Nr. 50
EESTI ELU reedel, 17. detsembril 2021 — Friday, December 17, 2021
23
Global Estonian Insights: Holger Marjamaa, pianist in Chris Botti’s band happen. The day I moved to New York to start my Master’s Of all the people who could studies at Manhattan School of be sitting in the audience Music in late August 2015, I while you play a show at New didn’t know where I would York City’s Blue Note Jazz sleep and live. I remember I Club, what’s the likelihood was with my friend from that one of them is a head of Finland in Times Square, grabstate? For pianist Holger bing pizza and a Coke. We had Marjamaa, that likelihood no idea where we would stay, was quite high. On December which is a little surreal to think 7th, 2021, Estonian President about. Alar Karis was enjoying a It was my dream to live in night out and brought a box New York, meet amazing musiof chocolates for him as a gift. cians, and to build my career Not only is Marjamaa an here. But I must say, I miss Estonian playing on the stage of home and want to move back a prestigious American music there eventually. Nowadays, venue (which is celebrating 40 you can travel anywhere from years of live jazz music in anywhere. When I feel that I 2021), he is in the band of can start working more under trumpeter Chris Botti, who has my own name, then I will make himself played with artists such the move back home to Estonia. as Barbra Streisand, Frank That being said, I don’t want to Sinatra, Yo-Yo Ma, and Sting. predict too much about my Marjamaa, Botti, and com future, as so many things can pany recently performed at change. I have my goals and I Toronto’s Roy Thomson Hall, want to reach them. and in the spare moments beYou’ve competed in nu tween two nightly shows at merous piano competitions in Blue Note Jazz Club from Monday December 6th until Estonia, Lithuania, and the Sunday January 2nd, he shared US. Take, for example, the 2018 Thelonious Monk a few anecdotes with Eesti Elu. Institute of Jazz International You’ve been playing music your whole life, and this has Piano Competition in Wa shing t on D.C, where Herbie brought you to stages across Europe, Asia, and North Hancock was one of the judges. In a competition like America. What led to Chris Botti then calling you in the this, how does one pianist middle of the night, asking come out on top? It all comes down to taste. you to join his band? Herbie was listening only to the I think the main reason was finalists. But every pianist in that our drummer, Lee Pearson, this competition was already a and one of our saxophone world-class musician and it’s players, Chad Lefkowitz-Brown, hard to pick who is the best. It recommended me for this gig. I all depends on the jury. met Lee in Tallinn about 14 Is there something that years ago and we fell in love with each other’s playing. When Estonian musicians specifically Chris asked his band who to can bring to jazz music as an hire, they both recommended art form, or do you believe me. I started touring with Chris one’s contribution to jazz is completely personal? If so, in August 2019. Is there a particular story what is your own approach to that summarizes your ex piano and accompaniment/ perience as an Estonian get composition all about? ting to know New York City Well, jazz is a Black Ameri for the first time, compared to can art form, which means that how you relate to the city we have to learn as much as now? possible from American players; I am a lucky individual who and yes, it’s completely per came to New York with certain sonal. You have to study the dreams and managed to fulfill history of the players and the them in a way. And I didn’t do language of jazz to gain voca it alone. I had a lot of help bulary in this style of music. I from friends and sponsors. grew up with classical music, When you make the move, jazz, gospel, R&B, soul, funk. you don’t know what’s gonna Also salsa and some Brazilian
Vincent Teetsov
Lea Kõiv Jaan Meri, Holger Marjamaa, and Toomas Koger at Roy Thomson Hall Dec 2. Photo: Tiit Romet
The pandemic did not force the Estonian Business Club (Eesti Majandusklubi) to abandon their traditional Christmas luncheon, which has been held for many decades, the last several in the cafe of Estonian House. This year, the venue was Latvian House and the spirit of the season was enjoyed by all. Photos: Väino Einola
music. I learned and continue to learn from that. My approach is to serve good music, which I love and would fight for. In your formal music studies, which educational or theoretical concepts were most appealing or useful to you? I learned the most from my mentors, jazz drummer/pianist Jukkis Uotila and my classical professor Aleksandra Juozapė naitė-Eesmaa. It’s not the school which makes you a player, it’s the people who surround you, and the inner wish to become the best, which is, of course, not possible. Estonia
has very, very few amazing players, but the level is rising. There are certain things which have to be done to develop a better level. Over the course of your residency with Chris Botti at Blue Note Jazz Club, what will you look for in each night? How will you maintain your performance endurance? It’s a different challenge as we are playing the same tunes over and over again. So I have to find ways to be creative, to find fresh and new ideas. It’s a musical gym for creativity! If you could enlist any musician for a new solo
album and tour across North America, which musicians would you hire? What would the album sound like? I’m currently recording my next album, which has jazz, funk, and gospel influences. It has a more electric vibe to it. I’d love to have [saxophonist and flautist] Kenny Garrett on it, [singer] Kim Burrell, and [trumpeter] Nicholas Payton, to name a few. But I’d love to tour with my trio – Heikko Remmel on bass, Jussi Lehtonen on drums – and have featured artists with us.
Japan’s very first Estonian cookbook
of the other recipes. She became acquainted with an Estonian family who tried to buy Estonian-style rye bread in Japan (which has a population of 150 Estonians), but couldn’t find precisely what they were looking for. After learning how to make leib, finding foods that go well with the bread was her next mission. Starting in 2018, she began making food for the Embassy of the Republic of Estonia in Tokyo, as well as leading cooking classes and delivering lectures on what she has studied. This has been complemented with events pertaining to Estonian music, Jaanipäev, the European Union, and travel to Estonia. Among the book’s 116 pages, readers will find 45 stepby-step recipes that range from pirukad with beet and zucchini filling to rhubarb and cinnamon cake. The book has an entire section devoted to leib ja sai (dark bread and light bread) so that readers can “live a rye bread life at home.” There are also sections of the book for appetizers, main dishes, soup, desserts, and beverages. Beauti fully styled photos of each dish give readers a palpable sense of what it is to spend time in and sit down for a meal in Estonia. Before long, all of Japan may be leafing through the book with a nice plate of rukkileib at their side, spread with wild berry jam. Sasaki has strived to make it possible to easily recreate the authentic Estonian culinary experience with products available in Japanese supermarkets. She says, “I will do my best to
make Estonia closer to everyone in [Japan]!” She has expressed gratitude to everyone in Estonia who helped her in making the book. On October 20th, the charming homey space of the Estonian Embassy in Tokyo (which was consulted during the book’s publishing) hosted a press conference for the book with official diplomatic greetings, food samples and travel stories from Sasaki, factual information about Estonia, and a display of products imported from Estonia to Japan; including honey, kitchen utensils, and fashion accessories. Sasaki sells the book from her website: www.estonianavi. com/booklecture/ (sent along with a special postcard), from Amazon, and stores from the cities of Tokyo and Saitama to Nagano, Aichi, and all the way to Hiroshima. While Estonian cuisine may be a niche subject, this book and the 2018 opening of Metsä and Moominvalley in Hannō, Japan suggest a percolating interest in northern Europe, its people, and traditions in Asia.
Vincent Teetsov Knowledge of Estonian cui sine is far from universal. When asked what it consists of, one may even be ques tioned about whether or not it’s tasty, depending on how well you explain famous dishes like pickled herring, sült, and verivorstid. But as of October 20th, 2021, there is a strong foothold for the increased international appreciation of Estonian food. It’s in the form of a newly published Japanese-language cookbook titled The Estonian Home Cooking Recipes. Amid the tremors of enthu siasm shown towards Estonian culture on social media sites like Twitter, where users have shared photos of fresh rye bread and kapsasupp, users have documented the arrival of their copies of the new book. The book has been called “cute and irresistible!” and has been described as something that brings back memories of visiting Estonia. Bringing this excitement to readers is author and food culture researcher Keiko Sasaki. As detailed in her writing, Sasaki has travelled all over the world; and in Estonia specifically, she sought out instruction from local people to learn about Estonian recipes and flavours. Perhaps most importantly, she learned how to make tra ditional Estonian rye bread, using “wild” yeast. In fact, Sasaki notes that rye bread was the prompt for discovering all
(This interview has been edited and condensed.)
The book cover of “The Estonian Home Cooking Recipes”.
