Jazz is back with Jazzkaar

  • 2010-09-01
  • By Ella Karapetyan

JAZZING IT UP: The world’s best jazz, blues, soul, funk and house musicians are doing their thing in Tallinn.

TALLINN - Jazzkaar’s Autumn Season has already started. The opening day of the festival took place on Aug. 15, at Kadrioru Palace Flower Garden, where this time one could hear music from Hedvig Hanson and the band of young stars called Viker5, where they performed Estonian popular music from the second half of the last century.

“The rebirth of the Tallinn Jazz Festival was made possible thanks to lucky coincidences. When I visited jazz festivals in the Soviet Union as a radio reporter, musicians and my colleagues asked me repeatedly the same question: when can we visit the Tallinn festival again? I promised to organize a one-day blues-jazz event, but instead it became a rather large festival with more than 40 concerts. The first headliner was the quartet of Ray Anderson, trombone and saxophone player,” says Anne Erm, Artistic Director of the Jazzkaar.

“Nowadays, Jazzkaar is the star event of Estonian jazz, bringing here the world’s best performers. The name of the festival recalls the Estonian folk party Jaskar; it also reminds us of the variety of colors in jazz music – like in the rainbow, which can all be put under the umbrella of jazz. Jazzkaar is the arc uniting musicians, audiences, different periods and styles of jazz,” says Erm.

The goal of the festival has always been the same: introduction of music on as large a scale as possible, starting with avant-garde and ending with mainstream jazz, including also the more interesting styles of world music and blues.
Jazzkaar organizes the concert series Spring Jazz and Autumn Jazz, presenting jazz music meant to be performed mainly in smaller clubs and art galleries. As a concert agency, Jazzkaar organizes 100 concerts a year. This year’s autumn season continues in Von Krahl Bar with Taavi Kerikmae and Priit “Julm” Juurmann and their Broken Time Orchestra as they improvise with rhythms and sounds. Their guest will be the ever-energetic singer Sofia Rubina, who will take the stage on Sept. 9.

Broken Time Orchestra’s music is a fusion of broken-beats, soul, funk, deep house, electronics and acoustics.
Taavi Kerikmae has a classical music background and is a highly rated keyboard player for touring pop groups. He has worked with different video artists and written music for contemporary dance performances.

Priit “Julm” Juurmann is educated as an agricultural engineer, and started DJ’ing in the early 90s. Being a true warrior on the decks, a member in nu-jazz bands and a pioneer of the underground scene in Estonia, doors opened to radio and residencies at major clubs. In 2000, he teamed up with his brother in arms, DJ Meri. The duo, known to the world as Rulers of the Deep, has been working with, and for, all the giants in the world of house music. Julm is the most requested DJ and producer in Estonia to work with singers and instrumentalists. His busy schedule of DJ’ing has led him to territories worldwide, from Estonia through the Baltics, Scandinavia, Russia, UK, U.S., Canada, Arabia, etc.

During the last years Sofia Rubina has won different vocal competitions in Estonia and abroad with good and excellent results. Her main interests are jazz, classic, soul, club music and also Jewish folk music. Apart from the Baltic States she has also performed in Russia, Germany, Finland, Denmark and Poland.

Kumu Auditorium will also host a concert where two very special Norwegian musicians will perform: guitarist Jacob Young and sax-player Bendik Hofseth. Another surprise will be the duo of Kimmo Pohjonen and Eric Echampard at the Cinema Soprus, where they will be offering some spontaneous music along-side horror movies.
In October one can sit on the soft chairs of Cinema Soprus for some nice lounge-jazz with Laura Poldvere and her quartet. At the Russian Theater there will be another Ergo Jazz Session, with the dazzling Lisa Bassenge this time. From the lines of Estonian jazz, the Trio Sooaar-Vaigla-Ruben will have some jazz-fun with pieces originally set for choirs and pop-rock bands.

The festival will last till Nov. 12.