live-and-festivals
Jazzkaar 2027 Names First Artists: Maria Faust, Marquis Hill's Blacktet and Paula and Dora Morelenbaum
The 38th Tallinn International Festival Jazzkaar, set for April 24 to May 1, 2027, has announced its first three headliners: Maria Faust and Sacrum Facere, Marquis Hill Blacktet in its Estonian debut, and Paula Morelenbaum with her daughter Dora in a tribute to Tom Jobim.
Estonia's biggest jazz festival has named the first artists for its 2027 edition. The 38th Tallinn International Festival Jazzkaar will take place from April 24 to May 1, 2027, the festival announced on Oct. 28, with saxophonist and composer Maria Faust, trumpeter Marquis Hill's Blacktet and Brazilian singer Paula Morelenbaum, joined by her daughter Dora Morelenbaum, as its first three highlights.
Faust, named Estonia's Jazz Musician of the Year 2026, opens the festival with her ensemble Sacrum Facere and Marches Rewound & Rewritten. According to the festival, the work uses marching music to explore recurring patterns in society, including hierarchies, dictatorships and the elements of propaganda embedded in music and lyrics. Jazzkaar calls it Faust's most acclaimed work to date and notes that it earned her the German Record Critics' Award, among other honors.
On April 27, Marquis Hill Blacktet makes its Estonian debut. Hill began his career in Chicago, and the festival describes the band's sound as a blend of jazz, hip-hop, R&B, neo-soul and Chicago house built on trumpet lines and Rhodes electric piano. The announcement lists Marcus Miller, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Kurt Elling, Joe Lovano and Makaya McCraven among the musicians he has performed with.
The May 1 concert ties into a major anniversary: 2027 marks the 100th birthday of Antônio Carlos Jobim. Paula Morelenbaum, who sang in Jobim's ensemble for ten years, will perform his music with Dora Morelenbaum. The festival notes that Dora played to a sold-out Jazzkaar audience in 2025 and is a member of the Latin Grammy-winning quartet Bala Desejo.
"Maria Faust, Marquis Hill, and Paula and Dora Morelenbaum are all distinctive and acclaimed artists who showcase the remarkable diversity of jazz," artistic director Anne Erm said in the announcement. "I am delighted that they are the first to offer a glimpse of what Jazzkaar 2027 has in store."
The festival will be based at Telliskivi Creative City in Tallinn, with concerts in other Estonian cities as well. The full program is due in December 2026. Tickets for the three announced concerts went on sale on Oct. 29 through Piletikeskus, with a limited number offered at a 40% discount to early buyers and a 50% discount for listeners aged 7 to 20.
The 2027 visual identity was created by PUTKA and Erik Teemägi, using Frukt, a typeface by Estonian type designer Andree Paat, in shades of orange and lilac.