Karja – Renard – Wandinger trio

On July 25th Kirke Karja’s acclaimed trio with French bassist Etienne Renard and German drummer Ludwig Wandinger will perform in our jaZZanti concert series.

Pianist Kirke Karja is one of the new generation of Estonian musicians who is making an international breakthrough. The trio she leads with French bassist Etienne Renard and German drummer Ludwig Wandinger has garnered positive attention on the European jazz scene. The trio’s music includes Karja’s compositions, free improvisation and extended playing techniques. The band played an impressive concert in Tallinn in September 2021 as part of the European Jazz Conference. The trio was then heard in Paris in April 2022 at the Punkt @ Banlieues Bleues festival night, where Norwegians Jan Bang and Erik Honoré performed a real-time remix of the concert. Karja Renard Wandinger trio will release in July a record, which was recorded in Tallinn in February 2020.

Kirke Karja (b. 1989) is an intense performer and composer whose bold harmonious melody draws on the solid knowledge of contemporary music. She is fascinated by improvisation and collaborative projects with other art forms. In addition to her long education in classical music, she has dived to study jazz music for 10 years and graduated in 2021 with a doctorate in jazz composition from the Estonian Academy of Music and Theater. She has released six albums under her own name. In addition to her trio, she conducts the Kirke Karja Quartet and the Captain Kirke and the Klingons quintet, where e.g. call e.g. saxophonists Mikko Innanen and Lithuanian Liudas Mockunas. Karja won the Giorgio Gaslini Future Talent Award 2021 and was elected Estonian Jazz Musician of the Year 2022.

Etienne Renard (b. 1991), an active player in French jazz circles, is a musician and composer who serves the collective creativity of the trio with his own diverse skills. This down-to-earth double bassist is inspired by collaborative work both in France and abroad. His musicianship was also fuelled by years of study at the Paris Conservatory of Music and Dance. His playing partners include Benoît Delbecq, Paul Jarret and Pierrick Pedron.

Ludwig Wandinger (b. 1995) is a Berlin-based experimental music producer, drummer and versatile visual artist. His musical narrative ranges from experimental IDM (Intelligent Dance Music) to acoustic improvisation and ambient to multi-tone sound design, while his visual expression crosses surrealism and amazing graphic “chrometype” design. He has worked with and performed with many acclaimed musicians, including Jim Black, Wanja Slavin, Lucia Cadotsch, Dan Nicholls, Philipp Gropper, Elias Stemeseder, Petter Eldh, Andrea Parkins and Oli Steidle.

Photo: Kaupo Kikkas

In co-operation with Vapaat Äänet production.

The concert is supported by City of Helsinki, Svenska Kulturfonden and The Finnish Music Foundation, Goethe-Institut Finnland, Viro-Instituutti and AJC-Association Jazzé Croisé.