Donkey Monkey wrapped up the Christmas Jazz Festival with a concert on 11th of December in Theater NO99 Jazz Club. The musicians had been to Estonia before so the audience knew what to wait – for an experimental and extraordinary show.
Donkey Monkey consists of two women – Eve Risser (France) plays the piano and sings while Japanese drummer Yuko Oshima accompanies the melody.
The venue itself was unique. It is an open space in a theater building front hall – a cosy atmosphere with a bar, seats and tables and yet also enough free space.
Some people sitting on the stares moved later on closer to the stage for a stronger music perception. It was very clear and visible how passionate the two musicians were improvising on the stage. Eve and Yuko engaged with the audience, told humorous stories and and shared the background of the compositions.
The duo’s music was complex and intense, set up of compositions and improvisations on the prepared piano and a special drum set. Most of the songs were dedicated to the flower concept and to the life, as Yuko said “what do we see when we see the flower”. They were much playful, interactive and fun. The audience was fascinated by the musicians and followed their imagination and experiments.
In the end of the performance the audience called Donkey Monkey on the stage again to give warm applauses for an interesting and entertaining show. The band finished their tour in Tallinn, Estonia for this year. Jazzkaar put the last accord for the Christmas Jazz festival and now moves on to the new challenges to make next year edition of 27th Jazzkaar Festival unforgettable in April.
Theater NO99 Jazz Club; 19:00
Eve Risser – piano
Yuko Oshima – drums