Ilkka Hanski studied double bass at the Sibelius Academy in the 70’s under Olli Kosonen. He has continued to play jazz and rock music by playing in many famous groups, like Piirpauke, Jukka Tolonen and Jukka Linkola’s bands, Eero Koivistoinen’s band (-78), Vladimir Shafranov’s trio, etc. His fellow foreign performers include, Archie Shepp, Buck Clayton, Mark Murphy and Bob Brookmeyer.
Ilkka Hanski has played in UMO, the New Music Orchestra. He has also played eg. Helsinki City Theater, National Theater and Swedish Theater in the 70’s and 80’s. Ilkka Hanski also works as a music teacher. He is now a full-time freelance musician who plays mostly jazz music.