Biography

Tina Bednoff & the Cocktailers is a quaint quartet from the shady red light district of Helsinki, delivering rockin’ rhythm and blues that you can dance your toenails off to.
With all due respect, don't you just sometimes get tired of the endless radio playlists and the monotonic, compressed sound barrier of today’s music and artists? Have no fear, Tina and the guys are here! The sound is firmly based on 1940's & 1950's rhythm and blues, but the mission is not to replicate the hits of the past, not by a long shot.
The repertoire of the band consists mainly of rockin' rhythm and blues numbers fit for dancers, with a few slower blues, some rhumba rhythms, and, of course, a haunting ballad here and there. Original material is constantly ado, and the innovative selection of covers is dug out off the beaten path - not the worn-out standards everyone has heard a zillion times over. The outcome is a unique bundle of exciting cocktails, with both familiar and exotic ingredients.
As a Finnish female blues guitarist and bandleader, Tina is one of the very few. After bringing up her family, she returned to her true love: rhythm and blues. Her passionate vocal and guitar styles derive from the blues giants like T-Bone Walker, Big Mama Thornton, Memphis Minnie, and countless others, carefully studied by Tina. She has been playing guitar and singing her guts out for over 30 years now, so she knows her stuff.
The Cocktailers are an experienced bunch of players that have been on the rocky road of roots music for quite some time. Honey Aaltonen (drums) and Long John Rantapuro (upright bass) are old bandmates from Tortilla Flat, a band that has been on the scene since 1980's, and Ville "Tri" (Doc) Tolvanen (piano) leads his own band called Rootsinkeksijät, among other engagements.