To celebrate the first Estonian presidency of the Council of the European Union and the centenary of the Republic of Estonia, jazz concerts organised by the Jazz Estonia and Jazzkaar will take place in Belgium, England, Finland, and Germany. The first festival we will visit is B-EST Jazz Fest 2017 in Brussels, the capital of Belgium, where Estonia is represented by Maria Faust Sacrum Facere, an ensemble lead by the saxophonist and composer Maria Faust, and Peedu Kass Momentum, the ensemble of bassist Peedu Kass.
B-Est Jazz Fest 2017 takes place on 12–13 September at the Flagey Concert Hall in Brussels where Estonian artists will perform back to back with famous Belgium musicians. On 12 September, Maria Faust Sacrum Facere and De Beren Gieren (Belgium) will take the stage. On 13 September, Peedu Kass Momentum and LG Jazz Collectif (Belgium) will put on an enjoyable performance. “Many years of work put into the export is starting to pay off. We are on the doorstep of one of the biggest international cooperation projects. It means that the Estonian jazz now has a place on the world map and our musicians have been noticed,” said Laura Põldvere, the Chairwoman of the Board of the Jazz Estonia.
A chamber jazz project Maria Faust Sacrum Facere lead by Maria Faust, an Estonian saxophonist and composer residing in Denmark, is untraditional in terms of both instrumental composition and musical structure. Lacking a bass and the drums, the collective is given its tone by the adversarial sounds of the Estonian zither and a brass ensemble. The music is inspired by Estonian folklore and spiritual folk songs. With her album Sacrum Facere, the author won the Danish Music Award in 2014 in the jazz composer of the year and the crossover album categories. In 2016, Maria Faust was awarded the prestigious Danske Jazz Award in Estonia and the Niels Matthiasens Mindelegat culture award in Denmark.
Bassist Peedu Kass has been invited to B-Fest Jazz Fest 2017 with his ensemble Peedu Kass Momentum. There is sharpness, intense rhythms and surprising finesse in their music. It’s a clear-sounding modern jazz full of vigorous emotions. The jazz magic of the trio is created by the founder and bassist Peedu Kass, the pianist Kristjan Randalu, and the drummer Toomas Rull. In 2015, Peedu Kass Momentum was the first Estonian jazz group to perform in the main program of Jazzahead, the biggest jazz music fair in Europe. The trio has won the hearts of jazz lovers in 12 European countries and they can be more seen performing on stages abroad than in Estonia. With the album Peedu Kass Momentum, the trio was also nominated in the best jazz ensemble category in the Estonain Music Awards 2016 and at this spring’s Jazzkaar, the trio was awarded as the Jazz Ensemble of the Year 2017.
The aim of the project “Jazz present for Europe” prepared by the Jazz Estonia and Jazzkaar is to introduce the original Estonian jazz creation and musicians at prestigious European festivals. The jazz present will reach Belgium, England, Finland, and Germany to introduce our music to celebrate the centenary of the Republic of Estonia. The series of festivals will start with B-Est Jazz Fest 2017 on 12–13 September.
In the framework of dinner concerts celebrating the first Estonian presidency of the Council of the European Union and the centenary of the Republic of Estonia, bassist Peedu Kass gives a short concert at the restaurant Kivi Paber Käärid on Wednesday, 16 August at 13.00. It is already the third concert series taking place this summer to celebrate the first Estonian presidency of the Council of the European Union and the centenary of the Republic of Estonia.
The project “Jazz present for Europe” is made possible with the help of the Estonian presidency of the Council of the European Union, Estonia 100, Enterprise Estonia, and the devotion of Estonian musicians.
Tickets to the concerts in Brussels are already available and jazz lovers can find them here.