Tallinn Music Week resounds with adventurous sounds from Poland, Sweden and Finland

Whether held in March or April, Tallinn Music Week is normally accustomed to spring-like weather conditions, mostly sunny, but perhaps with some rain. This year there was heavy snowfall, taking everyone by surprise. Fortunately all of the indoor venues for this annual showcase and conference were beaming with warmth. Despite any music biz aura, the gigs are open to the public, facilitating a crowded and diverse energy. In ‘24 there was only one night of jazz, compared to the two evenings enjoyed in recent years. Seven acts trod the boards, but the most exciting were not native to Estonia.

O.N.E. is an all-female quartet from Poland, dedicated to a rousing rush of post-Coltrane abstraction. Not quite free jazz, but certainly untethered. Although, they would certainly benefit from a different band-name, something with imagination and unusualness. O.N.E.’s most familiar member is the Ukrainian pianist Kateryna Ziabliuk, who resides in Kraków, but saxophonist Monika Muc also inspires with her repeated scaling of expressive heights. She makes us realise how many players refuse to let go, unleashing their fullest potential. Here, she’s leading a sequence of ongoing sonic climaxes, with bass (Kamila Drabek) and drums (Patrycja Wybranczyk) also responding openly, all four members consistently lifting their music up to renewed peaks. They use their time wisely, maintaining rapt attention throughout.

Kadi Vija Key Project - Photo by Villu Uustalu

The Kadi Vija Key Project is a Finnish-Estonian group, bringing an unusual slant to vocal jazz. Kadi Vija is more introverted than most, although possessing a calmly commanding authority, avoiding established avenues while perfecting a personal style. Phrasing is understated, avoiding hyperactivity, as Vija’s band paints with bass clarinet and effects-cloaked guitar. The drums are subtly present. Vija has a theatrical delivery, making shapes in the near-darkness. Overt soul, rock or folk influences are avoided, but jazz chooses a fresh shape as well.

Next, Thomas Backman booted up a restless style-switching set, this Swedish reedsman turning up the brighter lights. The presence of a singer/keyboardist Josefine Lindstrand gave an accessible bent, but her vocabulary ranged from pop to abstract, not easily pinned down. Backman stuck to riled-up outbursts, on clarinet or alto saxophone. A cellist doubled on electric guitar. A Zornian breakdown cut to a sparse electro-beat section, which sort of turned out to be Cole Porter’s ‘I’ve Got You Under My Skin’. The drums got jungled and Lindstrand shifted to acoustic piano. Maybe the styles became a touch too kaleidoscopic towards the end, but overall this was a strong sequence of collage-cutting composition.

Most of the chosen Estonian acts displayed a tendency towards soul-pop vocal performance, hardly close to any form of jazz. This was also the case in 2023, and appears to be a growing trend on the local scene…