Tapani Rinne (born February 2, 1962) is a Finnish musician, composer, record producer and sound designer, who is known for his experimental and innovative style with the clarinet and saxophone. It has earned him a reputation as one of the most respected and unique Nordic instrumentalists.
Rinne is most widely recognized as the foreman of the pioneering Finnish electro jazz group RinneRadio, but he has an established solo career with several albums of his own, too. As a record producer he has been also responsible for several albums made together with the Sámi yoik singer Wimme Saari as well as for the albums Kielo (1999) and Kluster (2002) by the experimental accordionist Kimmo Pohjonen. Besides his solo career as a recording artist and numerous other artist collaborations, Rinne has composed music and soundscapes for theater, radio plays, documentaries, films, art exhibitions, contemporary circus shows and dance performances.
Author Petri Silas wrote about Tapani Rinne as a musician the following way in the 5th edition of Finnish Jazz published by Finnish Music Information Centre in 1998: “One of the most successful category-smashers in contemporary jazz, Tapani Rinne has carefully steered his career from one victory to another. His eccentric mix of trad jazz, fragile ambient soundscapes and hard-driving techno, hip hop and drum’n’bass beats in the group RinneRadio has paved the way to stardom both nationally and internationally.”