Showcase-concert: Karja-Renard-Wandinger, Susanna Aleksandra Quartet & Peedu Kass Momentum - Festival Jazzkaar

ADDRESS: Pärnu maantee 30-5, Tallinn 10141

PHONE: +372 666 0030

EMAIL: info(ät)jazzkaar.ee

Showcase-concert: Karja-Renard-Wandinger, Susanna Aleksandra Quartet & Peedu Kass Momentum European Jazz Conference 2021

Saturday 18. September 21:30

Buy ticket

15.-

Fotografiska Tallinn, Vaba Lava

Members:

Kirke Karja piano
Ludwig Wandinger drums
Etienne Renard double bass

Karja / Renard / Wandinger is a brand new international trio focusing on experimental improvised music. The three musicians started playing together in 2019 and in summer 2021 they will release their dynamic debut album.
The trio is lead by the award-winning brilliant Estonian jazz pianist Kirke Karja. Together with French bassist Etienne Renard and German drummer Ludwig Wandinger they focus on extended techniques, elements from free improvisation and contemporary composition. The trio gets their inspiration from artists like Peter Evans, Christian Lillinger, Petter Eldh, John Cage, old creepy silent films and broken machines.

Members:

Susanna Aleksandra vocals
Joonas Haavisto piano
Joonas Tuuri double bass
Ville Pynssi drums

Estonian singer, composer and lyricist Susanna Aleksandra keeps her audience enchanted with her effortless and easily approachable performances which combines the influences of traditional jazz, classical music, pop and folk and that together could be described as modern jazz. She started collaborating with Finnish pianist Joonas Haavisto in 2018. They share a common vision in giving music multiple layers by uniting complex harmonies and forms with meaningful lyrics and strong melodies.

The quartet’s album Souls of the Night was released in Japan in March 2020 (Blue Gleam), and under the name The Siren in Finland 2021 (Eclipse Music). The critically acclaimed album has received praise from all around the globe. It was also listed among the albums of the month on Jazzwise and European Jazz Network, and was listed among Albums of the Year by the Japanese magazine Jazz Critique.

Members:

Peedu Kass double bass
Kristjan Randalu piano
Kaspars Kurdeko drums

Peedu Kass Momentum is a bassist-led piano trio with an adventurous repertoire and spirited stage presence. Audacious rhythms, sparkling virtuosity, and sophisticated compositions are key to the group’s immediate, visceral appeal. The trio was the first Estonian group to perform at the world’s biggest jazz trade fair, Jazzahead! in Bremen, Germany. They have appeared twice at the London Jazz Festival as well as throughout continental Europe and on stages in Japan, Canada, and Australia. Momentum won the Jazz Ensemble of the Year at the annual Jazzkaar festival (Estonia) and was nominated for Jazz Album of the Year at the 2017 Estonian Music Awards.

Leader Peedu Kass is a sought-after bassist on the European jazz scene, as well as a versatile, genre-hopping musician whose talents have been engaged in varied contexts around the world. Seamus Blake, Django Bates, Tony Allen, Marilyn Mazur, and Tõnu Kaljuste are just a few of the artists he has worked with. Kass composes most of the group’s all-original book, with contributions from his bandmates.


The pianist in the group is the brilliant Kristjan Randalu, an ECM artist and the leading ambassador of Estonian jazz in the West. He performs regularly with jazz giants like Ben Monder, Ari Hoenig, Nguyen Le, Dhafer Youssef and Trygve Seim. Randalu brings dazzling virtuosity and rhythmic intensity to the trio. The newest member of the group is Kaspars Kurdeko who is the bedrock of Latvian jazz drumming. A keenly sensitive listener, he enhances any group’s sound. He is continually in demand as a collaborator on stage and in the studio.

The trio‘s self-titled debut album was released in April 2016. A twelve-inch vinyl LP followed in 2018, and the recording was released in Japan by Studio Songs in November 2018.