Inside Estonia’s oldest cinema on Friday, 26th January, 2015, the audience began to applaud as Andreas Varady, his younger brother and father made their way to the stage. The trio grinned as they took the stage, the crowd eagerly silenced as the young guitar prodigy and his talented family began to perform. The smooth, classic jazz echoed throughout Kino Sõprus, where beautifully preserved interior design rivaled the music for audience’s attention. While averting your eyes from the stage to observe the restored 1950s walls and ceilings, it was difficult to believe that the soulful guitar riffs and drum beats were played by the hands of underage boys.
Despite being such a young talent at 17, Andreas Varady actually began his international performance career when he was 13, releasing his first album Questions in 2010. He later caught the attention of a famous American record, TV and film producer, as well as a musician and an instrumentalist Quincy Jones, who not only produced his next, self-titled album Andreas Varady, but also named him “one of the most talented people on this planet”. Quincy Jones is not alone when proclaiming Andreas Varady’s unique talents, as his guitar skills have been acclaimed by internationally recognized media outlets such as The Times, The Independent, The Herald and Guitarist Magazine, that in fact featured him on their April 2011 cover as “The 13-Year Old Jazz Giant”. Today the “Jazz Giant” performed alongside with his equally talented brother on the drums and father on the bass guitar.
After the opening song Andreas spoke to the audience, and despite being fluent and effortless on the guitar, he was a happy, excited and almost nervous teenage boy on the microphone. The show started with suave classic jazz riffs in his song “Her Dream” to bluesy tangy melodies in the song “Mr. Diddle”, demonstrating the young wunderkind’s musical range and creativity. While Andreas’ talent is prominent, he shares the limelight with his young brother. During the family’s performance of Steely Dan’s “Do It Again”, the youngest Varady of the Trio held the audience captive in a wild drum solo as his father and brother watched proudly on stage. As the concert ended, and then two encores later, the Varadys finally returned to their seats at the back of the cinema. It was during their third time excitedly moving up from the stage when it became clear that while talent had much to do with the fantastic performance, it was their combined love for music and support for each other that gave it its soul.
Cinema Sõprus, 23rd of January 2015 at 19.00
Andreas Varady Trio:
Andreas Varady – guitar
Bandi Varady – bass
Adrian Varady – drums