Tomi Kettunen (b. 1982) began his musical journey at a very young age. While his neighbor, a drummer, was practicing in a nearby garage, Tomi gathered his mother’s pots and pans on the terrace and tried to compete with him. Before long, he found himself taking lessons from that very same drummer. At the age of six, he began studying drums at the Conservatory of Joensuu, where he remained for several years. At the same time, his father taught him the basics of guitar playing, and gradually his main focus shifted from drums to guitar.
Tomi’s early musical influences were rock guitarists such as Marty Friedman, Yngwie Malmsteen, Vinnie Moore, and Steve Vai. After noticing jazz influences in Vinnie Moore’s playing, Tomi became increasingly interested in jazz music. This interest deepened after hearing John Coltrane’s performance on the jazz ballad “In a Sentimental Mood,” which inspired him to pursue jazz more seriously. He began studying guitar at the Music Institute of Pirkanmaa (PMO), where he learned the fundamentals of jazz harmony and improvisation. After several years of study, Tomi decided to leave PMO and instead focused on attending jam sessions and playing with other musicians. In 2008, he was awarded the Acre Kari Scholarship in recognition of his positive influence on the local jazz scene in Tampere.
After seeing Johnny Depp perform a Django Reinhardt tune, “Minor Swing,” in the film "Chocolat", Tomi became deeply interested in Reinhardt’s music. He soon discovered the work of other gypsy jazz guitarists such as Biréli Lagrène, Tchavolo Schmitt, Angelo Debarre, Stochelo Rosenberg, and Jimmy Rosenberg. The hard swing and fierce soul present in their music left a lasting impression on him, and gypsy jazz has been his main musical focus since 2007. Today he is regarded as one of the leading gypsy jazz guitarists in Finland and performs regularly at festivals and clubs with various musicians and groups, including Hot Jazz Oh La La, 67 x Naked, Wanha Swengi, Django Collective Helsinki, The Swingtide, and Elina Kardén & The Rifftigers. He is also recognized as a positive driving force in the local gypsy jazz scene, organizing regular jam sessions.