Date of Birth: 
Place of Birth: Helsinki, Uusimaa, Finland
About Pekka Sarmanto
- Pekka Eerik Juhani Sarmanto (born February 15, 1945 in Helsinki) is a Finnish jazz bassist.
- Heikki Sarmanto is Pekka's brother. Pekka Sarmanto first studied classical violin at the Sibelius Academy from 1958 to 1964 before he switched to upright bass.
- He played dance music at first, but was soon invited to appearances in jazz clubs by bandleaders like Eero Koivistoinen and Esa Pethman.
- In 1967 Sarmanto joined the house band of Down Beat Club where he played with musicians like Ben Webster and Dexter Gordon.
- In 1975 Sarmanto founded the UMO (abbreviation of "Uuden Musiikin Orkesteri", New Music Orchestra).
- With UMO, Sarmanto accompanied many internationally important jazz musicians who were visiting Finland.
- Sarmanto met with Charles Mingus (in Belgrade), Gil Evans, Dizzy Gillespie, Edward Vesala and Sonny Rollins. Sarmanto got Georgie Award (Yrjö-palkinto) of the Finnish Jazz Federation in 1978 .
- In 1982 he worked on album To a Finland Station (Pablo, 1983) with Dizzy Gillespie and Arturo Sandoval.
- In 1996 Sarmanto founded Pekka Sarmanto Trio.
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