By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times
Kaisa Mäensivu
The number of female jazz double bass players around the world pales in comparison to that of male players.
But while lacking in quantity, the list of female players holds its own in quality.
One of the most famous is Grammy Award winning Esperanza Emily Spalding, an American jazz bassist, singer, songwriter and composer.
Many of the top-rated double bass players are from European nations, especially Scandinavian countries – Tine Asmundsen from Norway, Patricia Day from Denmark and Ellen Andrea Wang from Norway.
Sitting near or at the top of the list of upright bassists from Scandinavia is Kaisa Mäensivu, a standout double bass player, composer and bandleader from Finland.
Mäensivu was born in Hameenlinna and moved to Helsinki for high school. She spent university time in Helsinki and New York and has been living in New York for almost a decade.
Dating back to her days as a student at Taideyliopiston Sibelius-Akatemia (Sibelius Academy) in Helsinki, Mäensivu has had her own band – Kaisa’s Machine.
The band’s latest album – “Moving Parts” – was released March 14, 2025 on Greenleaf Music.
Kaisa’s Machine will have a “CD Release Celebration” on June 21 at Chris’ Jazz Café (1421 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, www.chrisjazzcafe.com).
“I recorded the album exactly a year ago,” said Mäensivu, during a phone interview Wednesday morning from her home in Uptown Manhattan.
“I recorded it at the end of June at Big Orange Sheep in Brooklyn, New York. It was a great studio, but I don’t think it’s there anymore.
“It was all done analog. I find it helps being in the moment. We recorded it live in the studio. It was mostly in one or two takes – maybe three.”
The personnel on the album were Kaisa Mäensivu – Bass; Sasha Berliner – Vibraphone; Max Light – Guitar; Eden Ladin – Piano; and Joe Peri – Drums.
Mäensivu formed her ensemble Kaisa’s Machine in 2015 while still living in the land of glaciers.
Since then, Kaisa’s Machine has released three albums.
The band’s debut album was “In The Key Of K,” which was released in December 2017. The band’s sophomore effort was “Taking Shape,” which came out in July 2023.
The first album was made in Finland and the second was her first album as a New Yorker.
“When I was a teenager, I had band at Sibelius Academy when I was a student there,” said Mäensivu. “I formed a band with friends, and we played anything but classics.”
There was always a piano in Mäensivu’s home when she was growing up in Finland, and she recalls it was her first instrument.
According to Mäensivu, “I would always climb up to the piano and play to entertain myself.”
She started lessons early, aged six, but it was seeing a woman play double bass on television that set things in motion.
“My mother always listened to a lot of jazz and would take me to jazz concerts when I was young,” said Mäensivu. “I got sold on the sound of bass.”
That affinity played a part of her formative years in Helsinki and New York.
“I went to high school at Sibelius Academy and also college there where I was a jazz arts major,” said Mäensivu.
“I got an opportunity to do an exchange year as a student in New York. I moved to New York in 2016. I graduated with a master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music in 2017.
“I played music in the Manhattan School community, but it was not too much a jazz scene. I had to go away from school and get into the club scene.
“I was definitely intimidated by New York, but I got my first gig after a few weeks. There were jam sessions at the Smoke Jazz Club in Uptown. Then, a jazz vocalist — Lady Leah – hired me for a weekly club gig.
“I started networking right away. I didn’t expect it because it was such a high level – and I was focused on school.
“In New York, I did a lot of work as a session musician and the bandleader part came later on – even though my first gig as a bandleader was in Finland.
“The first New York gig as Kaisa’s Machine was at Hotel Kitano on Park Avenue in 2018. It was my first real opportunity to play my music.”
Seven years down the road, Mäensivu has firmly established top credentials as a bass player, bandleader, composer, session musician and appreciated live player here and in Europe.
“At the moment, I just tour a lot,” said Mäensivu, who has won several awards including first prize at the International Riga Jazz Stage contest for bass players in 2018 and the “Rising Star” award at the Pori Jazz Festival.
“I just did three tours in the spring. Now, I do two or three shows a week at clubs in New York. We have a tour of Spain in July.
“We’re playing at two festivals in Finland – Pori Jazz in July and Weegee Jazz-piknik in August. In September, I’m playing with a German vocalist – Sara Decker Expand.”
Saturday’s show at Chris’ Jazz Café will be a return visit to the venue by Mäensivu.
“I’ve (played) Chris’ Jazz Café a couple of times,” said Mäensivu. “Philadelphia is always such a nice atmosphere.”
Video link for Kaisa’s Machine – https://youtu.be/AXVMJYs9fT0.
There will be two shows at Chris’ Jazz Café on June 21 – 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.
General admission tickets are $30 for either show.
The Spins
Like Kaisa’s Machine, The Spins are musicians who got their start as a band a decade ago. They released their first recording in 2017 and have an album release show for the new LP in Philadelphia this weekend.
That’s where the similarity comes to a halt.
The Spins are an indie/pop/punk/emo alternative rock band from the Appalachian Mountains of New Jersey featuring Nick Coombs on rhythm guitar/vocals, Freddy Smith on drums, Jimmy Barr on lead guitar, and Phil Dunphy on bass.
On June 9, The Spins announced their new album “Left Behind” would be released July 25. As a preview, The Spins have released their third single from the album — “One More.”
The celebration show in Philly will be on June 20 at Ruba Club (416 Green Street, Philadelphia, rubaclub.org)
Since their inception in 2016, the band has incorporated their wide range of influences into their music, while still managing to have a distinctly unique sound that is wholly their own.
“We started in August 2016,” said Smith, during a band phone interview Tuesday evening from Dunphy’s home in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey.
“Our first EP – “Tank’d” – was a six-song record that came out in June 2017. The songs were ones Nick had written in high school. We had them on Soundcloud at first and then we put them out on an EP.”
“I write the lyrics, but I get help from the rest of the guys,” said Coombs.
In 2019, The Spins released an EP titled “4 Day Stay.”
“In 2020, we recorded our first full-length – Not If, But When?”,” said Barr.
“Then, we did another EP releasing three singles one at a time – “Reach Out,” “Can’t Be Waiting” and “Dream Pop” – and then grouping them together.”
The four band members grew up in the same region of northwest New Jersey – an area that rarely comes to mind when people think of New Jersey – and area with mountains, lakes, lush forests and even fluorescent mineral mines/museums.
“Jimmy and I went to school together at Sussex Tech,” said Coombs. “Fred and I met working at a waterpark. Then, we met Phil when he was going to Montclair State.
“Our first EP was mostly Nick’s songs. The second was more of us together. We jam out and then Nick writes the lyrics.”
Coombs said, “Music is first and then the hook. I never write lyrics first. We get the song first and then the melodies and then the lyrics.”
When the band was getting ready to make “Left Behind,” they enlisted the services of highly respected producer/engineer Ayad Al Adhamy.
Al Adhamy is a multi-instrumentalist music producer, mixer, engineer and owner of world class recording complex, Diamond City Studio in Brooklyn, New York.
“We went to Diamond City with Ayad in summer 2023,” said Coombs. “We had already played a lot of shows with the new songs out live – including Happy Fest in Montclair.
“‘It’s Me, ’Rain or Shine’ and the new one, ‘One More’ are the three singles from the album that we’ve already released. One of the songs is based off a sound design and another is a solo acoustic.”
“One More,” the electrifying third single from the band this year, is a high-octane, dancefloor-ready banger, propelled by a syncopated guitar riff lace with a slick chorus effect. The song is pure kinetic energy.
Lyrically, “One More” dives into the push-and-pull of temptation, wrestling with the urge to return to something toxic while bargaining for “just one more” before breaking free.
The band says, “We wrote this one with the intention of keeping it purposely ambiguous and able to be applied to many different subjects in the realm of addiction and the inability to kick a habit.
“Whether it’s a drug, a toxic relationship you can’t seem to leave behind, or a bad habit in general, we’ve all experienced that struggle of being unable to leave something behind once you’ve experienced its thrill and intoxication.
“I think everyone has universally had the experience of telling themselves – ‘This is the last time, I swear.’ This is about that struggle of eliminating that temptation to go back to what’s comfortable, comforting, or captivating to you, even when you know it’s not good for you.”
The Spins are no strangers to the Philadelphia indie-rock scene.
“We’ve played Philly a couple times in recent years,” said Barr. “We played the Grape Room, Philamoca, Fire – and a lot of house parties at Philly colleges like Drexel.
“We play the Mercury Lounge in New York in July. At that show and this weekend’s show at Ruba Club, we’ll play at least four songs from the new album and a lot of our older stuff.”
Video link for The Spins – https://youtu.be/z7_GPscm5Qw.
The show at Ruba Club will start at 9 p.m. on June 20.
Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center (226 North High Street, West Chester, www.uptownwestchester.org) will present Bryan Parr and the Blind Date Band on June 20 and Elevate Dance Company on June 21.
On June 22, “Karin Wren’s Taylor Swift Experience” will perform at Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center’s free “Summer Pop-Up Beer Garden Series,” an open-air celebration of community, live music, food, and fun.
These vibrant pre-show gatherings are perfect for all ages and totally free to attend. Sunday’s event will start at 1:30 p.m.
Kennett Flash (102 Sycamore Alley, Kennett Square, 484-732-8295, http://www.kennettflash.org) is presenting DEAD LETTER OFFICE: A Tribute to R.E.M. on June 20, and “The 2025 New Summer Sounds Series (ROUND 1)” featuring: Being Malleable, Randy Way, Ripe Enough, and Ride the Line on June 22.
On June 21, Kennett Flash will present “Legion of Prog: Prog Rock Tribute!” as a “Kennett Flash Rooftop Concert.”
Jamey’s House of Music (32 South Lansdowne Avenue, Lansdowne, www.jameyshouseofmusic.com) will host the Billy Price Band on June 20 and the Dirk Quinn Band on June 21.
Jamey’s will present The Philly Blues Kings with Clarence Spady at its “Sunday Blues Brunch & Jam” on June 22
The open mic jam runs from 1-3 p.m. with the featured band playing a set from noon-1 p.m. Admission is free.
The Elkton Music Hall (107 North Street, Elkton, Maryland, www.elktonmusichall.com) will host The Hackensaw Boys w/ The High & Wides on June 19, Total Mass Retain – Yes Tribute on June 20, Steal Your Peach: The Allman Brothers & The Dead on June 21, John Nemeth Band w/ Blues Reincarnation Project on June 24 and Davy Knowles on June 25.
2025 Concerts Under the Stars series at the scenic Upper Merion Township Building Park (175 West Valley Forge Road, King of Prussia, www.concertsunderthestarskop.com) offers Spafford and Jimkata on June 20 and Jealousy Curve with Love Me My Alien and Laura Shay on June 21.
Bryn Mawr Twilight Concerts (9 South Bryn Mawr Avenue, Bryn Mawr, brynmawrtwilightconcerts.com) has Livingston Taylor with Becca Stevens on June 20 and Chris Smither with Cabin Dogs on June 21.
