Kari Heinilä began to study the piano at Rauma Music School. Later he transferred to Pori and changed to flute. Heinilä started to play saxophone at the age of twelve and in 1984-88 he studied at Sibelius Academy jazz department. Privately he has studied composition with Eero Hämeenniemi. Heinilä performs actively both in Finland and abroad. In 1987-93 he played with UMO Big Band and nowadays he frequently conducts that orchestra. Heinilä was awarded the Yrjö Prize by Finnish Jazz Federation in 2001.

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