Christmas Jazz brings the world’s best performers to Estonia

TALLINN - Estonia’s Jazzkaar music festival has become a major European musical event featuring world class performers in a historic setting. The name Jazzkaar reminds one of the Estonian folk party Jaskar. The festival itself unites musicians and audience through an immense variety of musical periods and styles. Just like the host city’s mix of both the traditional and modern, Jazzkaar celebrates a musical genre that borrows from the past, while also looking into the future.

The festival began in the autumn 1990, while Estonia was still under Soviet rule. The first festival was titled “The Days of Jazz & Blues in Tallinn.” After Estonia re-gained its independence the following year, the festival’s name was changed to Jazzkaar.

Since the festival began almost 20 years ago, it has hosted more than 2,000 musicians from over 50 countries. Jazzkaar attracts some of the world’s best jazz artists from all over the world. Jazzkaar, which is held every year, is one of Europe’s major annual jazz festivals. Tallinn’s gothic cathedrals and modern contemporary glass structures create a fitting backdrop for this popular festival that attracts over 25,000 people each year.

Joulujazz [Christmas Jazz] festival actually got started when the world-famous Danish bassist, Nils Henning Orsted Pedersen, who was always too busy to come to the annual Jazzkaar Festival in the spring, agreed instead to come to Estonia in December 1996, together with a Danish TV crew. However, this was not his first visit to Tallinn – in the 1970s he gave several concerts here together with the legendary jazz pianist Oscar Peterson.

This year’s Christmas Jazz festival opens a more luxurious gift bag than ever before. Almost 30 concerts by musicians from 10 different countries are taking place, from Nov. 29 to Dec. 17, in various venues in Tallinn and six other Estonian cities: Parnu, Valga, Viljandi, Tartu, Voru and Rakvere.
Joulujazz 2010 offers wonderful experiences through marvelous concerts at churches, clubs, theaters and concert halls throughout Estonia. The festival will feature musicians from Estonia, USA, France, Germany, Brazil, Portugal and several other countries.

The program of Christmas Jazz is emotional and varied, offering the feeling of festivity as well as quiet moments for contemplation. This time the festival will delight its audience with a couple of dozen concerts.

Within the festival, the winner of this spring’s prestigious Elion Jazz Award, Raivo Tafenau, will give a concert together with his Trio and Quintet, featuring Brazilian singer-guitarist Sergio Bastos. The festival will also feature several Estonian musicians with music from their newest records: Ain Agan-Oleg Pissarenko duo, Liisi Koikson & Band, Laura Junson Trio, Heini Vaikmaa with Mahavok, who will present the newest instrumental album. The trio Dynamite Vikings is full of surprises. Estonian classics flavored with jazz will be performed by the trio Lauri Saatpalu-Raivo Tafenau-Peeter Rebane, and the freshest vocals by Kadri Voorand trio & new vocal sextet Estonian Voices.

Known for her unique gritty voice and surprising, sometimes provocative public performances, the R&B diva Macy Gray gives her first ever concert in Tallinn at the new Nokia Concert Hall on Dec. 7.
Singer Cristina Branco will provide Portuguese fado-flamenco nostalgia. A concert in memory of one of the most unusual and unique performers of Jazzkaar - Joe Zawinul will be given by French musicians Marthe-Sellam-Lassus. Under church vaults one will have an opportunity to hear an exciting Turkish female sax-player, Gilda Razani, with her Sub Vision band and a mellow English singer, Tim Bowness, with Peter Chilvers and Estonian duo UMA. On Dec. 9, Rock Cafe will become the home of the captivating rhythms from the black continent by the founder of afro beat, the legendary Tony Allen and his musicians.

The ‘mini festival’ of those times has now grown into a grand festival, lasting a fortnight and bringing together performers from all over the world. Christmas Jazz, with its more than 20 concerts, always has a special atmosphere, since many of the concerts are held in churches and more emphasis is on the beauty of the human voice. Christmas music and pieces about winter are featured, albeit in some moderation so as not to dominate the event.