Taking place from 25 November to 18 December, this year’s Christmas Jazz will focus on joint projects of local and foreign artists, presenting the concerts of the beloved bassist Richard Bona with the Estonian Dream Big Band; the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra with Tõnu Kaljuste, Maria Faust and recorder player Michala Petri; pianist Eydís Evensen with Prezioso string quartet; Janno Trump Clarity Ensemble with the Swedish singer Viktoria Tolstoy, and saxophonist Lauri Kadalipp in trio with European jazz stars Florian Weber and Bodek Janke.
“Typically of Tallinn – UNESCO City of Music, the programme of Christmas Jazz 2022 has a wide scope, ranging from jazz to world music, from club music to classical, and from crisp Northern sounds to temperamental African rhythms. We are proud that Estonian jazz is well represented and the audience can enjoy the premieres of works by our composers,” says Anne Erm, artistic director of the festival.
The festival programme includes sixteen concerts with artists from nine countries. This year’s headliner, the sunny bass player and singer Richard Bona from the United States has charmed the Estonian audience with his simple nature, brilliant sense of humour and sincere music before too, but this will be his first time to perform with the Estonian Dream Big Band and Siim Aimla. Maria Faust, the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, Danish recorder player Michala Petri and conductor Tõnu Kaljuste will present Faust’s new composition, Si vis amari, ama. According to the composer, her new piece is a cross-section of a woman’s life: her coming of age and reaching maturity, as well as her various emotions and states of mind. Janno Trump Clarity Ensemble will share the stage with the Swedish singer Viktoria Tolstoy, who also contributed to the ensemble’s debut album, Up North.
Christmas Jazz 2022 will open on 25 November with the concert of the beloved Estonian pop-soul singer Anett, presenting second full-length album, Late to the Party in an extended line-up that now includes the rich sounds of brass instruments and electronics. The closing concert of this year’s festival will also be a special event, presenting Jazzkaar’s first-ever joint project with the Russian Theatre in Tallinn, Russian Theatre Sings Jazz. The singing actors from the Russian Theatre will perform timeless jazz gems in fresh arrangements with well-known Estonian jazz musicians.
Already familiar to the Estonian audience from earlier, the Norwegian saxophone legend Trygve Seim will perform new arrangements of traditional Scandinavian Christmas carols in the Tallinn Dome Church together with the Norwegian pianist, composer and arranger Andreas Utnem from their soon-to-be-released duo album, Christmas Songs. American vocal jazz is represented at the festival by singer Dana Masters, who grew up with the sounds of Motown, gospel, soul, blues and funk, all of which she now blends with her own music, her deep mellow vocal and fascinating stage presence. The Belgian-French trio Darrifourcq/Hermia/Ceccaldi is one of the most distinctive groups of modern European jazz, where the cello adds fresh sound nuances to the rhythmic patterns of the saxophone and drums.
With her Tribute to Natalie & Nat King Cole programme, singer Marvi Vallaste will pay homage to the legendary musicians who have left a strong mark on the jazz era. She will perform beautiful and timeless R’n’B and jazz tunes from Natalie and Nat King Cole’s repertoire. See Pole See Trio brings to the audience Estonia’s best-known pop songs in fresh multi-layered arrangements. Performers at this year’s festival also include two of Estonia’s best known Rauls – jazz musicians Raul Sööt and Raul Vaigla. While Raul Sööt perform his Symbioos #2 with the EMTA sinfonietta, jazz ensemble and soloists, Raul Vaigla will end his year-long 60th birthday celebrations, sharing the stage with the MUBA bigband and his friends, fellow musicians Marie Vaigla, Robert Linna and Tero Saarti.
The 27th Christmas Jazz 2022 festival will delight our souls from 25 November to 18 December. Please see the festival programme and introductions of the artists on our website. Tickets for Christmas Jazz 2022 can be purchased at Piletilevi sales points and online at www.piletilevi.ee. Today and tomorrow (3.10–4.10.2022), a limited number of concert tickets are available at 50% discount.
The main sponsors of Christmas Jazz are JURA, Jazz Pesulad and Eesti Päevaleht. Our annual sponsors are BMW Inchcape, Tallink, Aktaprint and Nordic Hotel Forum. We are also supported by Reval Café, Noblessner Seafront Quarter and Estonian Public Broadcasting. The Norwegian Embassy and Swedish Embassy will help us bring the musicians of their countries to Estonia. We would like to thank the Ministry of Culture, Cultural Endowment of Estonia and Tallinn – UNESCO City of Music for their support.