Pekka Pohjola

Pekka Pohjola entered the world in Finland in 1952 and set aside classical violin and piano studies at Helsinki’s Sibelius Academy before beginning his rock path with the band the Boys. His earliest significant recognition came from serving as bassist in Wigwam, the group he joined in 1970 and stayed with until 1974. After also performing with the Jukka Tolonen Band, he assembled his own ensemble, the Group, in 1977. Across subsequent years he issued numerous solo albums while continuing to record with the Group. In time the ensemble discarded its original name and simply adopted “Pekka Pohjola,” which can make it hard to separate the band’s releases from his individual work.