Students from different music schools in Estonia performed with the well-known bands Tafenau – Aimla Ensemble and MiaMee on October 11th at Kumu Auditorium.
This was a unique concert divided into two parts with two famous bands uniting forces with four new stars. One of the people that came up with the idea was Peedu Kass, whose goal is to bring together the young and old jazz generations. The reason is – he explained – that almost all the contacts are made in schools, so for those musicians who are not in that environment, it is difficult to find the new upcoming celebrities. How to connect both parts? Easy, just organize a concert where the well-known artists from the Estonian jazz scene perform with the blooming musicians.
The difficult part was to choose eight students. To solve the problem, Peedu asked four music academies that include jazz music in their program. Teachers from Estonian Music Academy, Viljandi Academy, Tallinn Georg Ots Music High School and Tartu Music School gave him feedback about the most talented youngsters in this field.
The first concert was Ensemble Raivo Tafenau – Siim Aimla feat. guitarist Harri Heinsoo from Viljandi. Starting the concert with great saxophonist, Heinsoo met the expectations, he was a shining blossoming star. After two melodic songs, Triin Lutsoja, a singer from Estonia Music Academy, came to the stage and turned on the voice to the music without lyrics. Heinsoo showed the influence of Django Reinhardt, with the impressive arpeggios. Tafenau and Aimla were, as usual, spectacular with their syncopated notes. Finishing the first part, Triin came back to perform the last song with her sparkling voice..
The second part of the concert was MiaMee featuring Kalle Pilli and Taaniel Kõmmus. Kalle, the guitar player, is from Georg Ots School, and Kõmmus is a bass player who comes from Viljandi Music School. The concert was fascinating and both parts clicked since the first melody. There couldn’t have been any better end for this star-looking concert than the particular song called “I’ve heard the Old man said”. This singular song commences in a relaxed move with an intense climax where all the instruments are performing their own solo moment at the same time, matching in a perfect harmony. Pilli and Kõmmus were very appropriate in this precise piece.
To keep hunting talents, there is another concert with the same dynamic: four students and two well-known bands, one of them is the claimed a cappella band Estonian Voices. The next volume is on October 31st at 17:00 at Kumu Auditorium. In this occasion, this unplugged band will perform with a drummer. Peedu Kass, who made the pairings, said: “The hardest part was to match the new stars with the bands, it was quite tricky. Today it wasn’t that difficult, but the next time, especially with Estonian Voices and the drummer or the guitarist, that’s going to be quite crazy. Amazing, I think.”
Estonia is looking for a jazz star vol. 1
October 11th at Kumu Auditorium
Tafenau-Aimla Ensemble
Raivo Tafenau – saxophone
Siim Aimla – saxophone
Harri Heinsoo – guitar
Triin Lutsoja – voice
Mihkel Mälgand – double bass
Eno Kollom – drums
MiaMee
Liina Saar – voice
Anni Egecioglu – voice, cello
Mart Soo – guitar
Kalle Pilli – guitar
Taaniel Kõmmus – doublebass
Taavi Kerikmäe – clavier
Kaspar Kalluste – drums