VAIKO EPLIK & KRISTJAN RANDALU “DISSONANCES OF HARMONY“

With the opening concert of this year’s Jazzkaar, Vaiko Eplik and Kristjan Randalu will celebrate the 10th anniversary of their first musical encounter inspired by Randalu’s new vision of Eplik’s music. Released as a result of the concerts given at Jazzkaar in 2010, their album, “Kooskõla“ (Harmony) was awarded the title of Jazz Album of the Year at the 2012 Estonian Music Awards. Thanks to Anne Erm’s initiative, the duo presented a new program, “Lahkhelid“ (Dissonances) at Jazzkaar in 2014, moving away from simple and classic interpretation models. This year’s jubilee concert brings together both previous projects to form a single whole where productive disagreements give way to meaningful harmony that inspires us on various levels. We will hear songs from both of their albums, “Kooskõla“ and “Lahkhelid,“ but also new arrangements of Eplik’s more recent songs.

Vaiko Eplik is an Estonian singer and composer who has released 11 records, collaborated with many musicians and bands across genres, performed in operas, written film music and also worked as a teacher. Besides being a versatile and talented musician, he is also known as an independent and principled opinion leader. His achievements have been recognised with numerous awards and honours, including the Order of the White Star. Eplik and his band, Eliit certainly have a special position in Estonian pop and rock music. As a prolific vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, Eplik loves to improvise and discover new soundscapes, always setting himself up for new challenges. There is no doubt that Vaiko Eplik has brought fresh winds to the Estonian pop and rock scene.

Kristjan Randalu is one of the most outstanding Estonian jazz musicians of his generation, highly sought after as a soloist, ensemble musician and composer. His stage partners include several leading figures in the jazz world, including Ari Hoenig, Mark Guiliana, Nguyên Lê, Ben Monder, Nils Petter Molvaer and Dhafer Youssef. Randalu’s pianism, both as a soloist and ensemble musician, can be heard on more than 40 records. With “Absence“ released in 2018, he became the first Estonian jazz musician to release an album under the ECM label. On his latest CD, “Mussorgsky Pictures Revisited,” which consists of his arrangements of Modest Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition,” Randalu has formed a duo with the American saxophone virtuoso David Liebman. Randalu has won numerous nominations and awards, including the Grammy nomination in 2006, the Elion Jazz Award in 2011, Jazz Album of the Year at the Estonian Music Awards in 2012, Annual Music Award of the Estonian Cultural Endowment in 2014 as well as Jazz Composer of the Year in 2018.