Ilkka Arola is a Finnish trumpet player who likes to explore music with open mind by mixing together everything he finds interesting. Arola believes in meaningful melodies, strong rhythms, interesting soundscapes and the power of live music. Due to Arola's background in jazz music mixed with recent influences from Middle-Eastern, African and Asian music traditions he has obtained a unique musical voice as a trumpet player and composer. Arola plays a special Quartertone trumpet which allows him to play Arabic maqams and other microtonal music.
Ilkka Arola released his first full length album “From the Depths of the Earth” in 2017, which has received very warm reception. Arola's live band consists of six musicians from the top of the Finnish rhythmic music scene. The band is currently working with material for the second album.