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Jazzkaar: Urban Jazz
Country
Estonia
Main target age group
3-19
Key artists
Music students at Otsa School of Music, Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, Eller School of Music.
Practical information
For the last 8 years Jazzkaar has been running an urban space jazz project with the aim to bring jazz and improvised music closer to people – to the streets, airports, trams, buses, trains, city parks, shopping centres, offices etc – to public spaces, where it is accessible for everyone. Since 2014 the Urban Project has also reached places further than the capital – the Harju county near Tallinn and the towns of Viljandi, Tartu and Pärnu. The project also engages many other art forms – many forms of visual art, dancers etc. In 2017 more than 100 urban space events took place during the Jazzkaar Festival in April.
Artistic idea
One of our goals is to engage younger audience in festival activities and promote jazz as a versatile, playful and fascinating genre. It’s also a hospitality program for the citizens of Tallinn and other places.
- Opportunity for young musicians to play and take part in the festival.
- Urban Project has educational impact – it takes jazz regularly to schools and surprises students.
- Social impact – going to hospitals, playing for disabled people. All Urban Project activities are for free.
- Urban Project engages young performers and audience in many of the street and public space happenings. The activities are playful and engage by-passers. For example “musical carpet”, “the beggar”, “living jukebox”, “be a DJ” etc.
- Unexpected places – jazz can happen everywhere, like on a tram, on a window, in the airport, on the train etc.
- Every year the “Jazz Painting” happening has taken place, where young art students paint on canvas inspired by live music and vice versa – musicians improvise inspired by the paintings that are coming alive in front of the audience
- There is also a collaboration between jazz and dance: jazz meets break dance, jazz meets swing dance, jazz meets improvisational/modern dance.
- Since 2016 spring there is also a group of youngsters in the Young Media Team
- The playful and unexpected activities receive good publicity and media coverage. Hundreds and even thousands of people share their moments when they see the pop-up concerts.
- Urban Project is a good opportunity to engage the partners of the festival. E g jazzy car activity, jazz window.
Main costs
Main costs are promotional materials, technical equipment, fee for the mentor, transportation.
Additional info
Mostly the musicians are students, so young musicians are playing for younger audiences.
Booking contacts
merli (at) jazzkaar.ee
