Eero Koivistoinen

Eero Koivistoinen (born 13 January 1946, in Helsinki) is a Finnish jazz musician and saxophone player, who started his career in the mid-1960s.

As a youngster Koivistoinen studied classical violin, saxophone and also composition at the Sibelius Academy, and later jazz at Berklee College of Music in Boston.

In 1968 he released his first solo album, a "literary record" called Valtakunta which featured songs composed to the texts of such poets as Pentti Saarikoski, Jarkko Laine, Tuomas Anhava and Hannu Mäkelä; interpreted by the vocalists Vesa-Matti Loiri, Eero Raittinen and Seija Simola.

His hip hop-influenced 2006 album X-Ray features such people as the vocalists Charles Salter and Bina Nkwazi, DJ LBJ (also known as Jonas Verwijnen) and the rap artist Redrama (also known as Lasse Mellberg).

Koivistoinen has received the Yrjö prize of the Finnish Jazz Association in 1967, his quartet won the band competition at Montreux Jazz Festival in 1969, and Koivistoinen also won in 1981 the prize for the best arrangement with his piece "Ultima Thule" at the Nordring competition of European broadcasting companies, held in Jersey.