My review of Jazzkaar 2014, in Tallinn, Estonia, today at All About Jazz.

Any opportunity to return to Tallinn, the capital of Estonia in Eastern Europe, is one worth grabbing. Beyond the somewhat surreal feeling of being in a country that, just 23 years ago, was a completely different place, Tallinn is, quite simply, one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, with an old town separated from modern Tallinn by high walls that were once fortifications but now act as everything from tourist attractions with coffee shops built into the upper levels of the walls to a gathering place for market vendors selling everything from nuts to knitted goods. Estonia is a country still emerging from the shackles of Soviet rule, but even during those dark days it had its own identity—an identity that has, however, blossomed further since 1991, when it returned to independence.

What's perhaps most surprising, when learning that Tallinn's annual jazz festival, Jazzkaar, was celebrating its 25th anniversary was that doing the math reveals a festival that actually began prior to independence, and that it's had the same Artistic Director, Anne Erme, for its entire run. Erme is easy to speak with and quick to point out that the festival has managed much success with a small budget; the last visit to Jazzkaar was in 2011, the year Estonia adopted the Euro. That, in itself, represented a huge challenge for a country whose salaries are still well below the average in Europe, even as it has also meant that the cost of living continues to rise to meet some kind of parity with the rest of its European Union partners, making it all the more remarkable to see what has changed with the country, the city and the festival since last visiting three years ago.

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