Big Time

Jukka Tolonen (born April 16, 1952, Helsinki) is a Finnish jazz guitarist. Tolonen became famous as guitarist for the band Tasavallan Presidentti.

His first solo album Tolonen!, recorded and released in 1971 while he was only 19 years old, displayed his prowess on both guitar (electric and acoustic) and piano, and instrumental songwriting which comfortably seques from classical, jazz, folk, blues, and rock. Tolonen! peaked at number 6 on the Finnish charts in 1971, and was voted album of the year. 'Windermere Avenue', a song from his 1975 Hysterica album, became a minor radio hit in Finland. While making several other solo albums and projects he also played on albums Tombstone Valentine (1970) and Fairyport (1971) by Wigwam.

Tolonen is a virtuoso guitarist, who is highly respected in his native Finland as well as in Sweden, where he has lived for long periods. Among Tolonen's side projects are Guitarras Del Norte, Trio Tolonen, and Jukka Tolonen Band (JTB). He has used many different guitars over the years, such as the Gibson ES-335 and Ibanez Artist. Since the 1990s he has used Finnish handmade instruments by Ruokangas Guitars (electric) and Lottonen Guitars (acoustic).

Despite his earlier successes, Jukka Tolonen was eventually twice divorced, homeless, and drug-addicted. In May, 2008 Tolonen was found guilty of stabbing his girlfriend and was sentenced to 27 months in jail for aggravated assault. When released in 2010, he told the media, that he was quitting guitar playing due to osteoarthritis. While in prison Jukka Tolonen dedicated his life to Jesus Christ, and in 2011 he released 'Juudan Leijona' ('Lion of Judah'), a CD of traditional Finnish hymns, in which he sings and plays piano, occasionally accompanied by other instruments and voices. He continues to perform live concerts of Christian music on piano along with other musicians and vocalists.