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EESTI ELU reedel, 27. augustil 2021 — Friday, August 27, 2021
Nr. 34
EMW at Jazzkaar Festival Part One: Funky Business Vincent Teetsov
English-language supplement to the Estonian weekly “EESTI ELU” Tartu College Publications Founding Chairman: Elmar Tampõld Editor: Laas Leivat 3 Madison Avenue, Toronto, ON M5R 2S2 T: 416-733-4550 • F: 416-733-0944 • E-mail: editor@eestielu.ca Digital: www.eestielu.ca
Estonia asserts its continuity 30 years ago (IV) Some personal vignettes of newly restored independence Even on the short flight from Riga to Tallinn, we celebrated with champagne on entering Estonian air space. On the morning of September 4, 1991, greeting us on the tarmac of Tallinn Airport (years later to be renamed Lennart Meri International Airport) were Estonian Foreign Minis ter Lennart Meri and Economics Minister Jaak Leimann, with their senior staff. In contrast with our arrivals in Vilnius and Riga, neither KGB Border Guards inter ference or harassment from possible renegade Black Beret units plagued this reception. Although the schedules of meetings at various ministries and other establishments were similar in all three countries, the Estonian visit had a distinct ly different flavour. Some observations: In Lithuania and Latvia we met with the prime ministers. In Tallinn, Edgar Savisaar wasn’t on the schedule, because, some one said, he was out of town. In contrast with Latvia and Lithuania, practically all Estonian officials hosting meet ings at different locations were perfectly fluent in English, except for the noticeable ex ception of Arnold Rüütel, the Estonian signatory of the resto ration of diplomatic accords. Of the few industries we visited, the most memorable e nterprise manufactured a popular brand of skates for a Canadian marketer, whose in ventory mostly came from Estonia. Although the public use of the Russian language was ap parent in Tallinn, it didn’t have the ‘in-your-face’ dominance as in the streets of Riga. A ten million dollar line of credit offered for each country by Canada early at the start of the visits in Vilnius was accept ed by Lithuania and Latvia, and remained a a topic repeated at many meetings. Estonians, on the other hand, gratefully ac knowledged the offer, but made it obvious that the country
would prefer forging rapidly ahead unburdened by any national debt that early on. While both Lithuania and Latvia had experienced military violence, neither country had formally requested discussions about military aid. Estonian representatives did meet with Canadian officials in regard to this concern. The aura of the ‘Singing Revolution’ was very prevalent during the Estonian visit. It also seemed to help explain how Estonians were able to handle the attempted seizure in August 1991 of its TV tower, as opposed to violent confronta tions in Riga and Vilnius, re sulting in total of 14 deaths. It’s said that a small group of Estonian radio operators were able to protect free media in Estonia by simply placing a matchbox between the TV tow er elevator door and frame, pre venting the elevator from work ing and leaving only the 1000 steps for Soviet troops to reach the top – something they weren’t about to attempt. The operators also said that an oxy gen-removing fire suppressing system would asphyxiate any one in the tower, including the troops, who then abandoned the notion of taking over – Estonian defiance without guns, when applicable. The 76th Air Guard Assault Division, sent specifi cally from Pskov to Tallinn’s TV tower by the Com munist coup leaders in Moscow, aban doned any efforts to continue their assault, weapons unused. I remember the meeting with Lennart Meri as the most in sightful in discussing Estonia’s place in the international com munity of democratic states. As we walked down the hallway to the temporary offices of Estonia’s Foreign Ministry in the Toompea Loss, the seat of the current Parliament, I noticed the name of a man who had served in the Soviet embassy in Stockholm and he had been identified as KGB. I mentioned this to one of Meri’s staff who said that ‘housecleaning’ would probably take another week. Meri greeted us at the conference room’s door and bounced his chest against mine saying “Tere, tere vana kere”. Canadian diplomats were quite
Audio cables were plugged into tall speakers, instrument flight cases were cracked open, and drum heads were tuned up. Before long, the flights began to touch down at Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport and footsteps started to fall in the hip district of Telliskivi, capping off another summer in Estonia. Just as we reported on Tallinn Music Week last year, Elis Jaansoo and Sebastian Buccioni have been there as correspondents at Jazzkaar Festival. The festival, running from Monday August 23rd to Sunday August 29th, has boost ed the global touring cachet of Tallinn; and as the festival puts it, “combines the avant-garde with the mainstream for a festival of diversity.” Fitting for a nation of singers, this year Jazzkaar invited Lucy Woodward, who performed on Wednesday August 25th at Vaba Lava. Woodward has conquered virtually every musical situation out there for singers, but is playing in a more intimate con figuration for her tour stop in Estonia, which she has wanted to visit for 10 years. Many of her tour dates prior have been with large ensembles. Just prior to arriving in Estonia, she had been playing big band music in Sicily, leading her to remark on how different it is in Estonia. She spent her first morning quietly walking circles around Vanalinn, describing it as “magical.” We may even see the Old Town appear in a future song. Just as she finds ideas going around New York City or Los Angeles, she says that when touring, “Your environment affects you. You realize there’s this kind of bubble that you’re in with the people who are taking care of you and you spend every minute together with.” She continues, “That bubble is kind of like its own story. A song could come out of that because of the friends you make along the way...” Touring aside, Woodward has had a transatlantic upbring ing. She was born in London, England but moved to the Netherlands at an early age, be fore moving again to New York City with her mother and spend ing summers in the Netherlands with her father.
taken aback with this unortho dox display. They didn’t realize I had become a close friend to Meri, both of us being elected to the Congress of Estonia and its executive body the Estonian Committee, where our private conversations touched topics not in the public discourse. He made it clear that the quicker Estonia can shed its Soviet heritage, the faster it can exploit its own abundant poten tial for growth, both politically
Though she is English-Ameri can and recognizes the pro found way blues and jazz have raised her artistically, she adds that “I’m very connected to the Dutch culture because I’ve been going there my whole life...”, especially because she lives there currently. Woodward has absorbed culture all along. As a singer, her timbre is mighty and bluesy. Although both of her parents were classi cal musicians and she studied classical flute, she knew from a very young age that she was never going to be a classical singer. Since high school, she’s been entranced by R&B. Then came jazz and blues, which she groups together “in the same family.” The heart of the blues was astounding to her. “I had a boy friend when I was 16 or so who introduced me to Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan, and I was like ‘whoa, it’s only three chords!’” She states, “It doesn’t matter how many chords or notes are in your song, how big your range is as a singer. It’s all what you do with it.” Between releasing her debut solo album While You Can in 2003 and Music! Music! Music! with Charlie Hunter in 2019, what she’s been able to create has changed significantly. “My first record deals were in the pop world, and that record in 2003, it’s music I will never sing again. I’m very proud of that period, it was just like a past chapter. You sign with a major label and are told what to wear, what to do, what to look like. There are a lot of rules you have to play by... Then after that goes away, you get dropped, and you start really learning about who you are as a singer, as an artist, as a song writer... You start finding your own sound.” With the freedom of being a more independent artist, she’s been singing the stuff that makes her happiest. With sonic explorer and guitarist Charlie Hunter, she released an album two months ago that uses a blues foundation to cover artists like Nina Simone and En Vogue. The formidable combo has been active since 2018, ever since Hunter asked her to come on tour with him when another singer couldn’t be there. Hunter’s signature, where his
and economically. His message was delivered eloquently, a quality that endowed him the ‘European Man of the Year’ years later. The days passed in one long sleepless flurry of activity. Wilson and his aides travelled on to Moscow to meet with Gorbachev. I stayed on in Tallinn for two more weeks to enjoy the new freedom. It was exhilarating. LAAS LEIVAT
Lucy Woodward. Photo: Elis Jaansoo
instrument melds bass and guitar together into one guitar neck, has augmented the tonal palette of songs for Woodward. Over 180 shows in 2019, every night they tried new songs, new keys, and alternate tunings to “carve out space” somewhere in the frequencies for her voice. They didn’t want her notes to clash with his guitar. The same practice applies to performing with large en sembles like Snarky Puppy, where she’s been on stage with around a dozen musicians. It could be a trio, a big band with 19 people, or a symphony orchestra with 70 people; but a space has to be arranged for each instrument. Woodward explains how space is every thing. “I have a mezzo soprano belting voice and a lot of horns also play in that same range. So you don’t want too much of that sound in the same area.” Likewise, Charlie Hunter has told her that “space is the fourth and free musician that’s not on stage, but he’s always there with you.” Space doesn’t need to be paid after a gig, so bands take advantage of that. Having sung backing vocals in the studio for Céline Dion and live with Rod Stewart for four and a half years, she has direct advice for aspiring sing ers: “Your job is to support the singer always. Keep one eye on Rod Stewart, the other eye on the audience, and the eyes in the back of your head are watching your fella backup singers and your band... You have to be aware musically for whatever is thrown your way.” With Rod Stewart, who likes soulful backing vocals, she describes how she had to blend her voice with his. To be pre pared for this, she tries to learn about all genres, including the folk songs that she has had the chance to enjoy while in Estonia. For her Tallinn show, Woodward and her bassist, guitarist, and drummer had a priority of telling a story and “[making] a groove feel good... We’ve got some funky busi ness.” (Follow Estonian Music Week on Instagram and Facebook for highlights of Jazzkaar and more!)
