For the very first time, the Jazzkaar festival welcomed Ukrainian duo Koloah (Dmytro Avksentiev) and Dennis Adu. Coming from different music universes, they had demonstrated, how a dreamy and ethereal trumpet sounds may intertwine with a cheerful and sometimes ominous soundscape. A few hours before their stage debut in Tallinn, they took a moment to talk about their musical journeys and Dennis Adu & Koloah project.
Welcome to Tallinn Jazzkaar festival! Have you ever been here before?
Dennis: No, this is my first visit to Estonia.
Koloah: I have been here at the conference before but have never performed.
Jazzkaar will be your first Estonian performance venue. That’s wonderful! According to one of your interviews, you began working together two years ago via the Internet and phone. How did it happen?
Koloah: It happened during the pandemic in 2020. There is a festival in Kyiv called Am I Jazz, where the organizers were trying to find a new format for a festival during the covid. Eventually, they came up with the idea of an online collaboration where musicians could perform together. This was our first time playing together.
Dennis: I was very excited about this project, as I had never worked with electronic musicians before, so in a way it was a challenge for me. I used to play a lot of traditional and contemporary jazz, but never a mix of jazz and electronics.
A concert by Terence Blanchard using effects on his tube caught my attention in 2009. Right after that video I contacted the music store, asking to find the processor that Blanchard was using for his concert. It was probably at this point that I began to explore how other tube musicians used the effects. Although I was always curious about such performances, I never had the chance to take part in one. It was the collaboration with Dmytro that led me to explore this musical side of myself and move forward.
Koloah: We have many more music recorded together with Dennis but have not published all of it jet.
You were making a record online and had met for the first time in person right before your first performance. Did everything go well?
Dennis: It went very well. We practiced together and even made an intro for our performance during the sound check.
Dennis’ musical journey started in the school ages. Dmytro, how and when did electronic music come into your life?
Koloah: I had a rap group in school (laughs). Then I moved to Kyiv, started going to clubs, watching different performances with electronic music. I was very inspired and understood that I could start doing this at home.
Dennis: Were you rapping or doing beats?
Koloah: I was doing both. Nobody wanted to make beats, as nobody knew the recording software. At the time, I was painting and making websites, so I thought, “why not learn the recording software too?”
No more rapping in your life?
Koloah: I am still making a lot of beats and doing the hip-hop projects but trying to focus more on making my own music.
Was it difficult to start your music career in Kyiv?
Koloah: No, it wasn’t. At the beginning I didn’t have any ambitions and was just interested in exploring around. When I realized I could make a good product, things just went naturally. There are plenty of talented, open minded and unique people in Kyiv. As everyone is very kind and warm-hearted, it’s not difficult to find your place there.
Dennis, you work at Glier’s Kyiv Municipal Academy of Music. Are there many students in your program with the potential for bright and successful musical careers?
Dennis: I have been teaching here for over 12 years, enjoying it a lot. Of course, we have some very talented and technically very skilled students. I am happy to see so many young, gifted, and aspiring people in our Academy of Music. We don’t see the continuing rise in the number of students coming to Academy every year, but the ones who are coming are very skillful and prepared.
Are your students also expressing an interest in mixing jazz with electronic music?
Dennis: Some of them. We always start with the academic jazz foundations, putting the basics first. With time and experience, students may add to their program something else if they wish.
Do you have students asking to join your Dennis Adu Big Band?
Dennis: All the time (laughs)! There are also some graduate students, who may ask permission to attend classes and rehearsals. If some of them need more practice and require my help, I would always help them out as much as possible.
Do you think Dennis Adu is a kind teacher?
Dennis: Well, my students wouldn’t say so (laughs), but I think I’m a kind teacher.
Today your concert would include a mix of prepared pieces and improvisation. What do you enjoy more – playing a prepared set of music, or going into an impro?
Dennis: That’s a difficult question to answer. I would say I like doing both. As a jazz musician, of course, I like to improvise. This is the side that differs jazz from any other genre of music. Recently I had a concert in Norway, which was consisting of improvisation only, and I really enjoyed it. Sometimes, I like to play without improvisation, having a clear music part in my head.
Koloah: It is vice versa for me. For my performance, I have to make sure everything is well prepared so that I can show a near-perfect performance. I usually perform in dark and loud places, so for me, it is better to be ready and prepared in advance.
Should we expect an improvisation from Dennis on today’s performance and a prepared piece of music from Dmytro?
Dennis: Yes, something like that. We have played together several times, and each performance was different. And that’s what we love about performing together.
For you as a musician, what would be the best feedback from your audience?
Dennis: I like it when the audience is reacting in general. I had both experiences, when it was completely silent after the performance, and when people were getting loud and applause was ringing after each note. When there is a good reaction from the listeners, it can change my way of playing as well. In a way, this is an energy exchange between the audience and the musicians. There is always an audience involvement in the music making process. It’s awesome.
Koloah: Couldn’t agree more.
And last question – If you had one message to give to your Jazzkaar audience, what would it be?
Koloah: Please, be open to experiments.
Dennis: Do not expect anything in particular, just be open to a new piece of music and try to capture what we intend to convey. I am sure there will be something interesting for everyone, including ourselves.
Koloah & Dennis Adu
28th of April 2023, 11 pm at Fotografiska
The band:
Dennis Adu – trumpet
Koloah (Dmytro Avksentiev) – electronics