Saku Mantere is a composer, vocalist, and guitar player who works in the intersection of jazz and concert music.

Saku splits his time between Montréal (Canada) and Helsinki (Finland), working with musicians in both cities. His Montréal collaborators include pianist Kate Wyatt, drummer Jim Doxas, bassist Adrian Vedady, and trumpeter Lex French. His main musical partner in Helsinki is composer and arranger Jussi Lampela.

Traces of Saku’s background as a guitar player in progressive rock and folk genres can be heard in his sound. A professor at McGill University, Saku got into singing and composing jazz after a ten-year hiatus.

First album Upon First Impression was released in November 2022 on the Orchard of Pomegranates label, newly founded by renowned vocalist and composer Ayelet Rose Gottlieb, focusing on adventurous vocal music. Saku’s string quartet Liminal premiered in 2022.