Born and raised in the city of Tampere (Finland) Arto Mäkelä discovered his talent and passion for the guitar early on and performed professionally from the age of 16. These years of experience enable him to transcend a multitude of musical styles without effort. Whether it be rock, pop or jazz, his tasteful playing blends in or stands out as desired. In addition to performing as a live guitarist and studio work for many artists, Arto Mäkelä also composes and arranges music.

Since 2009 Arto Mäkelä is based in Germany and has had the pleasure to work with an impressive variety of renowned artists. As part of grammy nominated artist Ed Motta’s European band he performed at the London Barbican Centre (UK), Paris New Morning (FR), ElbJazz Hamburg (DE), Pori Jazz Festival (FI), Vienna Jazz Festival (AT), Copenhagen Jazz Festival (DK) as well as jazz clubs in Amsterdam (NL) and Berlin (DE). Impressing both with musical talent and stage presence Arto Mäkelä joined the band of the internationally acclaimed recording artist Sarah Connor, performing for up to 25.000 fans at arenas, festivals and TV shows as well as CD and DVD productions.  Jimmy Somerville put his faith in Arto Mäkelä as his guitarist on his first ever tour as a solo artist with a live band in Germany. Other artists Arto Mäkelä has collaborated with include Michael Patrick Kelly (IRL), Udo Lindenberg (DE), Frank Wildhorn (US), Mike Dixon (GB), Pete Gage (GB) and Das Gewandhausorchester (DE) amongst others.

Further to his work with artists across the globe Arto Mäkelä is also experienced in the theatrical environment. He was chosen by Queen to perform as part of the musical We Will Rock You at Theater des Westens in Berlin (DE). He also acted as soloist, producer and musical arranger for the production of “Ballet Club 27” at the municipal Theatre Gera (DE).

Arto Mäkelä’s exceptional musical talent flourishes based on a solid foundation, having earned both a Master of Arts in “Pop & Jazz Music” (University of Music and Theatre »Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy« Leipzig, Germany) and a Bachelor of Arts in “Culture and Arts, Pop and Jazz Music Education” (Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Science, Finland).

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