On the evening of 30 April, Jazzkaar and Jazz Estonia honoured Estonia’s most outstanding jazz musicians. The Estonian Jazz Awards were presented for the 20th time, with awards given in six categories. The ceremony took place at the Jazzkaar festival before Gigil Marathon, a concert by Jazz Composer of the Year 2025 Bianca Rantala, with Valter Soosalu and UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra.
Jazz Musician of the Year 2026 was awarded to Maria Faust. Following some of the most productive years of her career, she is highly regarded for her work in jazz, avant-garde, third stream jazz, improvised music, and other alternative styles. Her award includes a €4,000 prize in cooperation with Sviby, as well as a concert slot in the Jazzkaar 2027 programme.
The Young Jazz Talent Award was presented to saxophonist and composer Nikita Korzoun, whose work is rooted in traditional jazz. Despite his young age, he has already collaborated with leading figures on both the Estonian and international jazz scenes. The winner of Young Jazz Talent receives a €2,000 prize from Telliskivi Creative City and the opportunity to perform at a Jazzkaar concert within the coming year.
Jazz Composer of the Year is Mingo Rajandi – a composer, double bassist, leader of several ensembles, and initiator of interdisciplinary projects. Her work boldly seeks common ground between polished composition and improvisation, exploring genre boundaries and experimenting with different art forms. The winner of Jazz Composer of the Year receives a €2,500 prize in cooperation with the Estonian Authors’ Society.
The title of Jazz Ensemble of the Year was awarded to the 14-member Rahel Talts Ensemble, whose two albums, Power of Thought (2022) and New and Familiar (2025), have both been well received. Pianist and composer Rahel Talts is one of the rising stars of Estonian jazz and has been musically active in recent years in Denmark, Lithuania, Estonia, and many other European countries. The winner of Jazz Ensemble of the Year receives a €2,500 prize in cooperation with the Estonian Authors’ Society.
The title of Jazz Promoter of the Year was awarded to Ivi Rausi-Haavasalu, whose contribution ranges from leading Jazz Estonia to mentoring the younger generation at MUBA and advancing popular and jazz music education more broadly. The prize package includes a JURA C8 coffee machine from the festival’s main sponsor, JURA, as well as a year-long free pass to Jazzkaar and Jazz Estonia concerts.
Pianist and composer Kairiin Kukk was named Delfi Culture’s Audience Favourite in a public vote. Active on the Estonian music scene, she has written a great deal of original music over the past two years and is expected to release her debut album in the near future. The Audience Favourite receives €2,000 in advertising credit from Delfi Meedia.
“Nearly 25 years ago, when I began my professional music career, I could not have foreseen, even in my most anxious dreams, the enormous changes awaiting the global music business. In barely a decade, the entire existing market disappeared – along with our understanding of what music is and what its creation and performance are worth. It has been a rollercoaster ride without seatbelts. Everyone travelling on that train, clinging on with suction cups that seem to have appeared from who knows where, deserves an award. They do not have to do it, but they do – because they understand that the talent they have been given must be realised. This is our responsibility to society,” said Maria Faust, Jazz Musician of the Year 2026.
“The more time passes, the more I realise how significant it is to be valued by society. The Jazz Musician of the Year award means even more to me now, in 2026, than it did in 2016, when I received it for the first time. Back then, I was a solitary and, no doubt to many, somewhat strange female musician. Now, ten years later, we have a very considerable body of female musicians. Without turning this into a competition, women in jazz are currently both the engine of our sailing boat (Jazzkaar! Jazz Estonia!) and its sail (Anna Regina, Anett, Kirke, Mingo, Karmen, Rahel, Britta, Kadri, Tuulikki, Bianca, Maarja). Something has been done right; somewhere, role models have been seen and talent has been noticed. I am very proud of this, because in a small way, it has also been my ‘fault’,” she added.
Maria Faust also noted that although Estonian jazz music currently has the face of a young woman, this is not reflected in Estonia’s jazz education. For example, only two of the 29 popular and jazz music instrument teachers at Tallinn Music and Ballet School are women, while all ten instrument teachers in the jazz department at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre are men.
The Estonian Jazz Awards are presented by Jazz Estonia and Jazzkaar in cooperation with Sviby, Telliskivi Creative City, JURA, Delfi Culture, and the Estonian Authors’ Society. All winners received artworks from photographer Kaupo Kikkas’s Abyss series, marking the first editions of the series. More detailed information about the awards and laureates will be published on the Jazzkaar and Jazz Estonia’s online channels.
You can find the photo gallery of the awards ceremony here.