UMO Jazz Orchestra

UMO Jazz Orchestra is a Finnish big band. It was founded in 1975 by jazz musicians Heikki Sarmanto and Esko Linnavalli. UMO is an abbreviation of "Uuden Musiikin Orkesteri" (New Musical Orchestra). Since 1984 UMO has been a professional orchestra which is financed by Finnish Broadcasting Company, Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture and the city of Helsinki. UMO has been toured in Europ, Canada, and the U.S. and has worked with Dexter Gordon, Dizzy Gillespie, Gil Evans, Mercer Ellington, McCoy Tyner, Maria Schneider, Michael Brecker, John Scofield, and Lenny Pickett.