Pentti Lasanen, born on September 17, 1936, in Kotka, Finland, was a Finnish composer, arranger, and jazz multi-instrumentalist, skilled on saxophone, clarinet, flute, and trumpet. In 1958, he founded the vocal group Four Cats while working at the PSO record label. He competed in the 1965 Eurovision Song Contest qualification with the song "Vanha kunnon Dixieland," composed with Åke Granholm. Lasanen’s film and television scores earned him Jussi Awards in the mid-1960s. In 1971, he formed the group Lasaset and won the Syksyn Sävel competition in 1985 with "Luoksesi jään." His notable albums include Saavun Taas (1975) and Luoksesi Jään (1985). Throughout his career, he performed with Ronnie Krantz’s band, Radion tanssiorkesteri, and Rauno Lehtinen’s orchestra, and conducted the Finnair Pilots’ Big Band. He received the Louis Armstrong Award in 1992 for his contributions to jazz music. Lasanen passed away on March 13, 2021, in Helsinki.
