Jazzkaar Festival begins its 30th anniversary celebrations today, on 19 April. The opening event of the jubilee festival is the concert by Kirke Karja and Mingo Rajandi, Jazzkaar 30: Erkki-Sven Tüür & Lepo Sumera Rewrite on Vaba Lava (Free Stage) in Telliskivi Creative City.
Fittingly for Good Friday, the concerts on the opening night of the festival are inward-looking and reflective journeys to the world of music. At the first concert in the freshly renovated Punane Maja (Red House), reopened for the festival, wonderful singer Liina Saar presents her new album, Õhtulaulud (Evening Songs). The opening night of the festival ends with the late-night concert of Lenna Kuurmaa and Mick Pedaja on Vaba Lava, presenting soulful original music by both artists.
The programme of the opening weekend of the festival includes a showcase concert featuring Madis Muul Hextet, Liisi Koikson and Peep Kallas Trio, performances by the top pianist Martin Kohlstedt (Germany), the elegant group Spring Roll (France), masters of live dance music, Jungle By Night (the Netherlands) and energetic Sofia Rubina as well as several topical jazz talks. Sunday is traditionally dedicated to the Free Concerts’ Day. This year, more than 40 events will take place around the Telliskivi Creative City and Freedom Square, also including the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Georg Ots Music School.
According to Anne Erm, the artistic director of the Jazzkaar Festival, the jubilee festival demonstrates how strong and unique the Estonian jazz music has become during the years of the festival, as evidenced by the meaningful works by musicians. “This year’s Jazzkaar programme includes nine new album presentations. The festival is opened and closed by rewrite concerts where top Estonian musicians will give a new twist to contemporary classical compositions and jazz music from the 1990s. Jazz is always novel and unique,” Erm added.
The programme of the Jazzkaar Festival, held from 19 to 28 April, includes more than 80 concerts in Tallinn, Tartu, Pärnu, Viljandi, Kuressaare, Narva, Laitse, Haapsalu, Rapla, Rakvere and Muraste. Besides concert halls Jazzkaar also reaches the homes of music lovers.
The extensive urban space project brings jazz music in cafés, hospitals, trains and trams as well as various other unexpected places.
Main performers of the 2019 Jazzkaar are Bobby McFerrin, John Scofield, Joshua Redman and Judith Hill. Never before have Estonian artists performed so many new creations at the festival; jazz lovers will be presented nine new albums. For the fifth year already, the festival hub is located in Telliskivi Creative City. Among other venues, the audience is welcomed in the freshly renovated Punane Maja.
Facts about Jazzkaar Festival:
- Jazzkaar Festival celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.
- The main programme of Jazzkaar includes more than 80 concerts; a total of almost 180 events take place during the festival.
- Besides Tallinn Jazzkaar events are also organised in ten other locations in Estonia: Tartu, Pärnu, Viljandi, Kuressaare, Haapsalu, Rapla, Narva, Laitse, Muraste (home concert) and Rakvere (home concert).
- For five years already, the Jazzkaar festival hub has been located in Telliskivi Creative City, which celebrates its 10th anniversary at the time of the festival.
- Jazzkaar Urban Space Project takes place for the 10th time this year.
- At this year’s Jazzkaar Maria Faust will celebrate her 40th anniversary with the Experimental Jazz Day, JK30 & MF40.
- Jazzkaar is organised with the help of 150 volunteers.
- Some of the festival partners also celebrate their jubilees this year alongside Jazzkaar Festival: Viru Keskus 15 and Tallink 30.
The main sponsors of Jazzkaar Festival are JURA, Jazz Pesulad and Eesti Päevaleht. Yearly sponsors are My City Hotel, BMW, Tallink and Aktaprint. Bobby McFerrin’s Gimme 5 concert is presented by Viru Keskus. The festival hub is supported by Prike and Telliskivi Creative City; our café partner is Reval Café. We are also supported by Overall, MyFitness, Kodupaber, NOBE and ERR. The Embassy of Israel, Embassy of Sweden, the Goethe Institute in Estonia, the French Institute and the Hungarian Institute have helped bring musicians from their countries to Estonia. The festival is supported by the Ministry of Culture, Cultural Endowment of Estonia and the City of Tallinn.
Festival programme: www.jazzkaar.ee
Information for the visitors of Jazzkaar Festival:
– The festival information centre is located in Punane Maja in Telliskivi Creative City (Telliskivi 60a/C2).
– Please download the festival app where you can quickly and conveniently find all the necessary information.
– Festival venues can be easily accessed by public transport, on foot or by bicycle.
– For the third year already, visitors of Jazzkaar Festival help save the environment by using reusable cups provided by Topsiring. We have implemented a rental cup system where you pay a deposit of 3 euros when buying your first beverage, which you will get back when returning your cup.
– Jazzkaar information line: +372 666 0030
– Photo exhibition Jazzkaar 30 is open for all music lovers until 5 May at the Juhan Kuus Documentary Photo Centre in Telliskivi Creative City.