Don Johnson Big Band

Don Johnson Big Band
Don Johnson Big Band performing in May 2006.
Background information
Origin	Helsinki, Finland
Genres	Alternative, Electronic, Hip hop
Years active	1997 (1997)–present
Labels	Universal Music, Beat Back
Members	Tommy Lindgren Johannes Laiho Kari Saarilahti Pekka Mikkonen
Website	www.donjohnsonbigband.fi

Don Johnson Big Band is an alternative hip hop group from Helsinki, Finland. Their music blends influences from a variety of genres such as electronic music, funk, rock, jazz and hip hop.

Don Johnson Big Band on a Christmas concert at the Tavastia Club

History

The name "Don Johnson Big Band" comes from the actor Don Johnson in the series Miami Vice. The band had to come up with a name to reserve a place for training.

Members

Don Johnson Big Band consists of four people: Tommy Lindgren (vocals), Kari Saarilahti (guitar), Johannes Laiho (keyboards) and Pekka Mikkonen (horns). Despite their name, they are not a big band, but instead a mix between rap, hip hop, techno, jazz, blues and rock. Regular featuring artists on DJBB gigs and albums are Juuso Hannukainen (percussion), Tero Rantanen (percussion), Emma Salokoski (vocals), and Teppo Mäkynen (turntables).

Discography

Albums

• Support de Microphones (2000)
• Breaking Daylight (2003)
• Don Johnson Big Band (2006)
• Records Are Forever (2009)
• Fiesta (2012)
• Physical Digital (2018)
• Digital Physical (2022)
• Midnight Movement (2024)

Singles

Year	Title	Chart positions		Album
		Peak position on Finnish Singles Chart	Weeks on chart
2003	"One MC, One Delay"[1]	2	19	Breaking Daylight
	"Jah Jah Blow Job"[2]	4	6
2006	"Road"[3]	1	5	Don Johnson Big Band
	"Busy Relaxin'"[4]	12	2
2009	"L.L.H."[5]	6	2	Records Are Forever

Trivia

• Lindgren, Saarilahti and Laiho are old high school friends. Mikkonen joined in later.
• Their 2009 album includes a song dedicated to Usain Bolt, titled Running Man.

References

1. Chart history for "One MC, One Delay" Archived June 28, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
2. Chart history for "Jah Jah Blowjob" Archived October 19, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
3. Chart history for "Road" Archived October 19, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
4. Chart history for "Busy Relaxin'" Archived November 3, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
5. Chart history for "L.L.H." Archived October 19, 2012, at the Wayback Machine

External links

• The Official Don Johnson Big Band Website
• Don Johnson Big Band on YouTube.com
• Don Johnson Big Band on Instagram
• Don Johnson Big Band on Twitter.com
• The Official Microsite of "Breaking Daylight" (Album, 2003)^[usurped] Archived 2003-04-17 at the Wayback Machine
• The Official Microsite of "Don Johnson Big Band" (Album, 2006) Archived 2006-04-19 at the Wayback Machine
• The Official Microsite of "Records Are Forever" (Album, 2009) Archived 2009-06-19 at the Wayback Machine