MonoNeon, Kirke Kaja and Savannah Harris get Jazzkaar jumping

In a change from the longstanding home concerts, which take place in apartments in the Estonian capital of Tallinn, the Jazzkaar festival has launched studio concerts this year. The idea has a lot going for it. Performances in the space where artists rehearse and record definitely brings the audience right into an important part of their creative world, but there is also the added attraction of being able to enjoy an instant playback because the session is recorded. It’s almost like two gigs for the price of one. Or rather strangely and excitingly, the sounds in your head are heard one more time.

Not that pianist-composer Kirke Kaja (above, photo by Ellu Vbur) needed it, for her solo gig at Studio 89 is a nailed-on highlight of the closing weekend of the weeklong event, now in its 35th edition. Adroitly straddling mainstream and avant-garde she is a key figure in Estonian jazz, and the opportunity to hear her in an intimate setting without a band is a golden one.

Kaja moves stealthily from jumpy, nervy rhythms to curt, darting melodies to lush, sensual legato passages that have a mild classical leaning in a spontaneous 45 minute set marked by narrative depth and emotional charge. The climax is a startling moment where her percussive attack is so precise it creates a woody, dampened effect on the keyboard, which becomes marimba-like. It is a kind of unprepared prepared piano.

On a very different note is Kaja’s compatriot, vocalist Rita Ray, who forms a duo with guitarist Johannes Laas and plays mellow soul with subtle folkisms that showcase her ability to use the ages-old verse and chorus model to good effect. Her session takes places at Selektor studio, which is also the home of the Funk Embassy label that has just issued two superb compilations of early 1970s Estonian disco, soul, funk and jazz that act as a timely reminder of the creativity that existed in the Baltic state when it was still part of the U.S.S.R. It is interesting that young Estonians such as guitarist Karl Madis Pennar and drummer Mihail Nikitin have picked up the baton with their own ensembles that have, certainly in the case of the former, a jazz-rock imprint that Brecker brothers fans would recognize. Taking place at JAIK and Fotografiska, two adjacent venues at the dynamic business hub Telliskivi their gigs are well attended, making the point that there is a substantial demand for local musicians, as double bassist composer Mingo Rajandi also shows with her sold out show, that, although featuring an interesting violin-sax led ensemble, sadly lacks the off the wall verve of her excellent 2023 collaboration with Polish duo DEAE.  

Jazzkaar is nothing if not an international affair and the presence of Dutch, Italian Portugese and French artists did the European scene proud while Brazilian vocalist –guitarist Dora Morelenbaum, accompanied by guitarist-producer Guilherme Lirio proves adept at weaving the most subtle strains of electronica and rock into a muted bossa vocabulary in a way that is quite enchanting. The Americans, on the other hand, bring the noise. And the funk with maximum finesse. I missed trumpeter Theo Croker by a few days but his name was still on everybody’s lips when maverick bassist-singer MonoNeon, hooded, onesie-‘d and goggled up to look like George Clinton rebooted as a day-glo Yoda with four strings instead of a light saber, arrived. His drums-guitar-keys combo draws the line from Larry Graham to Prince to Bilal and has the crowd hollering from the downbeat.

Same goes for Christian McBride, whose excellent new quintet, featuring drummer Savannah Harris (pictured above - photo by Sven Tupits) and saxophonist Nicole Glover among others, strikes a perfect balance between funky groove and hard swing, reprising little known classics such as ‘Theme For Malcolm’ in between originals. McBride’s call to ‘shake your booty’ over a closing solo makes it clear that art and entertainment are the order of the day. Few 20^th century icons upheld those values as ingeniously as Nina Simone and New Orleans singer Ledisi’s tribute to her makes for a fitting festival finale. She has the chops and charisma to breathe life into anthems, from ‘Feelin’ Good’ and ‘Here Comes The Sun’ to ‘See Line Woman’ and ‘Wild Is The Wind’, that might defeat lesser talents. A fine band serves her well but Ledisi commands the stage and, just like her idol, gives food for thought in between the good times, especially when she segues a brilliant piece of social commentary, the timeless ‘Baltimore’ into her own song ‘Shot Down’, which decries gun crime and racism over a reggaeish beat. In contrast comes the encore ‘I’m Going Back Home’, whose second line groove and gospel chords send us off with a spring in our step.