On Saturday evening, November 28, 2015 at 7:00 pm, Mari Sild, with 2 members of her Jazzotopes band, opened up the evening’s entertainment as the warm-up act for the highly anticipated concert in Montreal, by the Curly Strings ‘Bluegrass’ band from Estonia.
Jazzotopes is a jazz-pop-fusion band, founded in 2013 in Montreal by Estonian composer, singer and pianist Mari Sild. This evening she was joined by André Galamba on bass and by Oscar Calderon on percussion and together they played Mari's compositions with lyrics in Estonian, English and French. Most people in the audience had not heard her perform before this evening and are looking forward to hearing her passionate music again. As a side note, Mari had also just finished her PhD in Neuro-Biology at McGill.
After a short pause, the Curly Strings were introduced by Karl Raudsepp and the anticipatory applause from the very well attended concert was deafening for the band that was about to perform.
The rhythmic toe-tapping inducing music by the Curly Strings, was immediately evident to one and all. Their enthusiastic performance and impressive vocal harmonies, coupled with highly developed musical skills and adept violin, mandolin and guitar solos, impressed everyone, including several musicians who were present. Their music was expressive, both subtle and energetic, while being thoroughly evocative to the highest degree.
Their poise and engaging personalities captivated the audience with their amiable banter between songs, in both English and Estonian. They were, above all, the consummate professional group, who clearly enjoyed performing together.
The venue was the sanctuary of the Montreal Estonian church with the addition of a sound system and some appropriate lighting. Both bands remarked on how inspirational it was for them to play in such an intimate space with such good acoustics.
The Montreal Estonian Society must be congratulated for organizing this unforgettable evening of entertainment, well presented, well organized and well attended – even a great after party, where everyone was able to meet and talk with the musicians.
The rousing applause and several standing ovations said it all. Thank you Curly Strings for an amazing evening!
PS
The band's first album "Üle ilma" (All Over the World) was named Best Album of the Year 2014 at the Estonian Music Awards. Their top hit single "Kauges külas" (In A Distant Village) was number one on all of Estonia's top music charts for several months. And in October 2015, Curly Strings won Estonia's Best Upcoming Folk Artist award.
Charles Rand
