SUMMER + GOOD MUSIC = Narva-Jõesuu Jazz
We invite you to be part of the big summer event on the jazz scene!
On 29.07, a truly exhilarating jazz music festival will take place in the Heledas Park near Narva-Jõesuu Kuursaal.
Back in the '30s, ladies and gentlemen enjoyed high-quality musical concerts in Narva-Jõesuu. Let's bring to life with you this romantically nostalgic and much-remembered resort town summer event!
The world's jazz greats from the big stages of the USA, Europe and, of course, Estonia will take to the stage!
Throughout the day, we will bring you 5 special musical line-ups, starting the festival at 15:00 and the last concert, the Grande Finale, at 21:00!
Our festival is FREE for all visitors, as the project "Jazz Music Summer Camp and Festival in Narva-Jõesuu" ("JCF") ER195 is co-funded by the European Union under the European Neighbourhood Instrument.
Narva-Jõesuu Jazz festival timetable
15.00 Raivo Tafenau Quintet (EST)
16.30 Sofia Rubina Band “Summer Flow” (EST)
18.00 Studnitzky x Magro feat. Leona Berlin (GER)
19.30 Lucy Woodward Quartet (USA / NED)
21.00 Black Lives – from Generation to Generation (USA / FRA / ZA / BE)
Raivo Tafenau Quintet
The long-awaited Narva-Jõesuu Jazz revives the tradition of enjoying high-quality jazz music in the historic resort town! The festival starts with real musical fireworks when the saxophone wizard Raivo Tafenau takes the stage with his quintet!
Without exaggeration, Raivo can be considered a symbol of Estonian jazz music, he is a man who can touch the heart of every listener with his instrument playing and personally fascinate music lovers of all ages and nationalities. His music is genuine, virtuosic and full of emotions, his companions on stage are always the best musicians in Estonia.
Raivo Tafenau has performed on many festival stages around the world, collaborated with a countless number of well-known artists and received public recognition for his creative activities, including the annual prize of the Cultural Endowment and the Elion Jazz Award.
His latest album "The Same Differences" was released in 2021 in cooperation with the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra and has earned the praise of many music critics.
Band members:
Raivo Tafenau - sax
Ain Agan - guitar
Madis Muul - keyboards
Raul Vaigla - bass
Petteri Hasa - drums
Sofia Rubina Band “Summer Flow”
Sofia Rubina is known to all of us as a brilliantly charming jazz singer who transcends the boundaries of her genre with her ingenuity! In her repertoire, we find pure jazz classics that are spiced with soul and gospel music and Sofia's passion for club music and funk will not go unnoticed by the audience.
Sofia Rubina's memorable melodies and catchy rhythms have taken her music all over the world, from the famous Blue Note in New York to the exotic stages of Asia and back home. On 29 July we have the opportunity to enjoy a performance by Sofia in Narva-Jõesuu, where she will be accompanied by a powerful seven-member jazz band.
Sofia's new album will be released in October, on which the singer herself says, “The main message of the album is to bring positivity into people's lives through music, so that people can start to listen to their souls and see the beauty of the world. My music works best for these purposes.”
Band members:
Sofia Rubina - vocal
Jason Hunter - trumpet
Aleksander Paal - sax
Kalle Pilli - guitar
Madis Muul - keyboards
Joosep Talumaa - bass
Dmitri Nikolajevski - drums
Studnitzky x Magro feat. Leona Berlin
Narva-Jõesuu Jazz brings to Estonia a joint project consisting of the top performers of German contemporary jazz “STUDNITZKY X MAGRO”
STUDNITZKY and MAGRO come together to create a unique musical experience that blends jazz, classical, electronic, Hip Hop and R&B influences. With their individual sounds on trumpet and drums, these internationally acclaimed performers have collaborated with a range of renowned artists and are sure to captivate any audience.
STUDNITZKY has always been a traveller between the realms of jazz, classical and electronic music. Too edgy for pop, too emotional for jazz, too opulent for electronica with a remarkably individual sound on his trumpet. STUDNITZKY is an internationally acclaimed performer of the highest level and has performed and recorded with names such as Nils Landgren’s Funk Unit, Jazzanova, Mezzoforte, Wolfgang Haffner, Nightmares On Wax, Moritz von Oswald, Emiliana Torrini and Dominic Miller.
MAGRO creates an unusual fusion of acoustic Jazz and produced Hip-Hop/RnB. His project combines many of his musical influences such as Herbie Hancock, J Dilla and Chris Dave. After his first album "Trippin" was released in 2021 and was recently awarded with the "German Jazz Prize" (for "Debut Album of the Year“) he now released his follow- up album "II" (pronounced: Two).
Over the years, MAGRO has collaborated with numerous artists as a drummer and producer, including Kenny Wesley, J Lamotta, Stimulus,Wayne Snow and Kurt Rosenwinkel. In addition, he has been a producer on many of Leona Berlin's albums and singles - including "Wrong Lane (featuring Snoop Dogg)“.
Band members:
STUDNITZKY - trumpet, electronics
MAGRO - drums
Leona Berlin - vocals
Martin Lüdicke - keyboards
Francesco Beccaro - bass
Lucy Woodward Quartet
Born in London and raised in both New York City and The Netherlands, Lucy was raised by an opera singer/musicologist/belly dancer mom and a conductor/ composer dad on a steady musical diet of Chopin, middle- eastern music and Michael Jackson. Those early influences helped her learn about the power of melody and story within song craft, which fresh out of school led her to singing jazz standards in coffee shops for tips in NYC’s west village, club gigs with her own NYC band and loads of studio sessions.
Lucy first found international Top 40 success in the early 2000s, scoring 2 BMI Music Awards before the end of 2004. She followed up the success of her Atlantic Records debut with a series of critically acclaimed releases on Barnes & Noble, Verve and GroundUP/ Universal labels.
Solo career success aside, Lucy has been a featured artist touring with Pink Martini (requiring her to learn to sing in Croatian, Turkish and Japanese on a few days' notice), Rod Stewart (leading her to perform in dozens of countries) and Grammy-award winning band Snarky Puppy (over 10 years of collaborations, including a performance at Royal Albert Hall and their highly-viewed song “Too Hot To Last”). More recently, Lucy recorded two albums with Grammy-nominated guitar virtuoso Charlie Hunter, which had them touring constantly from 2018-2020 in North America and Europe.
Woodward's recording credits also include background vocalist and/or arranger with the likes of Celine Dion, Barbra Streisand, Rod Stewart and Chaka Khan as well as appearing on several movie soundtracks including The Blind Side, Last Vegas, What a Girl Wants and Ice Princess with her version of the Bjork classic "It’s Oh So Quiet”.
She has guested with Big Bands in both Europe and the US such as WDR Big Band and Frankfurt Radio Big Band and gives vocal and songwriting workshops to students and young professionals everywhere.
Lucy continues to tour Europe and is releasing her fifth studio solo album co-produced by Grammy- winning producer David Garza and featuring bass extraordinaire Tim Lefevre, later this year.
Band members:
Lucy Woodward – vocal
Jelle Roozenburg – guitar
Udo Pannekeet – bass
Salle de Jonge – drums
Black Lives - from Generation to Generation
The composers come from the United States, the Caribbean and Africa; their songs draw on many influences ; and they represent a rich sample of the infinite number of ways to conceive Black existence in the world.But beyond this variety, what unites them is the desire to fight for equality and justice through music.
They are known for their work as leaders but also for their collaboration with world-famous artists from the 60‘s until today: Miles Davis, , D‘Angelo, Meshell Ndegéocello, Salif Keita, Marcus Miller, Roy Hargrove, Erykah Badu, George Benson, Terri Lyne Carrington, Joe Zawinul, Maxwell, Cassandra Wilson, The Headhunters, Wayne Shorter, Esperanza Spalding and many more. and many others
During the live concerts, each artist has the chance to take on two roles: a band member playing others' compositions and a leader when it's time to perform his or her own creation. Not everyone is on stage at the same time, except for the grand finale.
The live concerts highlight the diversity of generations and musical backgrounds of the artists. What is striking is the ease, authenticity, and inspiration with which they travel through all musical horizons: jazz, soul, funk, jazz-fusion of the 70's, African music, rock, blues and gospel... All them are mixed and magnified, at times with crazy intensity, at other times with subtle nuances. The music is high-flying, the solos impeccable. In this assembly of renowned artists, it is clear that egos have been put aside and each singular talent is at the humble and exclusive service of the music. It's a show full of surprises, with an energy that sets audiences on fire!
Band members:
Tutu Puoane - vocals
Christie Dashiell - vocals
Sharrif Simmons - spoken word
Dj Grazzhoppa - turntables
Pierrick Pédron - saxophone
David Gilmore - guitar
Laurent de Wilde - piano
Reggie Washington - bass & vocals
Marque Gilmore - drums & electronics