started to play the trumpet early on and quickly developed into a master of especially long high notes. Duke “Cheshire” Ellington spotted Cat’s talent and employed him in his world famous jazz orchestra, which has toured to nearly every corner of the world. Cat is also known for his talent for playing so loud that no microphones or amplifiers are needed.
John Catitucci’s bass playing is known from many cat orchestras. John’s thick, paw-erful bass line makes any band sound like kings of swing. John first came to fame in Kittie Corea’s trio, and currently also forms part of the line up in the legendary Feline Shorter Quartet. In his free time, John loves eating tuna straight from the tin, usually washed down with cream.
Drummer Steve Cat is a true musical cat-of- all- trades. In addition to jazz, Steve also plays rock and loves to combine the two styles in his playing. Steve is a keen baker and he can be spotted on stages around the world flipping his drumsticks with flour in his whiskers.