„Jaak Sooäär 50“ Eesti keeled feat. Riho Sibul & Vaiko Eplik

In 1999, Ain Agan convened a unique string quartet of two folk kannels and two guitars, with the initial idea of bringing together jazz and folk, international and local, fixed compositions and oral traditions. In the same year they received critical acclaim with their performances at several Estonian festivals and a year later they released their first album, Holy Lake. In 2001 Eesti Keeled (the name can be translated as Estonian Strings, Estonian Tongues or Estonian Languages) started close co-operation with singer-guitarists Riho Sibul and Jaak Johanson. Together they released two albums, Sabaga täht (2002) and Kella tiksumist… (2004), both of which were awarded the Estonian Etno/Folk Artist of the Year at Estonian Music Awards. The group was very active for about a decade, also repeatedly performing outside of Estonia.

 Jaak Sooäär has decided once again bring together Eesti Keeled for heart-felt performances at Jazzkaar Festival, to celebrate his 50th birthday and to commemorate Jaak Johanson, who passed away last year. The uniqueness of Eesti Keeled is largely due to the fact that its members of very different backgrounds are able to form a tightly knit ensemble while each maintaining their individuality. Tuule Kann and Pille Karras are well known in the Estonian folk scene, Ain Agan and Jaak Sooäär are mainly active in the field of jazz, Riho Sibul is primarily known as the leader of the legendary rock band Ultima Thule, whereas Jaak Johanson was one of the most beloved folk singers and songwriters in Estonia. For the concerts at Jazzkaar the group will joined by the beloved Estonian singer and multi-instrumentalist Vaiko Eplik.