Heliotroop (est) at Opus Jazz Club

Heliotroop is an Estonian new wave jazz group showcasing some of the country's most notable personae both composition and performing wise. The sextet is playing music by the ensemble's bassist Mingo Rajandi and pianist Kirke Karja. Both have a distinct compositional voice that can be heard in several other groups they're leading, but combine into a perfect complementary whole in the fine-tuned soundscape of Heliotroop. The music is sculpted out in longer developed forms that are still very much driven by clear melodic lines of a song. Improvised solos are clearly important and speak of the musicians jazzy roots, but they are mostly carefully placed in the overall dramatic narrative of the compositions and don't fall into a succession of endless choruses of variations on the same harmonic loops. Text clearly plays an important part in both composers' approach - the pieces use both classic and modern Estonian poetry....

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Heliotroop is an Estonian new wave jazz group showcasing some of the country's most notable personae both composition and performing wise. The sextet is playing music by the ensemble's bassist Mingo Rajandi and pianist Kirke Karja. Both have a distinct compositional voice that can be heard in several other groups they're leading, but combine into a perfect complementary whole in the fine-tuned soundscape of Heliotroop. The music is sculpted out in longer developed forms that are still very much driven by clear melodic lines of a song. Improvised solos are clearly important and speak of the musicians jazzy roots, but they are mostly carefully placed in the overall dramatic narrative of the compositions and don't fall into a succession of endless choruses of variations on the same harmonic loops. Text clearly plays an important part in both composers' approach - the pieces use both classic and modern Estonian poetry.

Another remarkable personality is the group's singer Kadri Voorand, the first lady of Estonian jazz vocals. An energetic stage figure, she combines organically together intricate melodies, poetic texts and freewheeling style-transcending vocal improvisations (those who heard her concert at the Opus in 2014 can stand for witness here). The three powerful women of Heliotroop are matched by manpower equal in stature, grasp and performance: Meelis Vind lends his virtuosic bass clarinet playing to Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, various new and contemporary music projects, Estonian Dream Big Band and most importantly his own groups and projects for which he also composes highly original music tinged with intricate rhythms and long winding melodies. Eno Kollom is one of the busiest drummers of his generation and is well fluent in many musical and stylistic languages. His playing is subtle, dynamic and sensitive to the sophisticated musical context of Heliotroop's music. And - last but not least - guitarist Marek Talts (whom Opus' visitrors know already from Kadri's group) is as versatile as one gets! Playing with a diverse range of artists from indie to jazz to musicals to recently Argentinian tango, he seems to thrive most in a bit open and rebel improvised music setting where his stage appearance is emotionally direct and driven by visible joy of playing.

The concert is an event of the Estonian Week


Tickets are available for 1300 HUF on the spot, in the national JEGYPONT network of Interticket, at jegy.hu and here.

When purchasing tickets online, please don't forget your table reservation, as seating at the Opus jazz Club can only be guaranteed in this case. Tel: (+36 1) 216 7894.

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