Five long working days are finally behind us, the early spring and the sunshine makes it harder to sit behind a desk and concentrate on your tasks. Luckily, Jazzkaar offered everyone a true stress reliever for Saturday evening. Hannah Epperson’s magical and bohemian interpretation of smooth jazz and blues took everyone one step closer to the warm spring and gave a chance to empty their minds from unnecessary thoughts. Her astonishing voice, perfect rhythm cognition and meaningful musical movements made everyone’s evening special, adding a fairy-like feeling to the pieces.
A thing to be brought out separately is her voice. The mild timbre complemented the soft electronic sound with intermittent violin solos, whilst still preserving the one mutual beat that united the whole concert. The minute clock stroke 8:30 pm, Punane Maja was filled with dreamy vocals and violin sounds that left no-one dispassionate. But the truly remarkable thing about this performance was the versatility of Epperson as a solo artist. Very few solo artists can spark everyone’s attention in the audience, using only her musical skills.
One can describe Epperson’s style as truly minimalistic, nothing too much, but just enough. The way she approached the crowd’s musical sense with her perfect skill of violin and looper makes her stand out from the rest of jazz musicians. A coexistence of the performer’s down to earth attitude and the extraterrestrial sounds let us be a part of a never-seen happening (perfect for Jazzkaar, am I right). Epperson’s style is described as a mixture of folk, r’n’b, modern jazz and baroque, but most importantly it’s her own twist in the music business, an absolute sui generis artist.
Another aspect to bring out is how well rounded her style is. Epperson’s musical experiences were reflected in her way of delivering the greater sense of her creations. As she is currently living in New York, it was interesting to see how the hustle and bustle of a big city has added some characteristics to her folk music, whilst not having the overwhelming effect in her pieces. Nevertheless, the most remarkable aspect of the evening was how she managed to bring all the listeners together with tones that could have melted even the most stoic Estonian heart.
Epperson’s musical techniques have always been the centre of attention. As a solo artist it could be extremely difficult to work out every single detail of one’s performance, but she managed to do it with ease. The soothing violin sounds created a harmony with the electronic music, despite being a risky element of her performance. Her skill to match classical instruments with modern technology has always been something to admire.
Taking everything into consideration, the soothing sounds of a Saturday evening full of magical vocals and music was a perfect element of a jazz-lovers weekend. Punane Maja and its visitors experienced something truly phenomenal as Hannah Epperson wrote her name into the history of Jazzkaar. Her debut performance on the festival left an undying impression on the team and the crowd, leaving everyone waiting for her return. Now, the only thing left to do is to figure out how to break the spell of that smooth jazz… Which is simply not possible.
Check out the photos of the concert here.
Hannah Epperson (Canada)
21st of April, 8.30 pm at Punane Maja
Solo artist ‒ vocals, violin, looper