J Dilla is one of the most influential artists in hip-hop. For one night at Jazzkaar, Henri Paul Pukk and band brought his music to life. It was jazzy, it was groovy, it was fulfilling. If you were there, lucky you! If not, you missed out!
Fotografiska filled quickly. The first row was taken over by young men who seemed to be super enthusiastic about the upcoming experience. As soon as introductions were done, the band stepped on the stage and the whole room was in sync from the very first note.
The chosen work from J Dilla varied between fast paced strong beats and calmer vibes. It was groovy, a real tasteful sip of hip-hop in the key of jazz. And it was not even just the music: the way rapper Krick made his own Estonian lyrics work with J Dilla’s beats with such playful ease was the cherry on top of the cake. Some songs were covered by singer ELLIP and felt equally mesmerizing.
As Pukk previously mentioned in an interview with Jazzkaar, his goal as an artist and on stage is to make every person in the room move and sway. Safe to say, it definitely worked. People were nodding their heads to the rhythm and swaying from side-to-side or back-to-front. The whole crowd moved together in harmony with the legendary heritage from J Dilla. We were breathing together.
The keyboard player Mairo Marjamaa all of a sudden switched instruments and filled the room with playful notes from the saxophone. It tied the performance together even better. Pukk himself seemed to have felt at home and exactly where he’d want to be. The songs were spiced and seasoned with different solos from the band, yet through the whole performance there wasn’t a “more dominant” instrument or musician.
When Krick urged the public to follow his words, everyone did so. He was the conductor and we, the audience, were like an obedient orchestra. He surprised the crowd with a freestyle rap, taking inspiration from the people in the room.
A little after-the-song tradition happened on the spot: some louder gentleman from the back row yelled “three, four…” and everyone in the room went “Good band!” after that. At that point, the unison and alliance in the atmosphere had formed a sense of belonging.
As the groovy hip-hop-jazz got closer to the end, a feeling of sadness somehow entered my mind. It all went by so fast and the band knew how to hold your attention so you would forget about time. The crowd did not end the applause after the first bow and called the band back on stage. “Dilla lives forever!” Pukk called out, and as for me, I have definitely found a new group to recommend to my friends.
“Pukk brings Dilla“
Saturday, April 25th, Fotografiska Tallinn
The band:
Henri Paul Pukk – drums
ELLIP – vocals
Krick – rap
Mairo Marjamaa – keyboards, saxophone
Robin Mäetalu – guitar
Märten Lehto – bass
Lauri Täht – DJ
Photo: Kaisa Keizars-Aron