Jazz for Kids: Nikita Rafaelov – Jazz in Finland 100

Jazz for Kids concerts welcome everyone from babies to grandparents! Professional musicians perform their own work at a child-friendly volume in the lobby.

Jazz for Kids is a series of high-quality jazz concerts for everyone from babies to grandparents! Professional musicians perform their work at child-friendly volumes in the easily accessible facilities of the City’s cultural centres.

Nikita Rafaelov is a Helsinki-based keyboardist, producer and composer who has established himself at the forefront of Finnish jazz and experimental music. He has performed at events such as Pori Jazz, the Oulu Music Festival and Flow Festival.

At the Jazz for Kids concert at Vuosaari House, Rafaelov performs tracks from his solo album Heart Does What Heart Wants, released in autumn 2024, as well as other new and older material. Using a piano, a synthesiser, a sampler and a computer, he takes his audience on a journey through the worlds of electroacoustic jazz, ambient and lo-fi hip-hop.

The duration of the event is 45 min. The artist will perform for roughly 35 minutes, after which the audience can meet the musician and see the instruments used.

Nikita Rafaelov – piano, synthesiser and sampler

The Jazz for Kids operating model of the Finnish Jazz Federation and City of Helsinki Cultural Centres is based on the concert series of the same name, which has been organised at the Espoo Cultural Centre since 2015 in cooperation with Espoo Music Institute’s pop/jazz line Ebeli. The concept was developed by Ebeli, the pop/jazz line at Espoo Music Institute.

Jazz for Kids concerts at the City of Helsinki’s cultural centres are held at Vuosaari House on 3 September, at Maunula House on 19 September and at Annantalo on 8 October.

The concert is part of Jazz in Finland 100 centenary celebrations. 2026 marks the 100th anniversary of jazz symbolically landing in Finland on the ship Andania. The centenary highlights Finnish jazz and its artists both in Finland and abroad, and celebrates jazz as part of the Finnish cultural heritage. The Jazz in Finland 100 campaign is coordinated by the Finnish Jazz Federation.