A rising star?

[Gitterbug]

Warning: the attached video contains product placement.

Elis Krzywacki is a Finnish jazz guitarist, barely in his 20s, with an exceptional pedigree. His late grandfather played swing and taught guitar, and his mother is a performing artist and guitar teacher. Father Petri Krzywacki is not only one of Finland's finest jazz guitarists but a composer, arranger, teacher and bandleader. Yet, Elis started as a drummer, then moved on to guitar in his early teens to become a heavy metal shredder. At some point, he began veering towards jazz. This with no parental influence or pressure - Elis is self-taught. In 2023 he won the first prize in Jazzkukko competition. In 2025 he graduated from high school and a conservatory with professional musician's credentials. His compulsory military service ends soon, and studies at the Sibelius Academy's Jazz Department will commence in the fall.

Elis usually plays his granddad's ES-165. We have had the pleasure of contributing to his career with the donation of a Toob 10S cab and a Quilter SuperBlock US. Earlier, we have helped another young jazz talent, Eero Dunkel, in a similar fashion.

Elis visited the Toob stand at the recent Finland Tonefest guitar event and improvised around the "Out of nowhere" theme on my Tal Farlow, alternating between two Toob/Quilter combinations. I hope you like what you hear. In this promised land of heavy metal, young jazz guitarists are rare indeed.

[ragman1]

Time will tell

[Mick-7]

Elis Krzywacki is a Finnish jazz guitarist, barely in his 20s, with an exceptional pedigree. His late grandfather played swing and taught guitar, and his mother is a performing artist and guitar teacher. Father Petri Krzywacki is not only one of Finland's finest jazz guitarists but a composer, arranger, teacher and bandleader.

Oh, I remember Petri from the Yahoo jazz guitar group many years ago, he must be quite proud of his son.

[Gitterbug]

Oh, I remember Petri from the Yahoo jazz guitar group many years ago, he must be quite proud of his son.

I know he is. We talked on Friday. I've known Petri for decades, have taken lessons from him and attended several courses and bandcamps run by him. Probably his worst student... He also was kind enough to talk and play in a couple of early Toob videos.

[RLetson]

Interesting--not so much a worked-out performance as an extended exploration of what might be done with the tune with a real-time "what about this?" feel.

[Gitterbug]

How right you are. We had agreed on the hour Elis would show up, nothing else. The floor was entirely his. Considering this might have been the first time he touched on an L-5 -scale guitar, he did pretty well. There are YouTube videos on his earlier performances with a band, if you're interested. Complete control.