Don Johnson Big Band is one of the most popular bands in Finland at the moment. If you go to a nightclub, chances are that you will hear their hit One MC, One Delay, played.
The band's musical style is unique. It is a combination of hip-hop, jazz and electronica with influences from house, blues and even country. Thus, it is impossible to classify Don Johnson Big Band's music, but one label used has been "progressive hip-hop".
Don Johnson Big Band is rather typical of successful contemporary Finnish bands in that there is nothing particularly Finnish about their music. They sing in English, and their influences are international. This cosmopolitan quality of their music seems to be paying off, since they have had gigs in Moscow and Amsterdam. Their second album has been released in the Netherlands.
Don Johnson Big Band's first album Support de Microphones was released in 2000. It was produced by the band themselves, and originally sold to friends and family. They were able to convince some record stores to sell it as well. In 2001, Sony Music took over the distribution of the album. Support de Microphones is probably the most successful self-published album in Finnish music history, since it has sold about 10 000 copies.
In 2003, Don Johnson Big Band's second album, Breaking Daylight, was released. It has sold over 15 000 copies, which in Finland is the number needed for a gold record. Three singles from this album have been released - One Mc, One Delay, Jah Jah Blow Job and Salt Water, and they've been high in the Finnish charts.
Don Johnson Big Band is:
Tommy Lindgren - vocals, lyrics
Johannes Laiho - piano
Pekka Mikkonen - saxophone
Kari Saarilahti - guitar, bass, drums
Sources: http://www.donjohnsonbigband.com/, www.samagency.fi/media/biografia2003.rtf, http://negaatio.org/djbb/index_f.html, http://www.finpop.net/music/don_johnson_big_band.php