Although nowadays involved in projects of various persuasions, Pekka Lehti (b. 1965, Joensuu, Karelia) first entered the world of music by beginning to play the bass in a punk rock group. Twenty years later he would pay tribute to that seminal band, Outo Voima ("Unknown Force"), by naming his debut album after it. But between these two watersheds of his career, Lehti's solemn bass stylings have been experienced in numerous situations both locally and globally. ...show more

Although nowadays involved in projects of various persuasions, Pekka Lehti (b. 1965, Joensuu, Karelia) first entered the world of music by beginning to play the bass in a punk rock group. Twenty years later he would pay tribute to that seminal band, Outo Voima ("Unknown Force"), by naming his debut album after it. But between these two watersheds of his career, Lehti's solemn bass stylings have been experienced in numerous situations both locally and globally.

Kicking off his professional career at the tender age of 17, the brave bassman has ever since plunged into a dizzying array of settings from backing up singer/songwriters to sweating the night away with acid jazz combos to producing a special concert based on the music of Nino Rota and beyond. The early nineties proved to be decisive for Lehti's musical future. In 1990 he co-founded the anarchist organ jazz trio The JP's, whose most recent offerings 'Do You See What I See (LOVE)' (1998) and 'Katastrof' (1999) have been quite successful both in and outside of the Finnish borders. In 1992 the bass player co-founded ZetaBoo, a critically acclaimed ethno-jazz group which tastefully fuses the ancient with the modern.

The foursome's eponymous debut disc came out in 1997, and the sophomore effort 'MediZine' in 2001. In addition, ZetaBoo is the featured backing group on singer/actor Susanna Haavisto's 2002 album 'Kadonnut tie'. These exciting own projects aside, Lehti's most widely recognized working environment in between 1992 and 2002 was the modernist folklore ensemble Värttinä. As an arranger and composer he was a valued valued team player in the ranks of this vanguardian world music collective. ...show less